Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Wednesday of Oculi (Lent III)
Wednesday of Oculi (Lent III)
Daily Lectionary Readings: Genesis 37:1-36; Mark 10:1-12; (Sirach 16)
Mark 10:2-6 And Pharisees came up and in order to test [Jesus] asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
This passage clearly deals with the issue of divorce and the natural created order of man and woman. Immediately following this passage is Jesus' famous blessing of the children. But there is a broader application here for us as well. In these uncertain times, we have seen the erosion of the natural order of creation and the continued abandonment of Scripture's teachings (that inconvenient word we call "Doctrine") for the teachings of men.
When Jesus confronted the Pharisees about their views of divorce, He set a little trap by asking them what Moses commanded them, not what the Law read. The Pharisees felt they were justified in their liberal interpretation of the Law, that one need only do some paperwork and thus get rid of an undesired bride for any reason. Jesus pointed out Moses acted as a civil legislator (a man who makes laws for men) because of their hard hearts to avoid causing more significant harm than simply divorcing a woman.
Jesus then gets to the heart of the matter. God’s Law speaks differently. God’s Word says humans were created man and woman, and the union of such carry the divine stamp of approval for the purpose of being fruitful and multiplying. Men and women were created to build families. As there is nothing new under the sun, the tearing down of the nuclear family continues to this day with increasing tenacity and redefinition of male and female. To say this is highly contentious and totally against God’s will is an understatement, to say the least.
But there is a broader issue in play, both between Jesus and the Pharisees and between man and the Law of God today. Where God's Law is inconvenient or offensive, men make their own rules to suit their personal agendas and desires. And we can see how insidious this undermining of the Lord's commandments really is: Look how deeply influenced by their culture's false teaching on divorce the disciples were, when they later, in private, questioned Jesus about his statement to the Pharisees. Teach a lie long enough, and the lie will appear to be the truth, and the truth a lie.
Jesus said anyone who divorces and remarries commits adultery. It is no accident that the image of a prostitute is used to symbolize false teachers in Scripture. When men disregard the Law of God to follow their own sinful lusts and desires, they condemn themselves. When Christians begin believing the lies, they who are the bride of Christ prostitute themselves with the masses of unbelievers. We see this today more than ever before as human beings attempt to redefine the natural order of creation and construct indoctrination programs to teach that anyone who disagrees with them is at best hateful, racist, sexist or what have you at worst subversive and anti-freedom. Only by repenting and returning to the clear teachings of the Bible can we see the danger of the path we are on as a species. Laws are good. Government is good. Both are given by God to protect and preserve society. But when they are used in an ungodly manner, we who claim to be Christians need to stand up for God's Law, be faithful, and point out the hypocrisy. If we have begun to swallow it, if we have begun to treat the doctrines of man as if they were the Word of God, we need to vomit it back up and repent, especially where the welfare of the most vulnerable is concerned.