New Testament Eucharistic Gospel Reading for Proper 22: Year B
“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
How do we know what (or who), God has joined together? Marriage is such a touchy issue in the Church. In the early Hebrew Testament men just took women to be their wives and didn’t necessarily stop at one. We have many stories where certain men had two wives for example Jacob and Lea and Rachel; and Elkanah, “He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children:” (1st Samuel 1:1 and 2). He was the father of Samuel the Prophet. There are others also to include Moses. These persons did not divorce, but rather added to their marriage. It seems that with the New, or Christian Testament, the influence of the Greeks and Romans persuaded at least the Christian Jews to adhere to the one man and one woman marriage. There is also the relationships of same sex soul mates that happen and who God made them to be. Remember, I’m just pondering here. But I’m trying to make sense of it all.
There are more questions around marriage and divorce that must be resolved by our God given reason rather than the ambiguous and often contradictory writings of scripture. Remember, the sixteenth century priest Richard Hooker who said that we have the three legged stool of scripture, tradition and reason. In our Anglican and Episcopal Church, the three legs are equal in support of our faith. However, reason, with prayer, must take the lead when necessary.
There are the questions of same sex marriages, there are questions of whether the Church should be doing what was at first considered a civil matter until only about 800 years ago when the Church became aware of its possible control of the institution of marriage. Also, should Roman Catholic Priests be allowed to marry? Many such questions are still out there.
Divorce then brings the subject back to being a civil matter again. Should couples stay in a toxic and unloving, sometimes abusive marriage? I think not, but as far as I know, no Church has an “un-marriage” ceremony. So, who is God joining together? Does sexuality, or race, or faith, or pregnancy, or the Church, or Ordination, prophecy who God joins together?
Jesus teaches us using metaphor. As he himself often refers to himself as the bride groom and us his bride, so too the little children in today’s Gospel reading does not necessarily mean young children, but rather, young in believing. One may come to believe late in life. But they are here. Like Abraham, we are called from our old way of believing to the truth. Jesus is Truth.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools. And, as we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
A Collect for Sundays (BCP p. 98)
O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
onewhoponders 