Homily for October 4, 2009 The Question About Divorce
Every now and then I pass a church with a sign that says “Full Gospel Church." I don't know what they mean by it, but I see that, and I say we are the Full Gospel Church, because we read the full Gospel in our Sunday liturgy, even when it's awkward and inconvenient, like today.
So, first I want to ask you, how many are divorced, have family members who are divorced, or close friends who are divorced? Everybody! We're not judging them. It’s not about that. We don't know the circumstances of their life, and we know they came to be in their circumstances by very difficult decisions and discernment.
I also want to acknowledge that our church has legal procedures for dealing with divorce and remarriage. I've met people who found them very healing and very freeing, and I've also met people who found them very wounding. Again, I can't judge because I don't know the circumstances. So this is not about individuals or judging individuals. There's enough guilt and shame in people's lives.
What I want to do is talk about chapter 10 in Matthew's Gospel and where it fits in the story. I quote a Scripture scholar in my letter in the bulletin who belongs to a field of Scripture scholarship called narrative criticism. This is a group of Scripture scholars who approach things primarily by saying, "Where do they fit in the story, and what place do they take in the story?"
Jesus has been preaching about the need to take up the cross. He's been telling people that he himself will take up the cross, and if you want to be his follower you have to take up the cross. He's been preaching about the need for service and an attitude of service, and he's been preaching about receiving little children. That's the preaching.
Chapter 10 is an interlude in that preaching that has two questions and one scene. It has the Pharisees asking about divorce; it has the scene of blessing the children. By the way, that scene is the window in the very back of church on this side, so look at it when you leave or go out.
Then it has a rich young man approaching Jesus and saying, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" You know the story.
Jesus says, "Go sell what you have and give it to the poor." And he walks away sad. That's chapter 10: Three scenes that break into the story.
And by the way the custom of Jesus' day was that, if a man was displeased with his wife, all he had to do was write her a bill of divorce and send her away. And in doing so he was sending her out of the family, out of her system of support and survival, and forcing her to find another man. The Scripture scholar I quote says that is the height of male arrogance, and Jesus is saying this is not God's design.
Well, if you take these teachings ‑‑ taking up the cross, service, and receptivity to little children ‑‑ where does the rubber meet the road, and where are we most challenged to put theory into practice?
How about marriage? How about when you're tired and distracted and worried about many things, and needy children come to you? How about our use of money and the economic questions? Would you agree with me that that's where the rubber meets the road and that's where we are most challenged? And when people come with legal questions, Jesus doesn't want to go there. Instead he says, "What is God's design?"
Well, let's take that word, "God's design." The Scriptures have many descriptions of God's design for the relationship between men and women. By the way, in the first reading what is God's design? They are suitable partners; they are equal; they are one flesh. The Scriptures have many words about treating children ‑‑ and by the way, the words about treating children are not because they were sentimental about children. They were because children were expendable and they were the least in society.
The Scriptures have many words about human relationships, and they have many words about our use of wealth and possessions. The Scriptures are also a description of our failure to live God's design, and they're a description of God's faithfulness and God's mercy.
So, let me just ask you a question, and again, I'm not asking us to judge individuals, but to judge our culture and the institutions of our society. How many of you saw on the news last week that there are five counties in Indiana that are among those with the highest divorce rate in the country? How many of you saw that on the news? I forget what five they were. Wayne County where Richmond is, and Vigo County where Terre Haute is, were two of them. I forget the other three. I don't think Marion County was one of them.
Well, the news article speculated on why that was true. Do you know the reason it gave? Indiana has the easiest divorce laws in the country. It's easier to get divorced in Indiana than in other places.
Review all of the things about child abuse and child welfare that you read about in the paper, and look at the high unemployment rate, the millions of people without health care, and the increasing number of people who live in poverty. Let me ask you, about our failure to live according to God's design for life. Where does it come from? Is it because God's design is unrealistic and too idealistic, or is it because of our hardness of heart?
I'll just end with that question. What do you think?
So, first I want to ask you, how many are divorced, have family members who are divorced, or close friends who are divorced? Everybody! We're not judging them. It’s not about that. We don't know the circumstances of their life, and we know they came to be in their circumstances by very difficult decisions and discernment.
I also want to acknowledge that our church has legal procedures for dealing with divorce and remarriage. I've met people who found them very healing and very freeing, and I've also met people who found them very wounding. Again, I can't judge because I don't know the circumstances. So this is not about individuals or judging individuals. There's enough guilt and shame in people's lives.
What I want to do is talk about chapter 10 in Matthew's Gospel and where it fits in the story. I quote a Scripture scholar in my letter in the bulletin who belongs to a field of Scripture scholarship called narrative criticism. This is a group of Scripture scholars who approach things primarily by saying, "Where do they fit in the story, and what place do they take in the story?"
Jesus has been preaching about the need to take up the cross. He's been telling people that he himself will take up the cross, and if you want to be his follower you have to take up the cross. He's been preaching about the need for service and an attitude of service, and he's been preaching about receiving little children. That's the preaching.
Chapter 10 is an interlude in that preaching that has two questions and one scene. It has the Pharisees asking about divorce; it has the scene of blessing the children. By the way, that scene is the window in the very back of church on this side, so look at it when you leave or go out.
Then it has a rich young man approaching Jesus and saying, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" You know the story.
Jesus says, "Go sell what you have and give it to the poor." And he walks away sad. That's chapter 10: Three scenes that break into the story.
And by the way the custom of Jesus' day was that, if a man was displeased with his wife, all he had to do was write her a bill of divorce and send her away. And in doing so he was sending her out of the family, out of her system of support and survival, and forcing her to find another man. The Scripture scholar I quote says that is the height of male arrogance, and Jesus is saying this is not God's design.
Well, if you take these teachings ‑‑ taking up the cross, service, and receptivity to little children ‑‑ where does the rubber meet the road, and where are we most challenged to put theory into practice?
How about marriage? How about when you're tired and distracted and worried about many things, and needy children come to you? How about our use of money and the economic questions? Would you agree with me that that's where the rubber meets the road and that's where we are most challenged? And when people come with legal questions, Jesus doesn't want to go there. Instead he says, "What is God's design?"
Well, let's take that word, "God's design." The Scriptures have many descriptions of God's design for the relationship between men and women. By the way, in the first reading what is God's design? They are suitable partners; they are equal; they are one flesh. The Scriptures have many words about treating children ‑‑ and by the way, the words about treating children are not because they were sentimental about children. They were because children were expendable and they were the least in society.
The Scriptures have many words about human relationships, and they have many words about our use of wealth and possessions. The Scriptures are also a description of our failure to live God's design, and they're a description of God's faithfulness and God's mercy.
So, let me just ask you a question, and again, I'm not asking us to judge individuals, but to judge our culture and the institutions of our society. How many of you saw on the news last week that there are five counties in Indiana that are among those with the highest divorce rate in the country? How many of you saw that on the news? I forget what five they were. Wayne County where Richmond is, and Vigo County where Terre Haute is, were two of them. I forget the other three. I don't think Marion County was one of them.
Well, the news article speculated on why that was true. Do you know the reason it gave? Indiana has the easiest divorce laws in the country. It's easier to get divorced in Indiana than in other places.
Review all of the things about child abuse and child welfare that you read about in the paper, and look at the high unemployment rate, the millions of people without health care, and the increasing number of people who live in poverty. Let me ask you, about our failure to live according to God's design for life. Where does it come from? Is it because God's design is unrealistic and too idealistic, or is it because of our hardness of heart?
I'll just end with that question. What do you think?
posted by Fr. Larry Voelker at
5:30 PM
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