Mark 10: Was Jesus really being Judgemental and Lacking in Compassion.
The Evangelist Mark tells us that when Jesus came into Judaea he was met by certain Pharisees who asked him "is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" It would seem on the surface to be a reasonable question so why does Mark add 'They were putting him to the test'. It is amazing how often we read the Bible and little phrases like that are never noticed. It means of course they were trying to show Jesus in a bad light, they were trying to turn the crowd against him.
Let us examine the background. Divorce was introduced into Jewish Law by Moses. The pharisees wanted Jesus to contradict the law and if he did so then they could say "See, this man is judgemental and lacking compassion, why do you listen to him" It was clever. But what a shock they got when Jesus replied, for not only was he bitterly opposed to divorce but he took their arguments of judgementalism and the lack of compassion and swept them aside. "Moses allowed Divorce because of the hardness of your hearts" It was not only the pharisees who were shocked at his severity it was also the disciples. Seeing Jesus was so strict on the matter they said "If that is how things are it is better perhaps not to marry"
There are three approaches to this passage in scripture. You just ignore it and hope that eventually the Church will stop reading it on a Sunday, we can make a mental blockage and convince ourselves the the passage is not relevant in the world of today, or we can question why Jesus was so strict
The first two approaches are popular in the Modern Church. Because Jesus loves us he does not really care what we do and really we should not build our Faith on rules. It is the third that is the difficult one. Why was he so strict?
One day some time ago I was praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament when a girl of about 16 years whom I knew slightly came into the Church. She was distressed and told me that she had just found out who her father was and had phoned him. His reply was to curse and swear at her and tell her to leave him alone, he wanted nothing to do with her. I soon became aware that there were hundreds of children just like her - children who grew up without a father. And there is hardly a family left who in some form or another, either in the immediate family, or the extended family is not experiencing abandoned children. Even the secular state admits that divorce causes under achievement in many children, but today we face a problem that is even worse, young people who lead unchaste lives, do not have the love of a father and mother to be their rock in a relationship, and feel lonely, hurt , and worthless. They then have children and they grow up feeling the same way, and experiencing the same suffering, for suffering it surely is.
There is no differnee whether the child went to a Catholic school or Non-Catholic School. The same statistics apply to catholics as to secular schools. But there is one difference. In Catholic Schools they well be told that God loves them over and over again, then they will look at their lives and say 'No, he does not" I know a 12 year old who claimed she did not believe in God because if there was a God her family life would not be in such a mess.
Before we move back to Jesus let me say that in a marriage women are not told by the Catholic Church that they must stay in a marriage at all costs Nobody is compelled to stay with an abusive and cruel partner, but when such a marriage breaks up the Catholic Church has a responsibility to look after the mother and the family in order to minimise the hurt, and by caring at least offering hope to the young people. But does the Catholic Church in England and Wales care? Or is the Church about me and my rights to receive Holy Communion, to start a new marriage, to judge that others who will not give me what I want are judgemental and lacking in compassion.
Let me just quote Mark 11 and the event which immediately followed the discourse with the Pharisees.
People were bringing little children to him for him to teach them. But the disciples scolded them. But when jesus saw this he was indignant and told them "Let the little children come to me and do not stop them for it is to such as these the Kingdom of God belongs. In truth I tell you anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Then he embraced them, laid his hands on them, and gave them his blessing.
We can see now why Jesus was so strict on Divorce. He does not want the little children to suffer, for he loves them so much. May their parents who contemplate divorcing learn to love their children as much as Jesus.
Let us examine the background. Divorce was introduced into Jewish Law by Moses. The pharisees wanted Jesus to contradict the law and if he did so then they could say "See, this man is judgemental and lacking compassion, why do you listen to him" It was clever. But what a shock they got when Jesus replied, for not only was he bitterly opposed to divorce but he took their arguments of judgementalism and the lack of compassion and swept them aside. "Moses allowed Divorce because of the hardness of your hearts" It was not only the pharisees who were shocked at his severity it was also the disciples. Seeing Jesus was so strict on the matter they said "If that is how things are it is better perhaps not to marry"
There are three approaches to this passage in scripture. You just ignore it and hope that eventually the Church will stop reading it on a Sunday, we can make a mental blockage and convince ourselves the the passage is not relevant in the world of today, or we can question why Jesus was so strict
The first two approaches are popular in the Modern Church. Because Jesus loves us he does not really care what we do and really we should not build our Faith on rules. It is the third that is the difficult one. Why was he so strict?
One day some time ago I was praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament when a girl of about 16 years whom I knew slightly came into the Church. She was distressed and told me that she had just found out who her father was and had phoned him. His reply was to curse and swear at her and tell her to leave him alone, he wanted nothing to do with her. I soon became aware that there were hundreds of children just like her - children who grew up without a father. And there is hardly a family left who in some form or another, either in the immediate family, or the extended family is not experiencing abandoned children. Even the secular state admits that divorce causes under achievement in many children, but today we face a problem that is even worse, young people who lead unchaste lives, do not have the love of a father and mother to be their rock in a relationship, and feel lonely, hurt , and worthless. They then have children and they grow up feeling the same way, and experiencing the same suffering, for suffering it surely is.
There is no differnee whether the child went to a Catholic school or Non-Catholic School. The same statistics apply to catholics as to secular schools. But there is one difference. In Catholic Schools they well be told that God loves them over and over again, then they will look at their lives and say 'No, he does not" I know a 12 year old who claimed she did not believe in God because if there was a God her family life would not be in such a mess.
Before we move back to Jesus let me say that in a marriage women are not told by the Catholic Church that they must stay in a marriage at all costs Nobody is compelled to stay with an abusive and cruel partner, but when such a marriage breaks up the Catholic Church has a responsibility to look after the mother and the family in order to minimise the hurt, and by caring at least offering hope to the young people. But does the Catholic Church in England and Wales care? Or is the Church about me and my rights to receive Holy Communion, to start a new marriage, to judge that others who will not give me what I want are judgemental and lacking in compassion.
Let me just quote Mark 11 and the event which immediately followed the discourse with the Pharisees.
People were bringing little children to him for him to teach them. But the disciples scolded them. But when jesus saw this he was indignant and told them "Let the little children come to me and do not stop them for it is to such as these the Kingdom of God belongs. In truth I tell you anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Then he embraced them, laid his hands on them, and gave them his blessing.
We can see now why Jesus was so strict on Divorce. He does not want the little children to suffer, for he loves them so much. May their parents who contemplate divorcing learn to love their children as much as Jesus.
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