The Holy Priest-Martyr Eutyches
Read
1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Matthew 19:3-12
The question posed by the Pharisees about divorce is not an innocent question. They were trying to test our Lord as to what of two prevailing rabbinical camps He would choose—divorce for any/every cause or divorce for unchastity. He chose neither. He reminds the Pharisees of the words they knew so well from Genesis — “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.” It is God’s will at the time before the Fall that a husband and wife be one flesh, one organism. God is the one who yoked them together. Anyone who tries to break this yoked-togetherness, this one flesh, this union, is working against God’s will. Even though divorce was allowed by Moses due to hardness of heart, the Lord restores the original intention of marriage. Those who do divorce and re-marry commit the sin of adultery.
So many marriages today have resulted in divorce or some sort of separation. There is so much brokenness, so much woundedness. Some feel that they are marginalized by the Church, some have left the Church. How do we treat with those who have suffered divorce? We welcome them, journey with them, helping them realise that they are still members of the Body of Christ, helping them in healing the woundedness, and most especially, reminding them, mostly by our presence, sometimes with our words, that the Lord is present. He has not abandoned us. It can be a long and arduous road to healing and it can’t be done alone.
For all those affected by divorce, let us pray to the Lord!