It is also said....

Matthew 5: 31-32

31 ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

There are at times conditions under which separation is the only viable alternative to lives of anger and resentment caused by gross unfaithfulness. Separation should not be entered into lightly. In Jesus day as in our day men abused their position of power over women. Male power over woman is an abuse that Jesus challenged throughout His life. During the time of Jesus there was a practice of ending a marriage that no longer suited men for some reason.  They undoubtedly used Deuteronomy 24: 1-4 as their ‘proof verses’.  Jesus pointed out that this was yet a further abuse; another act of unfaithfulness; using the bible as some sort of weapon to reinforce oppression in the cause of selfish ego. This is another type of unchastity. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, is announcing the inauguration of the practices of the Kingdom of God and elaborating the life transforming practice of Christ centred ethics. Jesus is not outlawing divorce; divorce remains less than ideal because forgiveness is the most powerful of all transforming acts; but divorce is inevitable because of the destructive behaviours and abuses that people bring to relationships. It is often taught that it is sexual immorality that is being identified here as the only justification for divorce. However, this is a very narrow reading of the text. In the Hebrew Scriptures unfaithfulness to God is described as a form of adultery; a form of displacing God from the centre of our relationships and a reason for separation and divorce. Also in the New Testament idolatry, being a slave to anything that controls us; sin can be described as unfaithfulness and can be cited as a reason for separation and division. So what is Jesus teaching here as the transformative act? Is Jesus saying you have ‘made your bed so lie in it?’  If unfaithfulness causes division then committing ourselves to faithful relationships must lead to unity. If self-centred egotistic behaviour divides then service for others unites. If manipulating verses in the bible is a constituent part of our unfaithfulness then telling the whole story of scripture, the story of the Creator Redeemer and how He personally paid the price of our idolatry, that is, meeting our own needs our own way must be the practice of forgiveness; even when division may be inevitable. Perhaps the division is not the sin after all. The women in this story are victims not perpetrators. Perhaps it’s the self-centred behaviours that are the sin that leads to divorce. We should all separate ourselves from them and never return to them. Perhaps this is the transformative act that we are being invited by Jesus to participate in; let’s put an end to meeting our own needs our own way and lets find ourselves in the story of faithfulness as taught and practiced by Jesus. Causing someone else to meet their needs in a way forbidden by God is very serious. The only solution to this practice is the cultivation of the protective and healing practices taught by Jesus. Faithfulness is the hallmark of discipleship; this is the ethical protective practice for all relationships and areas of our life. Divorce is inevitable in a relationship where the healing practice of forgiveness cannot be practiced effectively while remaining in a relationship. To forgive we may have to separate. Let us protect our relationships through faithfulness and heal our relationships through forgiveness. Let us support our brothers and sisters who cannot experience healing forgiveness while remaining in relationships. Let us live in unity and peace.