The Pharisees approach Jesus about divorce and admit, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss” his wife. But Jesus told them, It is “because of the hardness of your hearts” Moses permitted it. Later, “people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked the people” and dismissed the children. Jesus became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
We have all had experiences of being dismissed. Perhaps we were not listened to or our ideas were stolen. More seriously we may have been dismissed from our job. Many states have implemented the GOP’s manipulative ‘Right to Work’ policy, meaning the Right to Fire. We may have been evicted from our homes. The 2008 bank entitlement program looted millions of people’s homes. Persistently inflated interest rates are maintaining the eviction levels. The Gospel’s example of being let go, being put out, concerns husbands dismissing wives. Then and now, patriarchal society makes it difficult for a woman to live independently. During the time of Moses and Jesus it was unlikely a divorced women would remarry. As she was dependent upon her husband in the marriage, she was dependent upon her husband outside the marriage. Mosaic Law stipulated the husband’s obligation to care for the woman’s needs but that obligation was rarely fulfilled and rarely to the woman’s benefit. A result was women needing to beg, from ex-husbands and others. We may have been in such circumstances, begging a partner to not dismiss us, begging a business person to not take advantage of us, begging a boss to not down size our position. But the begging is rarely of benefit; the husband leaves, the business loots us, the boss fires us. Others may ask us if we saw the signs coming. The questioning can stem from a habit of protecting the abuser and blaming the victim of the abuse. It may be that there were indeed signs, but we are not abusers and do not have in our minds, in our hearts, the pain we can do to someone. We do not focus on the worst-case scenario. Thus, we decided to work for the marriage, trust in the business, believe the best about the boss. We are hurt when meanness or cruelty is done to us. We do not want to express them in return or in retaliation. We want to express greater care for ourselves and for others. We want to express wisdom. How do we live with the truth that life has its endings and to be wise about them? We need not live with the dismissals of our life being an almost terminal pain but rather as the changes of our life giving us a poignant vulnerability. We can live in any moment with humility and compassion. We are the sun, not dismissed by the moon but given a chance by the moon to rest and prepare for a new day to come. We are the summer, not dismissed by autumn but given a chance by autumn to rest and prepare for a new summer to come. We are given preparation for night. The twilight allows us time for change, transition. We are being given preparation for winter. The coming autumn is allowing us time for loss, for transformation – to greater strength, clarity, self-sufficiency. We did not know we could live without our partner, this house, that job. It turns out we have learned we can live so much deeper; with great resolve, great love, great courage. That poignant vulnerability with a determination to love and be loved has the Gospel follow up the story of vulnerable women being painfully dismissed with vulnerable children being painfully dismissed as well. In both cases Jesus is cautioning us from a “hardness of heart.” Let us not be dismissive. Let us be as children, open to giving and receiving love. Like the children, do we accept that always, no matter all the changes in our journey here on earth, we are held in great care?
“The leaves are falling, falling as from afar, as if from some far-off garden in the sky. They fall with gestures of denial. And in the nights the heavy earth falls out of all the stars in the loneliness. We all fall. This hand, here, falls. And look at the rest: it is in all! And yet, there is one who holds all this falling, endlessly softly.” (Autumn – Reiner Maria Rilke)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, may we go through changes gracefully.
Question: How do I weather the falls of life?
October 06, 2024 Gospel Mark 10:2-16 Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time