Women

AM Psalm 97, 99, [100] • PM Psalm 94, [95]
2 Samuel 14:1-20 • Acts 21:1-14 • Mark 10:1-16

As we know, the Torah, and more broadly, the Old Testament, don’t treat women very well when it comes to the matter of divorce. Usually only the husband can initiate it, and according to Mosaic law, it was essentially a “certificate of dismissal.” A certificate of dismissal, how degrading! Divorce is also referred to as “put[ting] her away,” which is even more degrading parlance. Of course, adultery is most often mentioned as the grounds for divorce. If a man marries a woman and discovers she is not a virgin, then she can be put to death by stoning. I must tread carefully here, for I am certainly not a Biblical scholar, and Jewish law is complicated, and to be fair, does not let the male adulterer go unpunished.

Suffice it to say, however, the women of the Old Testament were second class citizens in matters of divorce (and in all matters, generally!) Then comes Jesus in our reading today from Mark. The commentary in The New Oxford Annotated Bible, third edition, says of Mark, “By contrast with the misunderstanding and faithless disciples, women, who play an increasingly prominent role in Mark’s story, serve as models of faithfulness.” It is no surprise that for Jesus, women were a vital part of his ministry.

The Pharisees ask him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus acknowledges the Mosaic law’s approval of divorce, but he doesn’t much like it: “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.”

I think that many of us overlook an important point when Jesus elaborates on the exception he grants Moses. We tend to focus primarily on Jesus’ condemnation of divorce, and that is not the topic of this reflection. He says, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be become one flesh.’ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Parse this passage carefully. I submit to you that these words do not distinguish between man and woman. They are co-equal in marriage and, as Jesus’ ministry attests, coequal in life. To “put her away,” to “dismiss her” is anathema. For me, this is scriptural basis for gender equality (if you need it). The New Covenant assuages the hardness of heart acknowledged by Moses, and affirms our God-given equality. Many of our fundamentalist brethren miss this ancient pronouncement, even today.

Written by Grimsley Graham

...who is grateful to be a member of a denomination that does not discriminate between the traditional labels of “him” and “her” or discriminate toward those that transcend the cisgender label.