We read today the section of Mark's Gospel in which Jesus lays down new rules regarding divorce and remarriage. Since the time of Moses, at least, Jewish law allowed divorce (at least if the husband requested it-- the wife did not have the right to do so). Moses set up a rule which was designed to be of assistance to the to-be-divorced wife, so that she wouldn't be left in an impossible situation. Hence the reference to "hardness of hearts"-- Jesus is referring to men who would leave their wives without thinking a bit of their welfare.
But divorce was certainly allowed.
As He so often does, Jesus changes the game, moves the expectations to a higher level, requires more of His followers than Jewish law required. Jesus calls divorce and remarriage "adultery"-- plain and simple.
What Jesus articulates is a categorical rule of general application, but the world is full of individual, unique situations as to which the rule may be more or less appropriate. What if the relationship involved abandonment, or abuse, or abuse of children? How are we to deal with situation where one spouse would be in physical danger if he or she stayed in the relataionship? Does that mean that the spouse who leaves, given no choice under the circumstances, can never experience the joys of married life?
Does one size really fit all?
The Church has struggled with this question for nearly 2,000 years. One answer, of course, is to say that the marriage never really existed in a sacramental sense-- a decree of nullity, or an annulment-- so both parties are free to marry again. While that is fine as far as it goes, the focus of the annulment process is the state of mind and maturity of the couple at the time of the marriage. Annulment makes no provision for what happens thereafter, so the kinds of situations I mentioned above (danger to spouse or children, for example) aren't really considered.
So what to do?
One approach is to say that a rule is a rule and too bad, you got married and it was a valid marriage and there is nothing to be done if you have to leave the relationship because your spouse beats you, or if your spouse simply takes off with someone else. There are certainly some in the Church who say that.
Pope Francis isn't one of them. If you read his Apostolic Exhortation "The Joy of Love", especially in Chapter 8, you see that the Pope advocates an individualistic approach. He says that there are no sins that cannot be forgiven, that "No one is condemned forever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel" (Number 297). He urges an approach to those who divorce and remarry that involves accompanyment and discernment of individual situations. He says that each case is different and the Church must respect those differences and determine what makes sense in terms of a return to the community in light of those differences.
Is that different from what Jesus is saying in today's Gospel reading?
I don't think so. Jesus never says that the sin of remarrying is something that cannot be forgiven. The only "unforgiveable" sin that Jesus names is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And yes, in Jesus' view, divorce and remarriage is adultery, but we all sin, in so many ways, and the nature, degree and seriousness of this particular sin must depend on the circumstances in question, as is the case in all sin. Why would this situation be any different?
And maybe, depending on the circumstances, there is no sin involved at all.
It is tempting to live in absolutes. It makes life easy, especially if you aren't someone impacted negatively by the absolute rule.
But that tends not to be the way of Jesus. After all, the woman caught in the very act of adultery should have been stoned to death-- no question, absolute rule, uncontrovertable evidence.
And yet, that doesn't happen. Jesus sends her away with the admonition not to commit the same sin again.
Isn't that how we should treat people who divorce andremarry? At least that seems to be what Pope Francis is saying.