As we come towards the end of his letter, James now has some more encouraging words for his readers (James 5:9-12). First, he tells them they should stop grumbling against each other and show more tolerance and patience. The community should not be divided. It is a sign of a lack of love among them. As we were warned yesterday, the time of reckoning may be closer than we think: “See, the Judge is standing at the doors!” The New Testament insistence on imminence arises from the teaching that the ‘last days’ began with the Incarnation and the appearance of Jesus among us. We have been living in the ‘last days’ ever since.
The next great event in redemptive history is Christ’s second coming. The New Testament does not say when it will take place, but its certainty is never questioned, and believers are consistently admonished to watch for it. It is in this sense that James speaks of Christ’s return as ‘imminent’. The exact time we do not know, and it will be different for each one of us. And that is precisely why we need always to be ready.
Instead of grumbling against the hardships that they must undergo, James suggests his readers take as models some of the prophets of the Old Testament, who often suffered many trials in their work for God. Or they might imitate the quiet perseverance of Job, who never once uttered a word of complaint as he saw his family and possessions disappear before his eyes.[1]
Lastly, as Jesus did in another context, James cautions them against indiscriminate swearing. First, because it shows disrespect to God. “By heaven or by earth” were his suggestion for substitutes for the original form of an oath, to circumvent its binding force and to avoid pronouncing the holy name of God. James’ words are very close to Christ’s in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37). James is not condemning the taking of solemn oaths, such as God’s before Abraham (Hebrews 6:13) or Jesus’ before Caiaphas (Matthew 26:63‑64) or Paul’s (Romans 1:9; 9:1) or a man’s before the Lord (Exodus 22:11). Rather, James is condemning the flippant use of God’s name to guarantee the truth of what is spoken: “… let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” Christians should be recognizable by their integrity and transparency. They are people of their word. It should not be necessary to convince others of the truth of what they are saying by resorting to swearing oaths. It is a quality every one of us should be known for in our relations with those around us.
In today’s Gospel (Mark 10:1-12) Jesus is approached by some Pharisees and they ask him if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. We are told they asked him this question to put him to the test. It is another example of their efforts to find Jesus on the wrong side of the Mosaic law. As frequently happens, Jesus answers with another question: “What did Moses command you?” They reply that Moses allowed a man to make out a writ of dismissal and so divorce his wife.
Jesus tells them that Moses allowed divorce to accommodate the moral weakness of the people (primarily the men!). He challenges this “allowance” with words from the creation story in Genesis (1:27; 2:24): “…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 become one flesh.” Jesus tells them that after marriage they cease being two separate people but one body. From that Jesus concludes: “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
When they were back in private, Jesus’ disciples expressed their misgivings about what they had just heard. Jesus then went even further: “a man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery and a woman who divorces her husband and marries another is also guilty of adultery.” He does not recognize divorce.
In a sound and enduring marriage, the words of Jesus are realized. We all know people who have been married for decades and are as deeply in love with each other, in fact more so, than on the day of their wedding. We all know bereaved spouses and see the terrible void that is left when a partner of many years dies. The surviving spouse feels as if a part of themselves had been torn from them. It can take years for life to come back to them.
Jesus is attacking a situation where men, when they got tired of their spouse and found someone more interesting, simply wrote a piece of paper and unilaterally dumped their wife, leaving her high and dry. Jesus rightly deplores such a situation. Jesus states something entirely new in his time, and often not yet accepted in our own: equal rights and equal responsibilities for both partners. Women are not commodities to be picked up and dropped off at will.
Most people enter marriage with goodwill and with the intention of having an enduring, lifelong relationship. Unfortunately, this may be a hope that sometimes is not realized. We also have in our society a pluralistic approach to the concept of marriage from merely seeing it as two people living together “as long as it feels good”. What a contrast to those who believe in marriage as a permanent relationship “in good times and bad”.
We need to remember that the Church accepts that marriages can break down and that for various reasons the couple may need to have their separation made legal by a divorce settlement in court. What the Church forbids is remarriage within the Church, absent a formal tribunal annulment declaration. Many Catholics do remarry in a civil ceremony, and we need to deal with such people with great sympathy and understanding if they express a sincere desire to remain active members of the Christian community. A truly pastoral Church will help people to live the Gospel in such a changing sociological situation.
[1] This is one of only two places in the New Testament where Job is mentioned. The other is 1 Corinthians 3:19.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!