Pentecost+19/Proper 22B (Mark 10:2-16)
Intention matters. It is a mental factor that directs our mind to a specific goal and action. When some Pharisees in the gospel lesson today ask Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Their primary intention is to test him and see if he answers correctly according to their understanding of the law. Another intention is to justify a common practice of divorce in the name of the law. We might consider Jesus’ response to the question of the legitimacy of divorce in the Mosaic law as his position on divorce that no one should ever get divorced. But this interpretation is taken out of its context and lacks consideration of the Pharisees’ hidden intention. What we would like to pay attention to in the Pharisees’ question is “is it lawful?” As long as any action is considered lawful, I can do it. The intention behind this litmus test of whether some action is lawful or not is one’s deceiving volition. It’s like “I know it’s really not the right thing to do but I want it. Let me find ways to justify my desire to get what I want though it’s not benefiting anyone but me.” Jesus is able to see through this hidden intention in the Pharisees. The law works for those who have authority to interpret, not for those for whom the law is created to protect. Divorced women wouldn’t be treated well in Jesus’ time because there is no such thing as women’s rights. Jesus clarifies this question about divorce again with the disciples. He talks about both husband and wife who commit adultery but the key is again about intention. The fact that one would divorce one’s spouse to marry someone else shows there’s a specific goal in this action of divorce. Person A intends to terminate a marriage with Person B to marry Person C. Legally, not morally, this is allowed as both parties consent and settle their financial dues, etc. But morally and spiritually in the eyes of Jesus, this sickens our spiritual well-being since their intention is not right. I think it’s worth noting how the Pharisees do not ask “Is it lawful for a woman to divorce her husband?” I may be readding too much into it but I can at least speculate that it would’ve been men who would make such a request and societally people in Jesus’ time would just accept it as a common case that a husband can divorce his wife as long as a husband writes a certificate of dismissal. But we’re left with their intention never being examined. This mistreatment of women (children, and people with disabilities) would’ve been a norm that they are somehow less human than men. What about children who Jesus’ disciples push away? Let’s recall that the five thousand in Jesus’ miracle of feeding abundantly in the desert does not include women and children. Jesus may question what’s socially assumed to be acceptable with its intention of serving a certain group. In his social context where women and children are not fully human, he not only welcomes them but teaches his followers to be like them. For example, be childlike, not childish, to enter the kingdom of God. Be like those women who courageously follow to the cross, watch his death on the cross, and run to the empty tomb. Examining this socially but the wrongly accepted intention in our time begins with our own self-examination. How well am I aware of my self-serving intention? This discerning mind of intentions can remind us of Jesus’ teaching: “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matthew 6:3) When our intention of helping others is contemplatively examined and purified with the help of the Holy Spirit, there’s no intention left since our right hand, not just our left hand, would not even know what our right hand is doing. God’s intention that we would like to obtain has no self-serving agenda but brings us all together. I would like to leave us with the prophetic words of William McNamara, OCD, a Carmelite priest: “Only a deeply contemplative attitude can permit a person to take a strong stand against the powers of time and of the world around them.” Candidly meeting our secret intentions that are rooted in biases as well as questioning and deconstructing them can happen in our personal practice of contemplation in which the Holy Spirit lovingly guides us to inner freedom. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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