Friday February 28, 2025

Mark 10:1-12

Jesus came to the district of Judaea and the far side of the Jordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’

They asked the wrong question. The right question is … is it lawful for a wife to divorce her husband? I kid. But I heard that over 60% of divorces these days are initiated by women. Yes things have changed. What is the teaching here when we take the historical context.

When you come to Zambia or Zimbabwe you will notice that polygamy is not a dirty word. In fact it can be seen as a sign of wealth. People with great wealth have several spouses and a ton of children. Everything is property…..sadly sometimes.

Women at this time in history and in my own time growing up in the motherland were dispensable. What our Lord says is “do not treat others as property, they have intrinsic value. This goes for both men and women and yes children too.

This was so tough a teaching that the disciples asked for clarification later on. They rarely did that. So today we check ourselves and ask. Am I the kind of person who ‘uses’ others? If so, I need to change that. Everyone has value