URC Daily Devotion Thursday, 30 October 2025

St Matthew 5: 31 – 32

Jesus said: ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.”  But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Reflection
 
These verses, perhaps unsurprisingly, were among the last to be picked by a writer for these devotions. They are challenging, especially if like me, you have been divorced. I am (happily) remarried now, which compounds the challenge these verses present. 

I can counter the force of these verses as they land today. Jesus was speaking into a culture where a divorced woman could be left unsupported and in poverty, especially if (in contrast with a widow) she was not allowed the honourable possibility of being remarried. The force of Jesus’ teaching is to protest against the way that people could, rather casually, cast off an unwanted spouse and leave them destitute. We could argue that, our culture and society having changed, divorced people can make a new life and often do. Post divorce, single parents and their children are not left to suffer either extreme poverty or societal rejection. Most of us believe that it is better to leave a painful relationship than to put up with it. We might even rejoice in the high expectations of marriage (or generally of relationships) today that mean we don’t expect people to stay together in misery. 

But, there is something about the challenge of these verses that I can’t quite escape. There are things about being divorced I still regret; the effect on my daughter, my own failure to live up to what I had promised, my own failure… I cannot simply justify it. There will always be something left of guilt and regret, for which I need forgiveness. 
What do we do with the parts of our life story that remain as marks upon us? They leave scar tissue and we need to be honest about that, as about the scars we leave on others. But Jesus who probably did say words like these, also taught us to forgive others, and, I trust, forgives us. 
 
Prayer
 
Lord Jesus, 
who spoke bravely 
in defence of those cast aside, 
may we open up to you,
about our deepest regrets,
and most pervasive guilts,
so that scars may heal 
and new life grow.
Please welcome us 
into your new community,
where no-one is rejected,
when all may find love,
and each of us, 
forgiveness.