Pilgr-image 18 - Sexual Purity
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery...Matthew 5:27
J. Heinrich Arnold
Francis Chan
Johann Cristoph Arnold
David Fleer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
These are the five authors that our guidebook for this series quotes in this chapter and the following where both deal with these words of Jesus from Matthew 5:27-32:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. “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.
So in two chapters that deal with sex and marriage and specifically refer to both women and men, the reflections all come from a male perspective. This is something I probably would not have recognized years as I simply would not have seen it. But something like this is that which is hard for me to not see. There are many reasons for this but some of it comes out of my relationship with my wife, , some from my daughter, some from other women, and some from an intentionality that I have had of reading books written by women. As a result, there are things that I am growing to not be able to not-see. For example, in movie Barbie, when one of the characters is dropped off at high school, the school sign is prominent behind her - Davy Crockett High School, Home of the Frontiersmen (similar to the team name for my kids’ high school). I have no doubt that was an intentional addition from Greta Gerwig (writer and director) as a message about the subtle (and not-so-subtle) patriarchy under in which the women of the story live in. But is it something I would have noticed years ago? Probably not. However, I cannot unsee that kind of thing anymore just as I can’t not-notice the fact that two chapters that deal with sex, relationships, and marriage are all written by men. I also cannot unsee the fact that this passage has been used quite often not as something for men to focus on in how they treat and view women, but instead to guilt and shame women about the ways that they “cause” men to lust after them.
So, as I read this section of the Sermon on the Mount, what is speaking to me is a reminder that Jesus honored the voices that were not at the center of his time. He honored the outcasts. He honored the fringes. He honored the women of his time. His words here speak to me about moving beyond seeing women as property and objects but instead as people created in the image of God just as anyone else is. This leads directly into his words about divorce which follow. I am deeply grateful for the wise words of Dr. Carla Works from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC who writes the following from her larger reflection upon this section of the Sermon on the Mount.
Far from merely seeing women as property to be coveted by men, however, Jesus’ teaching on adultery and divorce reinforces the dignity of women and warns against a culture of male privilege. In the first century, most women are dependent upon fathers or husbands for their daily livelihood. To be used and discarded for another’s sexual desires had repercussions.
A woman who had been seduced brought great shame upon her family. A woman who had been raped was considered damaged goods. For young women, the ability to marry well would be jeopardized. For those who were married, there would be the threat of divorce. Wives could be cast aside for ridiculous reasons, including burning bread. In contrast to a world where women were treated like property, Jesus’ mission allowed women to be disciples.
