Mark 10:2-16
“Childlike”
October 3, 2021
Let’s get this out of the way first.
These words of Jesus’ are hard on our 21st century ears and our 21st century lives.
Without context, so many of us who have been divorced or care about someone who is divorced – which I’m going to guess is almost every one of us – we can feel our defensive hackles being raised.
Is Jesus condoning human misery?
How about violence or deceit?
Is a loveless marriage God’s wish for us?
Before we write this passage off as cruel or out of touch or add it quickly to the list of all the other instructions in the Bible that we have let go of including all of those dietary and wardrobe restrictions, let’s think about the context here.
Also, remember that this question asked of Jesus was meant to test him. They are questioning Jesus as if he’s in a court of law hoping to catch him saying something that will allow them to charge him with treason and at first Jesus goes along, playing the game like any good lawyer by answering the question with a question.
And their answer is “yes,” going back to what Deuteronomy had to say about it that divorce is lawful.
Then Jesus turns the conversation not to what is the legal answer but rather what is the loving answer.
Back in Jesus’ time if a woman was given a “Certificate of Divorce” she would lose almost everything and often be flung into a life of poverty where she would be begging for food or even selling her body to survive.
Jesus here, like he does constantly, is advocating for the most vulnerable in society.
He wants marriage and all that it represents to be lifted up with respect.
He is lifting up an ideal to aspire to – a relationship where two people married to each other become “bone of each other’s bone, and flesh of each other’s flesh.”
He wants couples to strive to care for each other as if they were caring for themselves.
Those marriages which fall short of this ideal, where there is more hurt than help, may have to end.
Divorce is to be the last resort when all other efforts at the loving response haven’t worked.
Jesus wants everyone listening to know that God cares for the most vulnerable.
Those who the norms of society may devalue are being assured that they matter, that they are worthy of protection and respect.
Jesus’ response was one in which he was working, as always, at ushering in the Kingdom of God.
Thankfully, he voices the equality of men and women in marriage that is clearly missing from the law as cited in Deuteronomy.
He refers to the hardness of hearts in that time and cites this in the need for such strict rules.
What Jesus points to in his response is a new way, an ideal way.
His message is directed toward God and away from the earthly divisive activities that separate us humans from God and from each other, so he uses a technique which can be frustrating and hard to understand.
Jesus makes his point by pitting two pieces of Hebrew Scripture against each other.
He answers the question of the validity of the passage in Deuteronomy by citing words from the first couple of chapters of Genesis.
In the creation story, Jesus reminds us of the oneness of this union that has been joined by God.
Let’s not forget that Jesus is pointing toward equality of both partners when it comes to marriage, and this was certainly far from the norm of that time.
In this challenging passage, Jesus is offering a measure of protection by saying a wife cannot just be thrown away.
Jesus lifts up the value of women here as he does with children who are elevated to the status of role models, showing us how it should be done.
What Jesus must share is the good news that God has love not just for men but also for women and children. God champions the smallest, the weakest, and the least likely to be heard among us.
Who would that be in our current world?
Were we to truly acknowledge the equal worth of each other, our world would be a very different place – just the kind of place that Jesus came to proclaim was God’s intention for us.
And so, we are about to come to the table along with siblings from around the world, some in humble house churches and others in grand cathedrals.
This is a vision of a global table set for one and all where everyone, regardless of life circumstance, is welcome.
This could be the glimpse of the Kingdom of God that has the power to unite us.
As we prepare to come to the table, let us offer up this prayer from a colleague in New Hampshire:
Loving and gracious God…
The Pharisees and the teachers of religious law were always testing Jesus. We, too, tend to do the same. We tend to test the laws and the mandates to satisfy our own selfishness. Forgive us.
The Pharisees and the teachers of religious law were always looking for a loophole. A manner in which to trip Jesus up. We, too, tend to do the same. Forgive us.
The Pharisees and the teachers of religious law received what they wanted because of their hardened hearts and their self-centeredness. O merciful God, help us to focus on you and others and not ourselves.
The disciples scolded parents for bringing their children to Jesus and said they were bothering Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for turning the tables upside down once again by saying “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them.” Children need to feel secure and loved. That security and love come from their parents and family. That love and security and encouragement also come from those who teach the children. And most importantly, it was you, Jesus, when you took the children in your arms and placed your hands upon their heads and blessed them.
Jesus, in this challenging time of the pandemic, where the children are so vulnerable, continue to hold the children in your arms and keep your hands upon them so they remain safe and healthy. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…Our Redeemer, we pray. Amen.
(from Pastor Bob Stewart, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Manchester, NH; Granite District.)