SCRIPTURE: Mark 10:2-16
TEXT: 2Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ THEME: The Law provides civility but does not fully contain the will of God. INTRODUCTION In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus twists our world around and challenges our living with a relationship with God. So far, we have seen how the status quo of tradition, the Israelites, popular opinion, fame, and exclusivity have been challenged. Jesus has gone beyond convention, racism, humanity, notoriety and the selective few, for something new, something more, something divine and something glorious in our living with God. SCRIPTURE We don’t see Jesus standing next to a Pharisee and saying, 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a Pharisee will never enter it.’ They are struggling with who Jesus is, what Jesus teaches, what Jesus does and the kind of relationship Jesus has with God. Jesus finds the Pharisees testing him, even when their question require compassion, instead of an interpretation of the Law. This time, they want to trap him with a question on divorce. In the failure of a marriage covenant, is it lawful to divorce? Jesus doesn’t answer the question per se, but that the law is not the most loving approach to those who find themselves in broken relationships. The failure of a marriage covenant is a human tragedy that is not soothed by an application of the law. To make matters worse, women who are divorced are severely hurt, financially, economically, destitute, homeless, status less, and ruined. Divorce is devastatingly, and destructive. There are feelings of hatred, hurt, sadness, shame, fear, anger, betrayal, grief, brokenness, embarrassment, failure, and dread. Knowing that it could cause the death of the woman, is divorce lawful? Yes, because of the hardness of our hearts, it is better for a couple to separate than for them to be together, because of the selfishness they act upon, because the disregard they have for each other causes tremendous suffering. We need guidelines for the destruction of what God had sealed. And what about the children? Somehow, contained in the midst of this discussion of divorce, children are being brought to Jesus. The disciples begin to act like body guards. It’s not in Mark’s gospel, but it is in Matthew’s where Joseph was considering divorcing Mary quietly. What about Mary? What about the unborn child? How can a divorce of any sort be done quietly? Can you imagine the state Mary and Jesus would have been in, if Joseph had not reconsidered his initial plan? With no protector, no provider, no legitimacy in this society, they would have been easy targets for those with no scruples. This is what Jesus says about the children. “It is too such as these that the kingdom of God belongs”. Small, vulnerable, dependent, not finished individuals, still in process. They need shelter, to be fed, provision, families to belong to, to be consoled, cared for, helped, educated, nurture, and guided. “Let the little children come to me; receive the Kingdom of God as a little child.” Not for ourselves but for the benefit of others. This sets us up next week’s passage when the rich young man comes to Jesus to ask what he can do, for himself, to inherit Eternal Life. He does not ask what he can do, to help others inherit eternal life. We welcome theses not as a benefit to ourselves but for their benefit. We are broken, incomplete, still developing and received in God’s Kingdom. This is where our relationship with God moves into the area of mission as we welcome with belonging. Human tragedy is not greeted with the law, but with compassion, empathy, caring and love. This is where the law moves into the areas of ministry. APPLICATION Responding to our human tragedy of brokenness, sadness, failure, grief, and betrayal, is what God does, in coming to us in Jesus. How can we welcome those who are broken with a sense of belonging? How do we treat those from failed relationships like how Jesus welcomes children? This passage is not about whether divorce is okay or not. It is about broken people belonging to the Kingdom of God. It’s about incomplete people being welcomed into the Kingdom of God, with the potential of finding their place in Jesus’ arms. It’s about our being 'cast members’ at Disneyland where our role is not to be a body guard to Disney Characters, but to ensure the experiences in this place as magical. We are to be like flight attendants in life, where we are there for your safety, so we all can get from here to there in one piece. Recently we have heard stories where Flight Attendants have had to defuse situations, take a hit, put up with rudeness and subdue the unruly with duct tape to ensure safety for others. We have a picture of the Kingdom of God as being perfect, orderly, with everyone following the rules, but if there are children and us, then we know it is a work in progress. It is a place of growing. We are becoming better versions of our selves. It is a place of discovery where there is patience, understanding, grace, forgiveness, healing, and love. We are not perfect and often time we find ourselves broken, hurt and injured but in the company of God, the Holy Spirit and others who care, we heal, find our footing and are able to minister to others who can use our help. The Kingdom of God is becoming to sound more like a loving community than a totalitarian state. The Kingdom of God is sounding organic, maybe more like a preschool where we are learning, growing and living in a loving caring community with each other. CONCLUSION The Kingdom of God is more than law keeping. It is relational. So, when our relationships break, we mourn. We apologize, we forgive, and we redefine our roles with grace, love, kindness and respect. We do not return to the same routine, but learn from our brokenness and live a little bit more inspired. If we make the appropriate adjustments, we can avoid finding ourselves in the same cycle and move on to a different future. Jesus offers us more than a life defined by what is permissible in our brokenness, to how we can live through our wounds with God and in community. I’m beginning to develop a different view of the Kingdom of God.
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