October 6, 2024 – Pentecost +20B

“Some, testing him, asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” People were bringing children to him in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.” Mark 10:2-16

“Now I know that Jesus’ strict words here are painful to persons who have been through divorce, and are difficult for many to hear. I have two siblings who are divorced and two who married divorced persons, so I am not insensitive to this. It is important to note that Jesus was very forgiving of divorced persons. I think particularly of the woman at the well, who had had many husbands and was living outside of marriage with another man. Jesus was not condemnatory toward her, but rather was pastoral and kind. It is not Jesus’ intent to condemn those who have suffered through a difficult marriage and decided to end it before causing more pain to themselves or others. His intent is to recall people to the purpose of committed relationships, which is the completion of our created humanity in companionship and partnership.”  (lectionarylab.com, September 28, 2015, Rev. Dr. Delmer L. Chilton)

We are all sinful and broken people trying to live in relationships – and when those relationships fail, it is a human tragedy. The broken marriage affects more than the couple that separate:

It affects the children, if there are any

It affects the extended families

It affects the church family, if they are connected to a church.

And how the church responds to this brokenness is often revealing – what it reveals is how “weak and helpless” we feel when we witness such brokenness. Divorce is painful – divorce is embarrassing – divorce is demoralizing – divorce not only divides a couple – it divides families, and even the church family.

The lesson we hear from Jesus is clear and distinct – the kingdom of G-d is a place of wholeness and welcoming, while our world often pushes us down when we are broken, and dismisses us. When the world pushes us down, Jesus lifts us up – like the “children of G-d” which we are.

Pastor Dave