Pentecost 19B (Lectionary 27)
October 3, 2021
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
Mark 10.2-16
If you want to boil a live frog, do you know how to do it? You don’t just heat up water and toss the frog in because the frog would immediately jump out. Rather, you put the frog in room temperature water and slowly turn up the heat. By the time the frog realizes what’s happening, it’s too late and the frog is done for. I don’t know if this is really true, but it does express a truth about what can happen in a relationship. That’s why I use this analogy when I’m working with couples preparing for marriage. If you’re not careful, your hearts harden a little bit over a period of time until it’s too late.
We have another of those texts that include “things I wish Jesus never would have said.” For those who have gone through the pain of divorce or watched our loved ones go through it, and for those who were brave enough to try again, these words are salt in old, yet still fresh wounds. To be up front about this, I don’t think God intends for us to be in abusive or life-sucking relationships. It seems clear that sometimes divorce is the best of not very good options. And in my experience, couples can find grace in trying again.
So, what do we do with this text? First, we have to acknowledge that Jesus was dealing with a real problem in his time. There was a strong disagreement about divorce, who should get them, and how easily they could be gotten. There were two schools of thought within the Pharisees, the religious leaders who came to Jesus. One faction believed divorce should only be done in extreme cases and the other faction believed that men could divorce their wives for any reason, as little as burning the breakfast toast. Second, we have to realize that the Pharisees were more interested in trapping Jesus and making him choose between one side so the other side could attack him.
In response, Jesus makes two moves. First, he appeals to the lawgiver himself, Moses, and tells them that in expounding the Law Moses only granted divorce because of their ancestors’ hard hearts. Second, he takes them back before the Law was given to Moses, back to the very beginning of creation to illustrate God’s intention that humanity be in mutual, life-giving relationships. So, whereas the Pharisees are only interested in what they can legally get by with, Jesus is more interested in how we treat each other, particularly the vulnerable, such as women and children.
In other words, this text is about relationships and what kind of community we are going to be. Africans have the word ubuntu, which can be loosely translated, “I am because we are.” It’s all about community. The reality is that we are not a community of the strong or the perfect or “rugged individuals.” We are a community that welcomes the vulnerable, the broken, and those on the margins who seek a place of loving, healing relationships. As Martin Luther noted, the church is a hospital for the sick, not the well. And in being such a place, we bring that loving and healing into the world.
Marriage is one of the most important relationships we have; it is not to be treated lightly. And we must do all we can to support people in their marriages. But it’s not the only relationship we have and in order to preserve all of our relationships we must watch out for hard hearts. I tell couples they need to pay attention to their hearts, that the work of marriage is keeping hearts soft. That’s a good reminder in all our relationships and is the heart of the matter for today. God’s intention is that through God’s love in Jesus crucified and risen that we experience healing and share it, too. Know that you are beloved children, wrapped in the arms of Jesus, and blessed to be a blessing. Amen.
For the video version of today's sermon click here.
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