OCTOBER 8, 2006 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
GEN 2:18-24; PS 19:7-14; HB 1:1-4, 2:5-12; MK 10:2-16
Faith and Family
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we believe and in believing we obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
This week it was the topic of conversation with a member of Gloria Dei…and I watched a show about it on television…and I read an article about it in a newspaper…and I overheard a couple talking about it while I was sitting in a restaurant…and, to top it all off, it is the focus of Jesus’ words in our Gospel for today. The topic? Divorce…
I didn’t want to preach about it …in fact, I was avoiding this subject for a number of reasons. It incites powerful opinions, pangs of pain, grudges and guilt. It’s a wound that leaves everyone involved hurting. In addition to that, Jesus’ answer to the question about divorce seems so black and white. And, finally, this lesson that ends with Jesus’ embrace of children, has been used to point fingers at all who have divorce in their background.
Nevertheless, here I am, doing exactly what I wanted to avoid. So, I’m going to invite you to join me in my discomfort and help me with a little experiment. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to please raise your hand if your life has somehow been touched by divorce. It could be:
- you -spouse - parents - siblings - child - friend
Or it could be your spouse’s: parents, siblings, child, friend…Everyone who’s been that closely touched by divorce, please raise your hand…I’ll start.
Isn’t it amazing? A divorce rate at 50%, and yet I’m fairly certain that very few couples enter marriage with the idea that divorce will define the demise of their love. In fact, the one thing required by the Church in the exchange of vows is the phrase: until we are parted by death. In other words, the only acceptable reason for a marriage to end is a person’s final breath of life. As if we needed further proof of God’s feelings on the issue, Jesus confirms it with his declaration: What God has joined together, let no one separate.
So, there, I’ve done my duty. I’ve told you what God expects and that’s all I need to say about divorce, right?...Wrong. There’s much more to say because there are so many hearts that are hurting and looking for something a little more helpful than, You blew it!...or They broke God’s law!
Let’s start with our Gospel lesson for today. Why is Jesus even talking about divorce? His enemies are trying to trap him. If he answers their question yes OR no, they’ve got him. Instead, he asks them what the Bible says. So let’s take a look at their conversation in those first three verses.
The Pharisees ask, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?
Jesus responds, What did Moses command you?
And they reply, Moses allowed…
It’s a fascinating exchange. The Pharisees are looking for ways to make the Law work in their lives. Their goal is to live according to God’s Law…so much so, that they also look to that very same law for ways to get around it.
What did Moses command you? That is first and foremost for the Lord. Yet Jesus’ question is also a test all his own. Because the Bible does not command us to divorce. God’s commands are all about protecting life and preserving good relationships. Let’s look at the “Top Ten” Commandments:
1-no other gods; 2-not take God’s name in vain; 3-rem. the Sabbath Day
4-honor father/mother; 5-not kill; 6-not commit adultery; 7-not steal;
8-not lie; 9 and 10-not covet.
Contrary to the way our society treats them, these are not 10 Pretty Good Ideas or Significant Suggestions. They are, by definition, absolutes. Which leaves us standing with the Pharisees wondering how in the world we’re supposed to make them all work. How are we to live with God’s absolutes in a world that is wholly relative?
Well, the truth is that our knowledge, imperfect as it may be, is not the problem. We know what God commands. We know how we’re supposed to live our lives. We know the vision that God intends for the kingdom here on earth. Knowing is not the problem. We’ve even written that precept into our collective understanding. It states: Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Our problem has to do with our hardened hearts. We know the law. The trouble is that we don’t love God enough to live by it.
Jesus asks What is commanded? He posed the same question to the young lawyer who asked him, How can I be assured of eternal life? In response, Jesus asks, What does Scripture say? And the young man answers, You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus compliments him and says that the entire law is summed up in these two commands: love God; love your neighbor. What he means is that life is all about faith and family: trusting in God’s love and helping others to feel like they belong.
Does this resolve our struggle with divorce? In a way, it doesn’t. Nothing can. Divorce tears apart the fabric of what it means to be family, even when it’s done the right way and for all the right reasons. But it’s interesting to note what Jesus does immediately after answering the Pharisees’ question about this serious problem. Look at verse 11. In short, Jesus tells them that those who divorce are guilty of breaking the 6th commandment.
But then what does he do? He takes a child in his arms and says, Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it (v. 15).
Divorce, Jesus seems to say, is not an issue of broken faith but of broken laws. The consequences, though painful, can be dealt with through forgiveness and counseling, conversation and prayer. It’s similar to what happens when we disobey rules at school or get a speeding ticket. We are confronted, called to confess, punished if it’s needed, then forgiven – all with love, all with the goal of preserving family.
Something different is at stake, though, when Jesus embraces those children and uses them as an object lesson for his sermon. If divorce is about family, receiving the kingdom of God as a little child is all about faith. And without it, without this gift called the Kingdom of God, our walk through life would never take us out of the valley of the shadow of death.
The consequences of divorce, disobedience and disregard for God’s law are serious and should be treated as such. Yet from such little painful deaths, we can be raised up to a new experience of life and family and love.
God wants us to be renewed on a daily basis…for a very good reason. The Lord needs forgiven and forgiving people to do the faith work of the kingdom. Guided by the Spirit, we are called to go into the world, find people who are hurting, divorced, married or single, and make sure that everyone knows what a blessing it is to receive the kingdom – not as a perfect person, but as a little child loved by God. Amen.