Rachel Landers Vaagenes The Uncompromising Grace of Jesus Christ The Georgetown Presbyterian Church Gen 2:4b-9, 15-25 October 4, 2015 Mark 10:2-16 Sacrament of The Lord s Supper A reading from Genesis, chapter 2. Listen for God s word. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,* and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die. Then the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner. So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken. Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. Mark 10:2-16 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they 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 little 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 little 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 1
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. Dear God, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. A few years ago Adrian and I went to a wedding of some friends, as you do at this time of life, and the preacher read from 1 Corinthians 13, love is patient, love is kind... you know the rest. If you ve been to a wedding ever then you have heard these lines. But then he proceeded to tell the bride and groom that this love, this perfect love, is what we should expect from God; and that they should try to live up to this, but if it doesn t work, well, that s okay, and as long as they tried their best. Needless to say, it wasn t terribly inspiring. The couple is still married, but, if you know the statistics, marriage is a risky business. Today s Gospel text jumps out at us across two thousand years. Jesus is teaching in Judea, and is approached by some Pharisees and asked about the lawfulness of divorce. There are several times when Jesus is tested by Pharisees or others. In these challenges, Jesus is presented with a controversial question, and whichever way he answers, he will inevitably offend someone. Some of these tests sound silly from our standpoint. In one test, Jesus is asked, If a woman is widowed, and marries her husband s brother, who also dies, and this happens seven times, whose wife will she be in heaven? And while that makes for a really great thought experiment about the most awkward cloud that side of the pearly gates, other tests hit close to home. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? they ask him. Or, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? These are thorny questions that move away from the stone-chiseled commandments into the muddy waters of real life. There are many here whose lives have been touched by divorce. Maybe you yourself are divorced, maybe remarried. Or perhaps you have parents or a child or a sibling who has gone through a divorce. Maybe you are in the midst of one right now. And if so, then you know that the question, Is it lawful? does not quite capture the whole story. A divorce is a legal undoing; an uncoupling; an ending. But it is never really over. These relationships damaged, healing, strained, or relieved are always there. Sometimes they may be easy to ignore or deal with, but, especially with children, the relationship will continue. Attending the wedding of a child now grown, finding a long-forgotten photograph of another time, divorce is more of a change of relationship than an ending of one. Many Christians read this passage today and are disturbed by the harsh tone of Jesus s words. Equating divorce and adultery, he seems to be adding injury to injury. So these words from two thousand years ago are heard loud and clear in the church today. When the question is asked, we all lean in a little closer to hear what Jesus has to say. Jesus asks the Pharisees where they get their question, and they appeal to the law given to Moses. But to answer the Pharisees, Jesus reaches even farther back, to the origins of humanity itself. 2
Jesus quotes from the two accounts of creation in Genesis. Male and female, he created them, in a reference to God making humankind in God s image. Then he quotes the end of the second, What God has joined together, let no one separate. In the second account, Adam did not find a helper among all of the animals. It was only when God created Eve that Adam was no longer alone in the garden. This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh! he cries. Here, described in the origins of our common humanity, is recognition of the bond of mutuality that exists among us. The first two human beings were not other, but the same. The Pharisees ask about what we can get away with, and Jesus answers them with what we have already been given. Humanity, at its very core, is mutuality. In Genesis 1, God says, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness. Perhaps this is how we can come to understand how we are made in the image of God. God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, revealed to us not as monolithic other, but as a living divine mystery of love. Humanity is not primarily defined and delimited by our genetic makeup, or set apart by its consciousness or ability to reason. Humans purpose is to be for one another. That is the image of God, God is for God-self, in the Trinity, and for us, in the giving of Himself to us, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The very heart of our being is to live in light of the fact that we are made for one another. Whatever our positions on marriage or divorce, I hope we can agree that humanity was created to be connected. We are all in this together. When our relationships are strong and based in love, then our lives serve as parables for the love that God shows to us. Loving, self-sacrificing, creative, and productive. Good marriages do this and stand as particular examples, as so do many other types of relationships. At our best, we can be reflections of the abundant love that God has for the world. We you and I are made for this. Think about that. Our lives, our whole selves our work, our rest, our worship are made to reflect this wonderful God. This is our purpose. And this is why the question, Is it lawful? stops Jesus in his tracks. Such an absurd question in the face of our ultimate purpose. Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? they ask. It is important to note here that this is not a question asked by someone struggling to be faithful in a difficult relationship. This is a question about what we can get away with and still be in the right. It was and is a controversial question because it was and is a live one. In and out of the church, divorce happens. Can we break this relationship and still be justified before God? Yes, but not on our own. All things are possible with God, as Jesus says just a few verses later. But breaking a relationship goes against our created purpose. When we ask what we can get away with, we are treading on dangerous ground. I believe that this is what Jesus is trying to get across over and over again. In the Gospel of Mark between 9:1 and 10:32, we get account after account of misunderstandings by outsiders and insiders, disciples and Pharisees... everyone who comes into contact with Jesus s message. In one and a half chapters, Mark crams in a hard lesson after hard lesson, all of which has the disciples asking, Then who can be saved? 3
It begins with the transfiguration, where a voice from heaven proclaims, This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him! But though many listen, few understand. We hear of failed healing attempts by the disciples, people quibbling over who is the greatest, finagling over what we can get away with. Asking what we need to do to inherit eternal life. The disciples stop children and blind men from coming to Jesus. Each time, frustrating Jesus, whose harsh words only seem to perpetuate confusion. Our passage today is from the middle of this whole section. Finally, the section ends with another healing, just before Jesus enters Jerusalem, to face his death. This time he heals a blind man. The crowd tries to quiet him, but he will not be silenced. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Go; Jesus says, Your faith has made you well. These episodes contrast Jesus s harsh judgment with Jesus s unqualified mercy. Jesus himself is the ultimate expression of God s being and relationship to us. In his very being he is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. God, in God s infinite wisdom and mercy deigned to walk among us as one of us. And not as a holy field trip, but as the embodiment of what it means to be a human being. Living for one another. Dying for one another. Considering others needs and lives before our own. Of course, the Pharisees and the disciples did not yet know what was to come, despite Jesus foretelling his death twice in this extended section. But in light of his death and resurrection, the question of what is permissible is put in its place. We should not be asking what we can get away with. Today we will share in the holy meal of Communion. This is a sacrament: a visible sign of invisible grace. Grace that was enabled by the death of God himself. One of the comments I enjoy making to new members or non-presbyterians is that this meal before us is not on an altar, but on a plain-old table (or as plain as an 8-legged gold-dipped table can be). An altar, you see, is where sacrifices are made. But the death of Christ was the last and only sacrifice that was sufficient for the redemption of humanity. On the cross all of our attempts at self-justification are judged lacking. In his words as in his life and his death, Jesus is constantly trying to relieve us of the notion that we can save ourselves. That we can somehow justify ourselves before God and others. Who is the greatest? Is it lawful? What must I do? Give us a place of glory. To these such human sentiments Jesus gives answers that defy category. He confounds the rich, the powerful, and the insider. Then he places children among the disciples, again and again. 4
Our world is a world which often asks, Will it advance my career? Will anyone find out? Why should I care? These are questions that I m sure we have all asked in our lives: What can I get away with? What s in it for me? How can I save myself? Jesus tells us that these questions lead us away from who we are. God has created us for one another, and what God has joined together, let no one separate. For Jesus, the question of divorce and marriage is too narrow a view. We must take into account our very purpose for being. We must remember that we are not our own. That we are responsible to others and to God. Jesus does not compromise on this. To do anything less is to attempt to justify yourself before a righteous judge, and I don t need to tell you that we will be found lacking. Our world is broken and violent. It is worthy of judgment. And we do not need more attempts at self-preservation and self-justification. We need mercy. Again and again Jesus tries to show that when we work to save ourselves, we are lost. But when we seek Christ, when we seek mercy, when we strive to walk with God, then we can begin to heal the broken parts of our relationships. This is the rock we cling to. This is the table where we can find a place. I don t mean to make this sound easy. It takes a lot to let go of trying to save yourself. I ll let you know when I finally get there. But what I do know is that, when we turn towards God s mercy, we are changed for the better. In the nitty-gritty of life, divorce is more than a hypothetical. But the questions it raises concern all of life s relationships. Whether we are single, married, or divorced, we must remember that we were created for one another. If the relationship is so damaged that it ceases to produce even the dimmest reflection of God s love, then those relationships should be ended and mourned. But more primary to our status than divorced, married, or single is our identity as children loved by God. This is what we should always hold before us. When the world is asking what can I get away with? Jesus is answering, Come see all God has given you. God loves us, God loves us all. Even through divorce. As human beings we were made to accept that love and reflect it in our lives. Wherever and whoever we are, whatever we have done or not done, Christ invites us to lay our burdens down. The anger, the guilt, the judgment that we might feel for another, or that someone might feel towards us, can be answered with grace. Jesus invites us to share in the blessing of love that we were all created to enjoy. Let it be with us as it was written about the children: And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. Amen. 5