Date: 16 Sep 2000
Time: 19:54:49
This is, for us, Stewardship Sunday! Does this lesson have anything to say? Where to focus: on marriage, divorce, children, family? Help.
tom in ga
Date: 28 Sep 2000
Time: 16:03:00
Tom-- I'm in the same boat--stewardship sunday, I don't know what to say about divorce--help! Let's get talking! Veronica
Date: 28 Sep 2000
Time: 23:35:12
Because we live a country with a high divorce rate, I have a funny feeling that a lot of sermons for this week will begin with "Unlike my normal practice to preach on the gospel..." But I think that Jesus is trying to teach us something about fidelity and working hard on our marriages. We have to preach about this. It won't be easy, but nothing that is worth it is easy. Rob in Calif
Date: 29 Sep 2000
Time: 19:37:21
Divorce is a sin against creation.
It is not a greater sin than any other sin, it is simply a breaking and death of relationship. God forgives our sins.
Permenance in Marriage and Stability in the Religious Life are two themes that run through this reading.
The reading echoes Genesis and suggests that it is God who creates and weds; once we see the other no longer as a gift of creation, we destroy it.
tom in ga
Date: 01 Oct 2000
Time: 04:14:31
As to stewardship, I think it might be a stretch, but it is worth considering how we are stewards of all that God gives us (including our families).
We will celebrate "covenant Sunday" the following week. We talk not only about financial giving, but of our prayers, presence, service and gifts. It is for us a holistic spiritual discipline.
K in WA
Date: 01 Oct 2000
Time: 22:00:53
For awhile Mark has been talking about the need to be humble in a variety of settings, perhaps this reading can be interpreted in the same light: humility verses hardness of heart.
What is the meaning of marriage? Our culture understands this sacrament very differently from Christ. What do we need to do or say that will move the hearer into a new way of hearing from that of the culture. Utility is our definition of marrige: if we get tried of one another, we trade each other in for a new one ... young, attraction, sexy. Living passionately for a lifetime, bearing the burdens of time and raising children, living with the ups and downs of pressure, failure, sickness, etc is not something most of us do anymore. If your parish is like mine, those half of my members over 40 have been divorced at least once.
tom in ga
Date: 01 Oct 2000
Time: 23:09:55
Does not the question of Moses, raised by Jesus in "answer" to the Pharisees "test" concerning divorce, call for a vision of the "grace" in "creation" which transcends the limited or narrow "box" these religious folk wanted to keep "g_d" within? The issue of "children" which follows certainly raises the imperative concerning the nature and meaning of the evolving institution of the family. However, I believe we need to not be too closed nor narrow on how we define the emergence of the "family" or we might shut out the family of Abraham, the father of faith, and those who followed him. In what sense does the creation story of "woman", and of "marriage", call for a transcendental respect of the "feminine" in that day as well as in our contemporary culture? Is there a relationship between the demeening role of woman in a patriarchal culture and the role of children where they both come nearer to being "property" rather than covenant participants with the rights of fraternity, equity, and reciprocity? How does "power" function in settings where woman and children are treated as property? Does not YHWH hear Iahmael crying from beneath the bush in which he has been abandoned? (Genesis 21:17) Does not the loving grace of God transcend the "compromises" we have created for ourselves so that we might wear the facade of righteousness declaring, (although inauthentically), that we are the "keepers of the law"? In contrast with Wesley's note on Genesis, does not woman's creation from the rib of Adam, in some way suggest, if not "womb envy", some sense of femininity in man, (perhaps similar to Carl Jung's concept)? Does not the spirituality of marriage and family call for a higher, or transcendent, grace-filled relationship than the narrow boundaries of O.T. Moses-centered "law"? The mystical relationship between Christ and his bride we call the Church, and the teaching of the eschatological Kingdom relevant to the acceptance of "children" in the arms of Jesus, I believe, belongs to a higher realm than the patriarchal masculine-centered culture where "power-over" is confused with "inner strength". This grace-filled vision, I believe, calls us to futuristic relationships between the man and the woman in the context of the family which is still waiting to be achieved/or be born. Involved in this just and equatible covenant of unconditional love is the intrapersonal, (and perhaps mystical), realization of the paradox where masculinity discovers the inner/innate feminine values of cooperation, trust-building, and nurturing, while feminity discovers the quiet power/strength of decision-making, competiveness, and rationality, which are all needed in the being/becoming servants of the sacred covenant, (which is the foundation of the covenant of marriage and the family). Identity within both the male and the female is a critical imperative to this scripture as well as to our contemporary cultural setting where the paradigms of life are in a state of transition, if not "future shock". I have sought to share with you these ideas in response to some proponents of present day Christendom who use the word "family" and/or "family values" as if their traditional masculine/patriarchal oriented definition were the only one that could exist. I believe this scripture calls us beyond the limits of such past "law-centered" frames to a futuristic, transcendent, "Grace-Centered" Covenant yet to be fully realized in the chaos and change of our modern time. Grace is Amazing especially when we realize the "wind of God" is still blowing across the waters of birthing creation and God speaks today in Covenant-Making Creation still emerging in our moment as the future Kingdom comes to meet us where we are in our deepest needs.[From Judaism's mystical tradition of Kabbalah the element of feminity within the reality of God, I believe, is relevantly addressed:"Malkhut (Kingdom) is also known as Shekhinah (Presence). In earlier Jewish litrature, Shekhinah appears frequently as the immanence of God but not overtly feminine. In Kabbalah, Shekhinah becomes a full-fledged She: daughter of Binah, bride of Tiferet, the feminine half of God. Shekhinah is "the secret of the possible", receiving the emanation from above and engendering the varieties of life below. The union of Shekhinah and Tiferet constitutes the focus of religious life. Human righteous action stimulates Yesod, the Righteous One, and brings about the union of the divine couple. Human marriage symbolizes and actualizes divine marriage. Sabbath eve is the weekly celebration of the cosmic wedding, and the ideal time for human lovers to unite." page 9, "The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism", Daniel C. Matt, 1995.]PaideiaSCO reflections in the north ga mts.
Date: 02 Oct 2000
Time: 11:13:05
Women and children were almost powerless and without rights in Jesus' time- at least according to some sources. Both the question and answer about divorce and the later picture of Jesus blessing the children are concerned with vulnerable people contrasted with those in power. An old Abingdon Preaching Annual says, " The issue always for Jesus is fidelity, responsiblity, caring. Jesus is attacking the societal idea that some are better than others, that the stronger always rules the weaker." Another commentary reminds us, "Our marriages and our lives are not ours alone. They are gifts from God, and in the middle of marriage and life, God in Christ is with us." GFinSC
Date: 02 Oct 2000
Time: 16:56:40
Sunday I will be doing a baptism and the latter part of this passage is included in the baptismal liturgy. A joy that I am looking forward to. But the former part of this passage is what I use for pre-marriage counseling. I start with the fact that I don’t marry anyone. Yes, I am the cultural legal signature called pastor, but the covenant they make is with each other and with God is the marriage with or without the cultural legal signature. “What God has joined together” is the passage I start with. The covenant that they make “to love” as God loves us and we love God, “to honor” as God honor’s us and we honor God, “to cherish” as God cherishes us and we cherish God is the beginning of a lifelong covenant. So as a cultural legal signature of a legal agreement called “marriage” I think it is entirely possible that in our culture today as in cultures past there are “marriages” that God has not joined together. Still considering what to preach on Sunday. clw in co
Date: 02 Oct 2000
Time: 22:04:01
I'm in a church in a "rough neighborhood". I think it's safe to say that the majority of the congregation has been divorced. In fact, many of the church "leaders" have been divorced multiple times. Despite the head knowledge that divorce is wrong, there is always an excuse. This is a post-Christian culture in which divorce is taken for granted. The majority of children in the community, including in the church, are born out of wedlock. Two of the most active church "leaders" are living in sin. (I've inheritied the church this way, and by our church's polity they can't be removed except by the congregation... and the congregation voted them in in the first place.)
I'm going to be straightforward and preach that divorce is sin. I can't wait for the consequences!
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 03:36:56
It is my opinion that Jesus allows for divorce when he gives the rationale for Moses allowing divorce. Marriage is a sacrament.... a sign of God's love for people. When a sign breaks beyond repair or is painted over such that it can't be read anymore, then it ceases to function as a sign (sacrament). Jesus shows us how we can accept this and at the same time hold up the permanence of marriage as an idea. He doesn't play the legal game with the Pharisees, he simply goes back to God's vision from the beginning. That vision is what we measuring stick for all our decisions. Jesus died on a cross, Jesus knows all of the pain we can feel... he knows the pain of divorce and understands it... and heals it... and, in love and grace, allows one to move on with life, but always allows for God's vision to lead us and guide us to that new life.
WJA in CA.
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 11:56:57
I truly hope that the unsigned messageof Oct. 02 doesn't forget about preaching also about forgiveness. sometimes it can hurt when we fall from our high horses. I believe that Jesus speaks of God's intent for marriage. I don't believe that any of the couples at whose weddings I have officiate ever made their vows with the intent of getting divorced. But any living organism (and such is a marriage) they can die usually because they are not nurtured, but that requires effort from both sides. yet the death of marriages will and does occur. As a pastor I can do more good helping folks grieve rather than burden them with guilt (most if not all grief brings that along anyway). Last week the gospel talked about stumbling blocks, and sometimes the "church" has kept people in bad marriages, hurtful marriages, abusive marriages rather than allowing them to know the grace of God that is far greater than their inability to maintain a covenant that no longer exists. Deke of the North
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 11:57:16
Two points. First, divorce in that cultural context is as easy as a husband saying "I divorce you" three times. The wife lost all social standing, and had no rights to property or financial support. She was destroyed. Second, divorce is not a one time event, it is all those spaces in marriage in which we have cut off our spouse. The "legal divorce" is only more sinful than a hate filled marriage in that the power of hopelessness is shown to be greater than hope. -a divorced pastor
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 11:57:23
Two points. First, divorce in that cultural context is as easy as a husband saying "I divorce you" three times. The wife lost all social standing, and had no rights to property or financial support. She was destroyed. Second, divorce is not a one time event, it is all those spaces in marriage in which we have cut off our spouse. The "legal divorce" is only more sinful than a hate filled marriage in that the power of hopelessness is shown to be greater than hope. -a divorced pastor
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 14:49:22
Hi: I remember preaching on this text in the presence of someone still hurting from the sting of her divorce years earlier. Her husband had simply, to her mind, decided no longer to be married. She continued to be troubled, not only with his behaviour toward the rest of their family, but also with the freedom, or not, she had to remarry. I chose to widen the vision of Divorce: I talked about the decision to divorce as the choice to "leave our first love." Taken in that context there are many relationships in our congregations where one or the other partner has left their first love: for sports, money, job, entertainment,and these harm a relationship as deeply as physical divorce. If divorce is taken in this light then there are many reasons why a person may need to be divorced from their partner, without any guilt. If the other partner has been shown how they have left their first love for one of these things and refuses to reconcile with their partner, divorce to my mind is okay. As for Stewardship Sunday, how in our giving patterns have we "left our first love?" Hope this muddle helps someone. Mark in Alberta
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 15:19:19
A reality of the cultural circumstance of a woman in this situation was she could be divorced easily but no matter how worthless/sorry a husband she had, she had no way to get rid of him. Do you think that aspect of things bothered Jesus? Just wondering in LA
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 15:51:53
How about looking at things this way.
Setting - This question arose not in connection to a personal plight of a husband or wife but rather as an opportunity to force Jesus in taking sides and trap him in a no win situation. His answer could get him into trouble with King Herod just like this issue got John the Baptist into trouble. The answer that Jesus gives does not sidestep the question but rather forces us to look at the who issue of what God intends for marriage.
Jesus words make it clear that divorce is not God’s desire for our lives and for our marriages. - Not the unforgivable sin - yes in the Lutheran Church remarriage is permitted, with careful consideration so that the same problems don’t happen again. No one wants to go through a divorce a second time. - focus too much on the failings of others - or our own failings - spend 2 hours a day dealing with guilt.
Miss the point here of what God does for us and our marriages
1. Jesus reminds us that God makes husbands and wife one - no small task - no small miracle We are amazed that so many people get divorces - real wonder ( miracle ) is that two selfish people can stay married. Someone has said there is always good grounds for divorce in a marriage the trick is to find grounds for marriage. - Jesus is doing that in our lesson. He helps us to see God’s work in our lives. God make us one - joins us together - emotionally and physically
2. Not good that man should be alone - women do better alone - but not men. Married men live longer.
3. OT Lesson reminds us that God created Eve not as a servant - helper - companion - partner - no animal good enough - not a dog or cat - or horse even from the beginning women were not something to be discarded like a worn out shoe - problem existed in Jesus day and today as well but not what God wants for our lives. Permanency and security are desired for spouses and children.
As for Stewardship how about using the little children them and talk about the legacy of faith we pass on to others (Little Children). The ELCA is using 2 Timothy 1:3-14 this year for Stewardship and that might fit well with this Gospel lesson
JB in MB
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 18:42:24
I think it's important to connect the two different paragraphs of the gospel lesson (someone hinted at this earlier). So many times children are overlooked when a married couple decide on divorce. The children suffer the pain of divorce as much as (or more than) the parents. That doesn't mean that people should endure marriage for the sake of the children. But they should at least work on it with all their might for the sake of the children.
I'm also struck with the Job passage, that trouble comes, even to this good man. And trouble can come in a marriage even to good people. In fact, it is inevitable. God joins people together. And it is by God's grace that we stay together (helped along by a willingness to talk and pray and yield).
Any other thoughts (besides the idea of the first love) about what this has to say to single people?
DG in NYC
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 20:04:50
Awhile back I heard Gary Smalley speak about a study that he had come across which concluded that most divorces happen, not because of lack of communication or ability to handle conflict (although these are important) but because the two people in fact never marry in their minds. Despite the marriage ceremony and the signed piece of paper they still see themselves and operate as if they are single people. In other words instead of making decisions based on what is best for "our marriage to grow" they make decisions on based on "what I want", "what will make me feel better", etc.
This idea resonates with me and seems to speak to the text. As I look at my own marriage, I can see that many of the fights my husband and I have are because I (or he or both of us) were not thinking as one flesh but as 2 separate bodies. I have counseled couples where one of the parties involved does not understand why their partner is upset because they stay out late with some friends after work and do not bother to call and let the other one know where they are. I have watched helplessly as my brother left his wife of 23 years with the tried but true, "I'm not happy" and refusing to even try counseling. Yes, Moses allowed divorce but it was because of our hardness or heart. A hardness of heart that is more concerned about ourselves and our happiness, (yada, yada, yada to quote JErry SEinfeld the king of self-absorbtion!), than with whether we are doing what's best for the marriage and whether we are pleasing our spouse and more importantly God.
Walt Wangerin in one of his books says we need to see marriage as a baby. When a baby is born both parents do everything within their power to care for that baby and to make sure that it grows strong and healthy. He says we need to think about marriage in the same way. When we look at marriage as a baby in which both people need to do certain things so that this "baby" can grow strong and healthy it changes the way we think, and it changes the things we do. In other words, we stop thinking self-centeredly and begin to think like a married person.
Thinking along these lines it then seems only logical that Jesus chides the disciples for wanting to push the children away. Just like someone headed for divorce, they are thinking self-centeredly. Maybe they wanted Jesus to themselves and were tired of people always coming around and distracting Jesus from them. Maybe they saw the children as beneath them--and that JEsus shouldn't have to be bothered by them. But Jesus will have none of it. He rejects their self-centeredness and calls the children into his midst--literally embracing them; thereby driving home his point that in relationships, whether we are talking marriage or not we are called outside of ourselves and our own selfish interests.
This is where I think I am going with my sermon. What do you think? Am I off-base? Any other thoughts to build on this? Any illustrations? Sheryl in NE
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 21:35:51
It seems to me that this week's readings are about people facing a new understanding about God & the universe, with "before & after" views.
The Job reading became important at a time when Isreal was facing up the idea that sometimes the righteous do NOT prosper. Job's question about taking the bad with the good was apparently a new idea. (I'm paraphrasing the Interpreter's Bible commentary here.) The Psalm actually is a "before" statement...
The Mark reading is about Jesus' steady theme that the law of Moses was superceded by the Law of Love (good new indeed), and that we need to accept God's rule simply (like kids do).
The Hebrews quote (vs 1-3) summarizes the issue: "We've had prophets, but now we have the Word of God's son."
I can relate all of the "befores". I still try to earn my way into the kingdom of God, and get all caught up in judging others (the divorced, for instance) by some ironclad rule. And, I still sort of expect that if I'm good, God will look out for me.
PWE, Up-state NY
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 21:44:19
While reading the comments this week, it reminds me why I left the church35 years ago. My first husband felt that marriage was come home to his wife when he could not find anyone else. When we were divorced my child was only six months old. I felt I was not welcomed by the Christian community. I was lucky to find though a church, that loved my son and myself and was able to see beyond the fact that I was a "divorced woman." We need to remember that there are times when a marriage can no longer be kept together, and be able to show God's love to those who need it. MR in NY
Date: 03 Oct 2000
Time: 22:03:14
Jesus spent a lot of time saying that the Law isn't enough. When I read His comment on marriage I think of his comments on violence("anger is as bad as murder") and lust ("looking twice is as bad as fornication") and love ("Loving your friends is easy. Love 'em ALL."). One interpretation is to adopt, and measure other by, an impossible moral code as (here we go again) "...the way to get into the Kingdom of God."
Jesus also said that "all have sinned and fallen short", and that there is no good person, not one. Everybody needs to repent! And the Good News is, everybody can!
So I don't think Jesus was talking about divorce -- the question was "is it legal", and His answer was "Yes(!), but that doesn't make it right."
The Way is to resist these temptation, and repent from these sins. Practicing Christians PRACTICE!
And above all, don't judge, or you'll be judged. This might be a good Sunday to dwell on the splinter/plank thing!
MY temptation for the week is to come down with the flu Satuday :-).
PWE, Up-state NY
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 00:01:29
Dear friends,
I've spent much of today "marinating" in the Gospel reading for today (as an Episcopalian, I am dealing with Chapter 10, verses 1-12...). I am at that uncomfortable "first draft" place -- i have a bunch of sentences, some loosely-strung ideas.
Here is where I am starting from (more or less):
"When we are confronted by today’s Gospel, we may find it –– like more than a few other Gospel stories –– less-than helpful.
We can struggle to find a way to interpret, understand, and make this reading relevant to our lives, and our situations -- as Jesus did when he interpreted the Scriptures in his own time. Or we can accept it just as it's written as a black-and-white truth, a law to be lived by, a rule to follow.
The trouble with the latter approach, for me, is that I understand Jesus as representing a new teaching. Jesus brought a new commandment: love God, love others. Jesus promoted a new way of being that was contrary to the teachings of Mosaic Law, the Old Covenant.
If this is so -- and I believe it is -- then why do we assume that Jesus is merely setting up another set of prohibitions about marriage & divorce? Such an action would be very much unlike Jesus.
To be consistent with the New Covenant which Jesus represents, this Gospel lesson can’t be simply about marriage, divorce, or adultery, as such.
To be consistent with the New Covenant, it’s got to be telling us how to live all of life –– not just one part.
To be consistent with the New Covenant, it has to show us more than why it’s important to stay married.
To be consistent with the New Covenant, it must provide us with a means to unfold the new "way of being" to which Jesus calls us.
In many other episodes in this Gospel, the disciples have difficulty knowing, or seeing, or hearing what Jesus was about. The same is true here."
Of course, I have a LOT more work to do. But I am interested in all of the postings here so far. I am a littlee troubled by the flat statement that "divorce is a sin," without a corresponding recognition statement re forgiveness of sins. Surely, it is less-than helpful to label more than half of our congregations has being sinful in this particular regard.
Those of us who are the children of divorced parents, and/or who have experienced divorce ourselves KNOW about the pain of this kind of broken-ness. Labeling it in a somewhat Old Testament-God, judging way seems to miss the point of Jesus' work in Mark to get his disciples to see and hear and understand.
So -- any and all suggestions are eagerly awaited.
This discussion list is SO helpful!
Rev. Judith in NH
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 00:50:06
Greetings to everyone... I have been reading all of your posts for a few years without responding. Although I don't always agree with everything, I do look forward to reading all of your ideas. I would like to add my two cents...As a child of divorce, I know of the pain and brokeness. It still hurts even after 20 years. I believe that Jesus came offering a new convenent. We are all fallen but are redeemed by the cross. What Jesus is telling us is that we must come together as one and break free from living as one chooses. When we stop thinking of others, we "divorce" ourselves from each other. I believe that is the sin that Jesus is addressing here.
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 00:51:50
Peace and Blessings, JP in Northern Michigan
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 05:00:00
I have been reading and watching for some time and greatly appreciate the open sharing of thoughts, ideas, and faith. As I read and re-read this Sunday's Gospel I had a number of questions, however not many answers. I wonder why they brought their children to him, to Jesus? Various studies of mainline denomination highly suggests that our children are not coming back after high school and marriage, that they are not returning to any religious roots or traditions. I would suggest that we have lost them long before that. Jesus loved the children and taught the adults, we teach the children and do what with adults? Why do the homes of our congregations bring their children to congregation? It seems that most of them come only for education, Sunday School, and not for worship. I also find that many of the homes are not comfortable talking, let alone teaching, about faith. Some parents feel that only Sunday School can do the "good" job of "teaching" the faith. However, as Westerhoff suggests in his book: "Will Our Children Have Faith", that faith is not taught as much as it is caught. In fact, or should I say, in Faith we believe that faith itself is a gift, not an insight or learning.
So why do they bring their children to Jesus? Why do we bring our children today? Is our goal only that everyone may "learn"... or to know...? (Duet. 4).
Just a thought....
Mark in Minnesota
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 13:44:28
Rather than become to narrow (and legalistic) ourselves about Jesus' response to the Pharisees' trap, I am linking the Gospel and the Psalm (Ps. 8). The text will be "What are human beings (including women & children) that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?" What are human beings in relation to the majesty and sovereignty of God? gms
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 18:01:16
JUDITH IN NH
Jesus is not presenting anew law, nor is he affirming an ancient one; he basically is saying that divorce is wrong because it victimizes women; that women are left without support, protection, or legal standing because the man has simply "dropped her" for someone who can prepare a meal without burning it!
He asks the pharisees to look beyond the Law to the creation, for it was for this reason that a man and woman leave their parents, to be joined ...
What does it mean to be joined? What does it mean to leave ones parents? Is joined a legal or a sacramental act? Is it a clear sign of the meaning of creation?
tom in ga
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 18:09:16
The setting is Pharisees asking a trick question to test Jesus. This is always a tip-off that they are trying to split legal hairs. Jesus never lets them. Rather than look for legal ways to get out of marriage, we should be seeing marriage and family as gifts of a loving God, for our benefit, and try all we can to stay in. In our congregation we combine this day with blanket Sunday. The emphasis is the same. We need each other, and we find joy in giving, whether to spouse, children (our own or others) and even to "the least of these". Relationships, and the responsibilities that go with them, are a gift to be shared, not a burden to be endured. "It is not good to be alone" the Gen. 2 First lesson reminds us. Apparently God did not want to be alone, is why he created us. To understand the closeness of the spiritual realtionship he gives us a physical relationship that can be the most exquisite and joyful, and one that should teach us that giving is its own reward, and not giving only hurts your self. What abaout singles? They need, and do, find other ways of being in relationships. Those who become hermits miss the true joy of life. JRW in Ohio
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 19:40:04
this is a test
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 19:44:06
I am sensitive to the pain of those who are divorced. I am the product of a divorced home twice over. I find it interesting however, that when Jesus says he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we often want to give that up for what seems pastoral. Jesus gives us a fairly clear directive, "He who divorces..." This doesn't leave much room for interpretation. So, what do we do with a text like this? Accept it for what it is. It calls sin, sin. We don't have to whitewash it, nor should we. Our sin drives us to the cross. In divorce, as in life, no one is innocent. But that doesn't make divorce OK.
Too often we try to make God fit our image of what we think God should be, rather than letting the text tell us who this God is. It is Ok that God is bigger than us or our theology. This text is difficult. It makes us squirm. We don't want to preach the Truth, if it means we will have to deal with its ugly consequences (usually in the narthex or in an unsigned letter slid under the office door). But we must not shy away. This is God's Word. Let's proclaim what the Word says and then offer God's grace as the balm that heals the wounds caused by divorce. Yes, it may be painful, but we will have done what we are called to do. Mike in C-town
Date: 04 Oct 2000
Time: 20:52:46
i guess i will be accused of skipping the important text this week, but we are celebrating the children's sabbath this Sunday, as it is National Childrens' Day (and fits in our calendar better than two weeks from now.) so i am only focusing on the last verses. about entering the kingdom of God as little children - who trust so.
i think about divorce and the very thing it damages so much is trust. i have never been divorced but most of my family has - more than once - and it does make it difficult for me to trust.
i think the person who picked up on selfishness has truly hit it on the head. that touches all of us. whether we've ever been married, divorced, or not. we all know what it is like to put ourselves first. I also think it very important to not take a verse out of the cultural context and those who preach on divorce must see why Jesus was so against it - because of the destruction of the woman involved. if you don't think women were dispensable, read the last couple of chapters of Judges.
we allow people to confess they have made a mistake everywhere else in their life - why can they not have made a mistake in marriage? abuse, and such mean the other person has already broken their vows - the victim needs to get out. the tie is already broken. God gives second chances. the church isn't made to be gatekeepers but greeters.
grace, rachel
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 00:49:30
I find it most interesting that very few have chosen to address 13-16. The Baptism is certainly fitting. I have to wonder what was in the mind of those "humans" who chose to combine these two "separate" texts. Yes, I can "tie" them together, however, after I look at the texts, their context, the Greek, and then ponder "the writer's" reason for each, I began to wonder even more why the text were jammed together in the lectionary! For me it's a bare minimum of two sermons! I've chosen the latter coming up with this initial take: Text: Mark 10:13-16
Thesis: The church needs children – unless you come as a child
Antithesis: The children need church – do not hinder them from coming to me
Relevant question: How shall we return to our childhood?
Synthesis:
1) Jesus rebukes the disciples – is indignant
How many times we smile and think . . . or say “Oh, how cute” . . . missing the very message they proclaim! Surely Jesus was blessed and refreshed himself as the children came to him! He didn’t have to continually overcome their pride . . . their fears . . . their selfishness!
2) Let the children come – do not hinder them!
We would claim to never “keep” or as the KJV says, “forbid” children from coming to Jesus, BUT from the Greek, kwluete, comes our word “hinder.” It would be easy for us to escape condemnation – for none of us would ever claim that we “forbid” or “keep” them from coming, BUT how often do we in those unconscious moments “hinder” the child? How often do we through our lack of positive action or even outright neglect fail to allow the little one to come? Indeed, our daily actions “speak” to our personal relationship to Jesus Christ . . . or lack thereof.
A callousness and hardness of heart is contagious. Unfortunately, “the child” soon models what has been modeled. If the model has listening ears, seeing eyes, and an open loving heart and mind, it will embrace “the child” – feeding both the child and itself.
3) As a child we shall enter – Are we willing to bless “the child” as Jesus does?
What is it that often causes us to smile, laugh, and even relax when we are in the presence of children? . . . their innocence, just plain silliness and seeming lack of any self concern for “how they appear” . . . their spontaneity? . . . or maybe it’s their very spirit which grabs us and just won’t let go?
We set up “child care” during church and provide any number of programs in the name of ministry – ministry to the children. What about ministry of the children? Are they not the very ones Jesus has welcomed with open arms into his kingdom? Are we willing to truly welcome them as Jesus does? Are we willing to set aside our skepticism? . . . our often overly cautious attitudes? . . . and even our arrogant indignation? Are we able to hear, see, and experience again as a child what Christ so dearly wants to give? Bruce in Fairborn,OH
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 02:55:38
This is going to be a dificult week for me to preach because I have filed for divorce this week. The relationship has been very difficult. My husband has mental helth problems and has been very abusive. It was time to leave. It will still be difficult to face my two churches this week Bonnie in MN
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 13:42:57
Bonnie in MN
You will be in my prayers. As difficult as these readings may be remember they are good news - no judgment here - it is the pharisees who judge - and Jesus who releases the question into creation. May God bless you.
tom in ga
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 15:40:45
To Bonnie in MN How difficult it must be to come across this text at this moment in your life. I will pray for you also. May God rain blessings upon you in this time of pain. I have been thinking also about the connection between children and divorce. Why does this passage about children come at the heels of Jesus speaking of divorce. I read recently in some parenting article how important it is to not talk badly about an ex-spouse to one's children after a divorce. Instead we should recognize that children are the product of both parents so when we bad-mouth the other parent we are actually bad-mouthing one half of the child also. I know that divorce happens but when it does perhaps we need to ask for forgiveness from God and offer our forgiveness to our mates as well. For the sake of the children. Sp in ma
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 15:49:47
Bonnie in MN, I feel your pain and you will be in my prayers, even after 35 years the pain is still there. I have a wonderful husband now and things are good, but I always wonder what I did wrong the first time, even if it was my choice of husband. But I once heard a minister say something that made it a little easier for me, "When something is dead you bury it, you do not sleep with a rotting body in the bed next to you. May God bless you in the next few months and the rough times you will have.
God Bless, MR in NY
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 16:44:11
Bonnie,
I went through a similar situation many years ago. the day after my wife left the lectionary text was this or another one. Remember God's grace is with you...
To all, does anyone have the lyrics to the "Everclear" group's song "Wonderful"? it is a powerful witness to the effects of divorce on children...
Date: 05 Oct 2000
Time: 23:11:18
A possible reason verses 13-16 are here is that the "people" who were bringing the children were mothers who had been divorced. These children, as well as their mothers, were cast out by society. I can imagine the discourse between the Pharisees and Jesus happening because there were divorced mothers nearby who were desperate for their children. Perhaps that is why the question occurred to the Pharisees in the first place. I can see the poor mothers pushing their children ahead so that Jesus could touch them. The disciples would have spoken especially sternly to children--riff-raff--of single mothers. I grew up very poor. My mother was depressed and our clothes not only were shabby but were dirty, as were we most of the time. I still can feel the pain of scornful looks at us as we approached church while other nicely dressed, more well-to-do children were welcomed into the church family. I get the same feeling here. These not only were children--they were the lowest of the low. Their mothers could do nothing else for them so they were desperate for Jesus simply to touch and perhaps bless them. AC in Iowa
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 02:31:53
To the unsigned contributor of the commentary: "this is a test"---how right you are!
To Judith of NH: Thank you! You have given me permission to proceed with this passage even though I, too, must do so in the context of a Stewardship Sunday. "Jesus has to be talking about more than divorce and adultery here." So now I can ask myself, could he possibly be talking about stewardship?
I believe the core value Jesus affirms (if we can get deeper than the legalisms and loopholes of the Pharisees) is commitment or fidelity. Perhaps belonging.
Now I also remember that Jesus says precious little specifically about marriage and the family. "Who are my brothers and sisters...?" Could the same value of commitment be applied to all our relationships? What about our membership vows? Do we live for all practical purposes divorced from our brothers and sisters in the church?
pHil
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 12:19:26
Dear Friends,
Thank you and blessings for all of your comments. I started with what I thought was a "rock" of a passage this week, and as your insights have glanced off it, they have revealed & reflected different facets so that I see it is a gem! Thanks again! A few other thoughts on the passage - in Jesus' response to the Pharisees, he refers to God's intentions for marriage, as established in Eden between Adam & Eve. The implication, of course, is that in a perfect world there would be no divorce. However, the effect of the Fall was to so taint eveything with sin that the black & white world of the Garden has given way to shades of gray for the children of Eve. It goes beyond saying simply "divorce is sin". I would suggest that divorce is evidence of human sin, but in our sinful state it can (like war or any other total breakdown of human relationship) at times be the lesser of two evils. I don't think that many people would say that divorce is a "good" thing, either for individuals or society. It also contains within it the wages of sin - divorce, and the pain it causes, is like a death in many ways. --There truly is, in American culture, a crisis in our view of marriage. Perhaps this comes from seeing marriage through the dominant worldview of individualism and self- gratification, in contrast with the teaching of the New Testament on the matter. It is an opportunity for the church to offer grace, to be sure, but also a different, counter-cultural way of looking at marriage and relationships. --It is interesting to note the contrast between what Jesus says to the Pharisees and what he says to his disciples. In a way his words to the disciples are more harsh and to the point. He takes the matter of divorce very seriously, and we should be careful dancing around it. --There was an op-ed piece on Sunday by Ellen Goodman (of the Boston Globe?) which provides an intersting commentary on the connection between the two sections of this passage. She responds to a recent book titled *The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce* by Judith Wallerstein, a psychologist who has followed 131 children of 80 California families who divorced in the early '70s. Wallerstein' conclusion, which should surprise no one (given the comments made by children of divorce in this forum), is that divorce is bad for children. Two quotes from the book: "The myth that if the parents have a poor marriage the children are going to be unhappy is not true. Children don't care if parents sleep in seperate beds if the household runs well and if the parenting holds up" ; "The central moral dilemma of divorce which we have not been willing to acknowledge is that in many families what may benefit the parents may not benefit the children." The article (and the book, I assume) leaves the issue unresolved. But it is a disconcerting thought, and more subtle and thought provoking than the guilty adage 'stay together for the sake of the children.' It points up a real and painful aspect to the divorce rate statistics. Hope these thoughts rub in a way that polishes.... Shalom, Bo in KY
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 13:02:26
first time contributor, long time learner. Thank you. for this week I've been listening to this text with many voices. It makes a great difference in my understanding of the text when I read Jesus part with different tones. For this week I am reading him like a hopeful teacher... the kind that at the beginning of every year holds on to the hope that every student will pass with an A. And even when 4 are failing, refuses to let go of the hope, but instead holds on to the ideal but works harder to find a way for those who are falling behind to catch on. When I read him this way, Jesus is a dreamer and an idealist as he speaks to the people. Hoping to help them see through the hardness that has built up on their hearts because of pain and broken relationships and fear of the risks that new relationships bring. He is like King, holding out a dream in the middle of the darkest hours. With the disciples in the house later... his tone changes... I read him as frustrated and tired... angry! These have got to catch on to the goal! They can't lower the standard! They've got to keep teaching! How will they teach if they lose sight of the goal! When the children come, Jesus is glad to have those who are not yet hardened. They can still see with ease God's dream, God's initial aim at creation, the love that flows powerfully for eternity without question, instead of saying at the very first pre-marital session what every hurting and scared person's defense mechanisms are screaming, "we love each other, but if it doesn't work out..." Let these children come and hear the hope of God for all of us, so they can hold onto it... and let all of us grasp the hope of the Kingdom like the children do. Breaking through our hardness and fear again to see what is possible with God. Yes divorce is a reality, it is, for whatever reason, justifiable or not, a failure to live out the hope of love that God intended at the beginning and Jesus speaks so romantically of in this passage. It's just like failure in the classroom, but as a teacher, and as a loving God, the hope for the standard is not lost, the teaching style just continues to change and work. A memeber of this list named Bo said three years ago, "it seems to me that this passage reverberates not just to married or divorced couples, but all people in relationship with God and with each other, especially those who believe they are beyond hope of reconciliation. Thus, what begins as a nit-picking argument about the finer points of Mosaic Law ends when Jesus proclaims that the Law cannot decree where love must end. Later, he will demonstrate with his life that death cannot decree where love must end." For me that is the voice of hope that I hear Jesus speaking out of in this passage. No condemnation here. The voice of Grace in this passage is not justifying, but rather sanctifying; holding out fresh and new the possibility of the Kingdom if we can break through the pain of the past that we have created and believe in and strive for the Kingdom of God again... like children. UM Laker
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 13:08:52
One more thing... thank you to whoever it was that pointed out that Mark turns his Gospel when Jesus says "You are setting your mind not on Divine things, but on Human things!" That's the push I'm still hearing in this text. Refocus on the Divine! UM Laker
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 14:35:40
For the Lyrics to "Wonderful" by Everclear may be found at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/5008/rtp99/eve_wond.htm LAR in MI
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 17:58:40
I too have been reading (and quoting) from this forum with interest for some time, but this is my first contribution. I am struck by Jesus driving the Pharisees back to the essential goodness of creation-- back from Deut. to Gen.-- back from after the fall (however we understand it) to the garden. So I plan and have written a sermon that talks of how, although we do not know a time when marriage (and relationships of all kinds) are without sin, God still supports and upholds us in the setting for which humankind was created-- in community.
A second comment would be an inquiry about an illustration which I had the last time I preached on it but no longer can find. It is a suggestion for maintaining a marriage, written from one side, but that can easily be stretched for reciprocation. It goes something like this "If you really want to show your wife (spouse) that you love her, give her roses on Tuesday." Does anyone have or know where I can find the complete quote? I thought it was from The Pastor's Story File that I subscribed to several years back, but I cannot find it there. I would appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction. Roger in IL
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 18:55:54
Dear Bonnie, i too will be holding you in my prayers. God will be with you.
for those like me centering on the children, Ann Weems in Reaching for Rainbows has some wonderful material on celebrating children in the church, including a whole worship service.
i have decided to focus on receiving the blessing. little children love to run, draw, do seemigly everything with great abandon, and receive God's blessing. the older among us often want to make rules, laws, and are so sensitive to criticism, that we will hardly agree to carry a banner down a church aisle. we are missing out on God's blessings.
hope you are open to God! blessings, rachel
Date: 06 Oct 2000
Time: 20:55:38
Help! I am a desperate preacher. I am planning on doing a blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, actually I have been promising my daughter for a year now that I would do this. But I have never done one before. I am worried about procedure and practical things like keeping the cats from the hamsters. Also I could use some good liturgy. We will be doing this during the Sunday School time in the context of an alternative worship. Please e-mail me if you have suggestions;
ruthgeiger@att.net
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 04:11:46
I have appreciated all your thoughts. This is month when members of my church renew their covenant membership. So I think I will tie lessons in by talking about relationship between that and covenant of marriage: all covenants not based on law, but on love. That is key to understanding divorce and breakups of all covenant relationships. PS. I would like to hear from other churches which use covenant membership. We need to refresh our process. Thanks. revssj@cs.com
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 04:14:28
It seems as though this text is trying to move us beyong, "What is my obligation" to "What is my need?" This initially sounds strange, because I firmly believe that the Christian life is a joyful response to the grace of God rather than an act to get our needs met. But what I am hearing is that we need each other. God created us to be in community. We cannot exercise our obligation to community and experience the fullness of God creation. The fullness of God's creation is found in community. Our "Starbuck's generation" struggles to move beyond what I want or what's good for me, to see that we participate in God's kingdom when we look to what God wants and what's good for God's kingdom. Husband and wife, as intended by God, is one tangible example of oneness of mind, body and spirit. It seems that Paul calls us to that same oneness in his letter to the Corinthians except that Paul was refering to the marriage of Christ and the Church rather than the marriage of husband and wife. Grace and peace, JRinBigD
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 05:03:06
It’s not any harder for Jesus to forgive divorce than any other sin, for every sin crucifies and kills Jesus. It is harder for US to live with the sin of divorce than some other sins. The disdain we have for divorce moreso than other sins isn't because it hurts God more, it's because it hurts us more. That is why Jesus' teaching on it is so hard, because he has compassion for our pain.
One woman I know who was divorced said that losing one husband to death was less painful than the divorce.
On a slightly different note, I believe it was no accident that Psalm 8 was chosen to go with these texts. It has some connection to the coronary hardening in the Mark text. In Psalm 8, the word glory is used twice in the English translation, once to describe God, the second to describe man. In the original Hebrew, the words we translate as glory are not the same, they are two different words. The first word that describes God’s glory means just that, glorious, awesome, splendor. The second word that describes the glory of man has a double meaning: it can mean glory, but it also can mean to burden or to harden. Interestingly, it is the same word in Exodus 14:4 (I think - Idon't have my text with me now) that God uses to say, “I will harden Pharoah’s heart..." There is a fine line of opportunity between gaining glory and hardening our hearts. Linking to Job and the Exodus story, perhaps even God himself is involved in that hardening. And when we find ourselves in bondage to sin, in bondage to hardening our hearts, only Jesus can help us to forgive and thus gain glory. That is my slant - there are more with that word play.
Tigger in MN (used to be in ND)
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 06:48:01
Going to try connection between the texts - status of children in that society was not as it is today. For the poor (much of the Lord's audience) children were an economic burden - takers, not givers. Record of a father writing to expecting wife saying to expose (throw away as useless) the newborn if a girl, keep if boy. Sometimes children were collected and raised for less than humane purposes (prostitution, maming to be better beggars, etc). [see NIV Application commentary on Mark by David Garland, don't remember page number] 'Do not forbid' would address this.
Then it would not be a large leap to tie back to divorce and advocate that the church not 'expose' those already hurting through divorce. Emphasis on grace for both children and those divorced.
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 12:51:31
Just wondering in LA-
Earlier this week you said that in that society, a man could easily divorce his wife, but a woman could not divorce her husband no matter how lousy he was.... I believe you....but I'm wondering about something too, maybe you can help me...... If that was the case, why are the words "if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" included in the text? Thanks. crystal
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 14:25:29
jsut my favorite Sunday - getting up in front of a lot of divorced people and pointing out to them that Jesus says divorce is a sin. pointing out that it's one of the few things we're quite sure Jesus really did say - echoed in all the gospels (John too, I'm not so sure) So, here's the rub. I think we do wrong not to acknowledge that divorce is a sin - it has to be true, breaking a covenant with God is of course a sin, breaking with another person has to be a sin BUT God forgives sins. An eighth grader at my school spoke on this passage this week. IT was a lovely, righteous, feminist piece and she told the story of a woman who gve all her power away , and then got dumped, and swore she'd never get married again, "but I think she will because I know God always gives people second chances" Pamm's sermon focused on not giving your power away - and in the end I think that's probably what Jesus was concerned about too: about the women, about the children, about the weak who were getting thrown to the wayside. So I'm going to acknowledge that divorce is a sin, and I'm going to acknowledge that as a challenger of societal injustice Jesus had good reason to want to get rid of divorce - but in the end the issue is Jesus' offering of forgiveness to sinners, his beautiful endless outreaching to those who are weaker. Marriage is impossible. I preach that at every wedding I've ever performed. Only God makes marriage possible - and sometimes that possiblity cannot be seen, and so divorce must happen, divorce that even Jesus would call for...we all know that. aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh I'm nowhere jwg
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 14:30:40
Bonnie--The timing of your filing for divorce and the assignment of this text could hardly be more devastating or more powerful. I think the "flu" idea has merit...short of that, I pray that you find courage for the day.
Ten years ago I divorced my husband. I was/am parish pastor. What I came to understand was that the marriage relationship had sucked all the life out of me. In the process of my counseling and also spiritual direction(my husband refused any counseling)I came to believe that God was not asking for the death of my spirit and self in order to avoid a divorce. God was offering to my mate and to me a guiding hand, an exodus from bondage into freedom...and we would each have to choose to take that hand.
The one remaining value of the marriage was the financial security. With two very small children who would stay with me, I was very afraid of losing my call. In this parish I live in the parsonage so the congregation's decision to ask for my resignation would have left us without a place to live. The decision to divorce evoked a very profound faith experience. I came to know deeply two things: 1) I had to trust God's care and provision for our future. 2)This divorce was the very stuff that baptism, death and resurrection was meant to address. The cross was not about bad hair days. In a later conversation with another clergywoman going through an insane divorce process, she said she felt like she would go through the rest of her life with a big "D" on her forehead. What struck me that what is on her forehead is the sign of the cross from baptism.
In the past ten years, those two experienced realities have shaped my preaching, teaching and practice of the faith. When the first time came to preach on the divorce text I spoke to two of the several issues in the words of Jesus. Knowing what we can know about Jesus beyond just this conversation, I believe we could say that Jesus would not approve of the "quicky" divorce where there is no remorse, no insight into one's own contribution to a marriage's death, etc. Where there is no primary value placed on the promises. And on the other hand, I don't think Jesus would ask us to die-emotionally, spiritually, to keep the LAW unbroken. I understood my divorce as a sin which would have long term consequences...but that if I spent the rest of my life living as one who was unforgivable, I would perpetuate a greater sin: a deathly refusal to accept absolution for my heartfelt confession of guilt.
Tomorrow's sermon title is "Bruised Ribs and Hardened Hearts." Contemporary understanding of the Genesis passage: Adam says to Eve in divorce court: "I want my rib back." Divorce is one very public expression of broken covenant. It is often the moral choice of the lesser of two evils, in which case we are again faced with God's justice, grace and mercy.
What is on your forehead is the cross.
Grace and truth for you, Bonnie, and all others who are facing such raw moments of pain. socalb
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 17:41:44
Crystal -- Because under Roman law, women COULD divorce their husbands. Jesus is making it clear -- a la the Genesis text -- that men and women were both created and intended to be equal and responsible for covenanted relationships. Eliz in NY
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 18:32:36
When I know that I’m scheduled to preach I almost always check out a URL called www.desperatepreacher.com. The desperate preacher’s site lets clergy who are stumped on what to preach about talk online about the readings. This week, there were many preachers who were really feeling desperate. "Just my idea of a great Sunday," one preacher wrote, "getting up in front of a congregation of divorced people and telling them that divorce is a sin."
Some of the postings were really insightful. The reading echoes Genesis and suggests that it is God who creates and weds; once we see the other no longer as a gift of creation, we destroy it.
Marriage is impossible. I preach that at every wedding I've ever performed. Only God makes marriage possible.
It’s not any harder for Jesus to forgive divorce than any other sin, for every sin crucifies and kills Jesus. It is harder for US to live with the sin of divorce than some other sins. The disdain we have for divorce more so than other sins isn't because it hurts God more, it's because it hurts us more. That is why Jesus' teaching on it is so hard, because he has compassion for our pain. One woman I know who was divorced said that losing one husband to death was less painful than the divorce.
One posting really touched my heart. It was from a preacher named Bonnie in Minnesota. She wrote:
This is going to be a difficult week for me to preach because I have filed for divorce this week. The relationship has been very difficult. My husband has mental health problems and has been very abusive. It was time to leave. It will still be difficult to face my two churches this week.
Today let us pray for Bonnie and for every person young and old who has been hurt from the sin called divorce. To those here among us who suffer from the heartbreak of divorce, Jesus says, "Come to me you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest for your souls because my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Go like those little children in the gospel to Jesus and he will bless you with his Holy Spirit and heal you.
Divorce is all around us. Couples are splitting up all the time. Where is God in all this pain and anguish? What is the church doing about the number of marriages that are failing?
Here’s a true story. In 1952 a parish priest in Barcelona, Spain named Father Gabriel Calvo looked out at his people Sunday after Sunday and wept. He was seeing more and more couples that he married moving apart. It was if the two people in fact never married in their minds. Despite the marriage ceremony and the signed piece of paper they still saw themselves and operated as if they were single people, living lives that were stagnant with very little joy. How could two people be so lonely when God had given them the means to taste unlimited intimacy and passion?
His heart ached so much for the couples in his parish that he decided to take action, a course of action that nobody had ever taken before. You see, Father Gabriel Calvo also happened to have a degree in psychology. Father Calvo wrote a weekend outline for very different kind of retreat for husbands and wives in his parish to attend. By the time Father Gabriel’s weekend ended with Mass on Sunday afternoon, something deeply moving and profound had happened to the couples from his parish. They were so filled with joy they just had to go tell the other couples in their parish about the wonderful weekend they spent together with Father Calvo. Fr. Calvo gave his weekend in Florida and the same thing happened. It spread to the Catholic dioceses all through the United States and then to the rest of the world. It is known today as the Marriage Encounter Weekend. Other Christian denominations saw the power of the weekend and asked the Catholic Church for permission to give the weekend in their denominations. Just like it did with Cursillo, the Catholic Church leased the Marriage Encounter weekend to thirteen other Christian denominations.
We know today that Father Gabriel Calvo’s weekend came from the Holy Spirit because the outline he wrote is being used today at this very moment in 97 countries in the world. There are Marriage Encounter Weekends being given at this very moment all over the world. We can’t blame God for the divorce rate being out of control. Anybody can get God’s help for their marriage. The Retrouvaille weekend is available for those in troubled marriages. Just dial 1-800-LOVE to find out about Marriage Encounter or Retrouvaille weekends near you. At this very moment, God gives us the means to discover the joy He wants for us in our marriages. Over and over again He invites us to His banquet table but we always give Him excuses why we can’t come.
The seeds of divorce are in every marriage. All of us are capable of watering those seeds through our self-centered attitudes and behaviors. If we water those seeds often enough, our marriages will fail and we will experience the agony of separation and divorce. Today, Jesus reminds us that our marriages and our lives are not ours alone. They are gifts from God. All of us, whether we are single married or widowed have a stake in the marriages in our Christian community because we have a stake in one another. God made us to belong to one another. Our parish’s married couples are meant to be as holy and sacramental as the Body and Blood of Jesus that we will offer to the Father on this altar in a few moments.
Today Jesus reminds us that God doesn’t accept legalities that permit us to hurt and toss aside the people He has put into our lives. When Jesus sees us shoving people aside in our lives like he saw the apostles shooing away the children, Jesus stops us in our tracks. As Jesus takes the littlest and most helpless among us into His arms and blesses them He shows us that relationships are not just important, they’re everything.
Today Jesus reminds us God is the one who has joined us to each other.
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 19:28:30
All of the lectionary readings this week have, at their root, the contrast/drama that exists between the finite and infinite. There is God- ordered, creative, grace filled and forever- and there is the human- broken, imperfect, in need of grace. The preaching moment exists in seeking out the space between where we all live- the human longing to reunite with God, God's desire to reconcile with us.... finite meeting infinite, broken being made whole... represented most fully in the image of Christ dying upon the cross and the resurrection on Easter morning.
In this passage, it is best illustrated in the two understandings of the divorce law- yes, as Jesus acknowledges, Moses allowed for divorce but, as Jesus suggests, we are also answering to the higher calling that mere laws. God has a higher standard (indeed, a perfect standard) to which we hope to aspire. See also how the disciples try to prevent the children from coming to Jesus, just as the Pharasee's try to keep the people obedient to a law but not to God. Jesus stands in the center of the human condition I mentioned above- we long for a relationship with God yet are, by our nature, prevented from fully knowing this hope to which we aspire.
The other important bit of background is to remember that John the Baptist was arrested (and as a result lost his head) for speaking out against Herod's divorce. The Pharasee's are seeking to trap Jesus in the same fate by getting him to speak out publically against divorce. But, of course, he's too clever for that!
Last comment- read a few paragraph's before this passage- a man calls out "I beieve, help my unbelief!" What a great expression of the human condition!
Date: 07 Oct 2000
Time: 21:20:12
Eliz in NY-
Thank you for that explanation.
crystal