"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts, from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church Vero Beach, FL
Some Pharisees came, and to test [Jesus] they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7‘ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 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. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:2-16
D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Remember that song by country music legend Tammy Wynette, the title above? It came out in 1968 when the subject of divorce in America was still sort of taboo to talk about publicly. The song is a woman's lament of having to divorce her husband (we don't know the reasons why), but in it (click the link below to hear it - it's a beautiful song) she laments the divorce mostly in light of her then 4 year old son, and how it might affect him. She and her husband would often speak of special things or events in front of their young son by spelling the word/s out. T-O-Y, or S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E, and others. She didn't want her son's tender ears to hear these words for various reasons. I bet some of you parents may have done the same thing in your parenting days, right?
Anyhow, part of the lament of the song is that something had broken. The family bond. The little "unit" of family that once was together no longer is. And for Wynette in her song, it was hard to square, because divorce is not the way she had intended her marriage to end up. That sacred bond had been broken, and the family unit was forever scattered.
Sometimes we look at the bible as a reference guide on how to live our lives. Let's see...divorce. Hmmm...what does the bible have to say about this touchy subject, as if the bible were a "Guide for Dummies" (remember these yellow books), where you can go and look up a favorite topic, anc voila, there were "how to" tips on your favorite subject. Except, that's not what the bible is. It's not a reference guide or a how to book on life. It's a collection of letters, laments, histories loosely interpreted, and such, about faith. About God. About God acting in our world then, and now, and how God faithfully seeks us out again and again when we wander. It's a collection of faith accounts, if you will, of people "inspired" by God to write accounts of faith. Unfortunately, in this incidence, divorce, there is no "how to" on it all, except in the law of Moses, and what the law prescribes in the event of a divorce. It's a legalistic means for the man (not the woman) to obtain a divorce from his wife.
But I think this gospel account for Sunday is more. It's about God's creation, and how God takes great pains to put his creation together, and how harmonious it is, and how well it all works. Until humankind comes along. And breaks this bond between God and man, and between man and...woman. And it all sort of falls apart. Not because of what God has done, but because of what we do to God's good creation. And it's not just about us breaking bonds between two people that puts a crack in God's creation. It's about how humankind destroys creation itself - this beautiful and fragile thing we call earth. Our home. And how we abuse and neglect it, just like we do with our relationships.
And so, we hear in this gospel reading today, the Pharisees again trying to trick Jesus into answering a question about divorce, and the law of Moses. And again, Jesus refuses to take the bait. I think our first reading from Genesis 2 for Sunday (18-24) is a good complement to the gospel, because it reminds us of how God intended creation to be. And how we mess it up. Whether it's divorce, or ecologically, or through wars (whoa on the wars, right?) and more. And so we pray for Shalom. For a return to God's good creation that we humans continue to spoil.
But the good news is and remains, God's steadfast love for his creation, and that includes us. Broken, sinful creatures that we are. Scripture is about God first loving us, our apostasy (turning from God), and God steadfastly loving us and seeking us out when we lose our way. Think of the 1 sheep and the 99; the one coin under the bed leaving behind the 99, and more. The good news is that God will never leave or forsake us, despite our best efforts to have God not love us.
So, yes, divorce is painful. But so is war. So is abuse and neglect. So are so many other things that we humans do to spoil God's creation. But God sees us, and loves us all the more, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave himself up for our sake. That we might be forever reconciled to God. That our sin might become his sin. That our death might become his death. And that his resurrection might be our resurrection. Thanks be to God. Amen? Amen.
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS - TOMORROW, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6TH
Bring your caged or leashed animal to worship tomorrow, and during the prayers, we'll invite them up for a Blessing of the Animals. That's right. It might get a little messy or noisy for a while, but we love our animals, don't we? Aren't able to bring your pet, here are TWO options:
1.) bring in some pet food, canned or dry, or a blanket or two, and we'll donate what you bring to HALO, the animal adoption facility in Sebastian. All of us can at least do this.
2.) Have a pet but don't want to bring him/her? Do #1 above, and we'll have some animal cut outs available tomorrow for you to write your animal/'s name on. During the blessing, we'll include them as well. It'll be a fun day tomorrow. Let's enjoy it together.
Tammy Wynette song link
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