The
Gospel passage from Mark 10:2-16 appears at first glance to be two unrelated
stories, but there is a connection between the two of them. Both stories tell
us how Jesus cares for the outcasts and the less fortunate in society and how
he expects us to treat them.
In
Old Testament times, children and women were on the lower levels of society.
Women were seen as nothing more than property, and children were considered to
be useless until they were old enough to help out around the property. Women
could become the victims of divorce for reasons as minor as burning the meal, not
keeping the house clean or for getting older. As a result, if they did not have
another male relative to support them, they usually ended up in prostitution.
God
intends for marriage to last forever, but he also knows our faults. He gave us
a high standard to aim for, but he always keeps our weaknesses in mind when he
deals with us. That does not give us an excuse to sin. He always calls us to
obey him and refuse to compromise what he knows is right. When we honour him
with our conduct, he blesses us with an abundant sense of peace, joy and
goodness.
God
knows that in some cases divorce is inevitable, especially in cases of
physical, mental or emotional abuse. That is why Moses allowed divorce, but he
made it as difficult as possible. The divorce document had to be written, and
because most people could not read or write, the process took time. It was
hoped that during this time both parties would work out their differences and
save their marriage.
Divorce
is painful. It hurts people other than the parties directly involved. Siblings
and parents suffer. Friends sometimes have to choose sides. I’m speaking from
personal knowledge, because my own brother is divorced from his wife. The
people who hurt the most though are the children. They are often caught in the
middle of the proceedings and disagreements. It’s bad enough that some people
think that children should be seen and not heard. Children are vulnerable
enough as it is, and they are often the most vulnerable in a divorce.
Mark’s
Gospel is the gospel of mercy, so it is appropriate that Mark follows Jesus’
teaching about marriage and divorce with Jesus’ calling of the little children.
Broken marriages and little children represent the sad state of the human race
and condition. When Jesus embraced the children, he embraced the human race and
replaced its pain with the love he has in his heart.
All
of us are hurting in one way or another. The only way we can get over our hurt
and our pain is to come to Jesus like a little child-naïve, trusting, full of
wonder and curiosity. We need to come to him with a simple faith. If this seems
simple, it is because it is simple. All we have to do is remember the words of
the 1970s hit song “Everything is Beautiful”:
Jesus loves the little children
All little children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
Jesus
came to heal the wounds cause by Adam and Eve and the original sin in the
Garden of Eden. He came to heal relationships and broken marriages, our
relationship with each other and our relationship with the less fortunate.
Rather than establishing hopelessly high standards, Jesus is calling us to a
high vision. He wants us to conduct ourselves in keeping with God’s will so
that we might be a blessing to our families, our neighbours, and ourselves.
When we fail to keep his perfect standards perfectly, our failures remind us
that Jesus, the cross and the empty tomb is our only hope.
1. Stanley, C.F.: The
Charles F. Stanley Life Principles
Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2009)
2. Fr. Mark Edney, O.P., “Healing Our Original Wound”.
Retrieved from http://torch.op.org/preaching_sermon-item.php?sermon=5706
9. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 27th
Sunday (B)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org.
10. McKenna, D.L. and Ogilvie, L.J., The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 25:Mark (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
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