Mark 10:2-16 is one of those texts that no pastor really wants to preach on because it is a tough text that has Jesus responding to an issue that is very real for us in ways that at first do not appear to be too friendly. In fact they seem offensive. As people of the year 2015 we look at this text from thousands of years ago and we squirm in our seats, or even worse we do not hear or feel the good news, rather we feel like we are less of a human being. This text is hard and I do not claim to have any concrete resolutions to make this text a bright and shiny, happy go lucky text. All I can offer is a response from one who has listened to the broken hearts going through divorce and speak to their experience as the vulnerable being lifted up and cared for by a loving God.
Perhaps the first thing we need to do is to look at this text within its context. First, it was a patriarchal world where men had say over women and were often treated more like property than human beings. Second, marriages were not based on love as it is today, rather marriage was based on property, status, and honor between two families. And lastly, divorce was acceptable in some cases at the time Jesus was speaking as he references a law from way back in the Old Testament when Moses was leading the Israelites (Mark G. Vitalis Hoffman, www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2638).
Working from this cultural worldview, divorce was something that had horrible consequences for women: they were marked with disgrace within their families and publicly, they likely now faced economic hardship, and faced a very limited future for her and her children. In a word, divorce made women vulnerable.
Jesus’ admonition against divorce then served one purpose, to protect the vulnerable that are treated as objects. Jesus seeks to move from viewing women as property to that of equal status and worth as God intended in the Garden of Eden where both Adam and Eve were equal partners. For God’s intention in creation was for humanity to be in relationships of mutual dependence and health.
And yet, as someone who had not been directly impacted by divorce, I am left wanting more from this text for our current time and place. It is a similar sentiment shared by those whom I have spoken with who have gone through or are going through divorce. How is this good news today when women share equal rights in this country (or at least they should)? How is this good news to children who may not comprehend what is happening to their family dynamic? How is this good news when it is a mutually decided upon divorce? But really, how it is good news at all?
For the past few weeks in our gospel readings Jesus has included children in some form or another to teach the disciples what it means to follow him. In Mark 7:24-37 we heard about the Syro-Phoenician woman with an ailing daughter who displayed the truth that God’s mission is not to a select people, but to all. And in Mark 9:30-37 we saw Jesus pick up a little child and teach us that whoever welcomes a child in Jesus’ name does indeed welcome God. And then we have today’s text where Jesus tells us that if we do not receive the kingdom of God like we would receive a child, we will never enter it. Why?
You see children were just about the most vulnerable thing in the ancient world (Matt Skinner, workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=401). They were considered not fully developed humans and they had virtually no political standing. In essence, they were not much of anything. For Jesus then to take one on his lap and to say that to welcome the Kingdom of God you must accept this child was a command for us to reach out to those who are suffering, those who are ill, those who are hurting, and those who are vulnerable.
How is this passage good news? I suppose that living out this text will depend upon whether or not it is received as gospel or as another antiquated biblical passage that makes people wonder whether or not the Bible has anything to say to us in 2015. We as the community of believers in a God who gives us love, mercy, and kindness must live out these virtues and more for all of those going through divorce no matter who they are or what has transpired. That is what Jesus is telling his disciples, that they must welcome all people even the most vulnerable and those living within the open wounds of divorce. We are called to love our neighbors, especially those who are vulnerable.
Mark's text confronts us with the issues of the broken, the abandoned, and the vulnerable. Mark places these people right in front of with no escape...this is an issue that must be dealt with as a disciple. Yes, divorce is always a tough and terrible thing because a relationship between two people in some way has been severed. Yet, there are circumstances when staying married is worse than divorce (Bonnie Wilcox, Currents in Theology & Mission, 10/4/15). But here is the good news, God is mindful of all those caught up in this difficult situation so much so that God sent God’s only son to care for them and to show us that they must be tended to because such love and compassion to the vulnerable is what the Kingdom of God is all about.
My hope and prayer is that all people may live into the vision of my current congregation, that all are welcome. Furthermore, I pray that those who are hurting and finding themselves vulnerable in a tumultuous time may find sanctuary among God’s people in this place. If you find yourself in such a situation, you are welcomed, you are loved, and you are embraced by a most merciful and kind God. And that is good news.
Best,
Tom
