October
8, 2000
Mark 10:2-16 (CEV)
Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and
asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus asked
them, "What does the Law of Moses say about that?"
They answered, "Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers
and send his wife away."
Jesus replied, "Moses gave you this law because you are so
heartless. But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. That's
why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes
like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people,
but one. And no one should separate a couple that God has joined
together."
When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked
him about what he had said. He told them, "A man who divorces
his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. A
woman who divorces her husband and marries against is also unfaithful.
Some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless
them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the
people to stop bothering him.
When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, "Let the children
come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these
little children belong to the kingdom of God. I promise you that
you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way
a child does." Then Jesus took the children in his arms and
blessed them by placing his hands on them.
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1.
If the question about divorce was to be a test there must have
been an expectation of a response which would have been outside
the boundaries acceptable to the Pharisees. What do you think
would have been an unacceptable answer regarding divorce?
2.
How do we handle this issue of divorce or unfaithfulness within
the church these days? How is this similar to and different from
the issue of other separations and divisions? For instance, from
last week we hear about someone who is healing in Jesus' name
but is not a part of the "disciples." Is that a divorce
which shows unfaithfulness? Is the keeping of children from Jesus
an unfaithfulness and thus the same as a divorce which keeps that
which GOD intended to be together, apart? This raises the question
of what is a couple?
3.
So Jesus blessed the children who have an intuitional approach
to matters of the faith. It was not that the children were doctrinally
correct or institutionally astute, but that they have a sense
of what it means to be coupled? When we can see what needs to
be together, regardless of doctrine or institution, we are in
tune with the "kindom" of GOD. In knowing this song
there is a deep blessing.