Genesis 2:18-24           Psalm 8            Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16

            As if prompted by today’s scripture readings, Friday I went to the county clerk’s office and registered as a clergy in the State of Arkansas so I can now perform marriages in the eyes of the state.  What I’ve been able to do in the eyes of the church since March, I can now do as an agent of our government.  The marriage rite, unlike other sacramental acts in our church, is one in which the separation of church and state vanishes.  Marriages began as contractual agreements between fathers – a transfer of property.  Thankfully, over time, marriage took on the meaning God intended and addresses in today’s scriptures while maintaining its legal authority.   

            In the creation story, the Lord said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”  The significance of this verse cannot be understated.  For as one of my professors said when reflecting on the integration of women into the life of the seminary, “It helped an awful lot to civilize the place.  Is there any form of life lower than a group of males?”  Humans, male and female, were created in the image of God.  God is therefore imprinted in our very DNA and it is God’s intent that we not go through life alone.  This is not to say that everyone must be married to fulfill God’s plan for us.  It is to say that God intents for us to live in community – communities of two or more.  In committed relationships, we are to help and love each other as God loves us.

            Divorces were not uncommon when Jesus was tested by the Pharisees who asked him if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife.  Jesus replied, “What did Moses command you?”  The Pharisees confirmed that Moses allowed it, to which Jesus said, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.  But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  Over and over again Jesus challenges the law and, as often as not, he challenges the strictness of the law.  Here, however, Jesus challenges the leniency of the law.  Would Jesus suggest an abused women stay in an abusive relationship?  Would Jesus prescribe celibacy for men and women who were left by their spouses – lest they commit adultery? 

            I would be among the first to argue against such a notion.  Psychologists and other counselors point out that we must love ourselves before we can be a part of a healthy relationship with another person.  In our humanity, we often fall short of what God intends for us, our hearts are often hardened and we need forgiveness.  Failure is one of the ways we learn – and failures in relationships are for many, the way they come to understand the necessity of loving oneself in order to love another. 

            When Jesus said what he did, it was at a time when marriage was binding for the woman, but not the man.  There were, in rabbinic laws just causes for a woman to divorce a man – but they were only a couple such reasons for a woman to do so.  A man, however, could divorce his wife without cause.  Jesus leveled the playing field and called attention to the responsibility a husband and wife have for each other.  Marriage was not to be entered into lightly, but with great reverence. 

            Earlier in Mark, marriage is used as a metaphor for Christ’s relationship with his disciples.  When asked why his disciples were not fasting, Jesus responds, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day (Mar 2:19-20 NRS). ” Jesus is referring to himself and his disciples.  And here in Mark, Jesus says, “what God has joined, let no one separate.”  Living in community with one another requires commitment, patience, and forgiveness.  Whether the community is a marriage or a church, God’s intent is for us is to commit to help and support each other.  Relationships are not to be taken lightly, for we are to seek and serve Christ in all persons – meaning, how we treat other people is how we treat Christ himself.  This is true for strangers as well as our family and friends.

            Continuing on, the Gospel then tells us that parents are bringing their children to Jesus for his blessings, but the disciples attempt to stop them.  Jesus is indignant and says 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.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 

Above the altar at St. Paul’s in Fayetteville where I joined the Episcopal Church there is a stained glass window of Jesus receiving the children.  This image of Christ has always meant a great deal to me.  After receiving communion, I would look up at the window and see the love and acceptance in Jesus’ eyes.  One scholar notes this takes place as Jesus was on his way to the cross and, nonetheless, he took time to bless the children.  Though he might be right about the sequence of events, I would suggest it was the children who blessed Christ.  Children approach people with such innocence and trust.  A child will trust a complete stranger for help getting a drink from a fountain.  A child does not see the color of a person’s skin as anything other than the color of his skin.  Distrust and prejudice are taught.  Trust and acceptance come naturally.  Christ said we cannot receive the kingdom of God unless we approach God as a child.  We must both trust God and accept God’s love.  God may not need our love in return, but God does desire it and I believe God is as thankful for our love as we are thankful when a child gives us a hug. 

One of the greatest privileges I have here is serving communion.  More often than not, I see in your eyes, the same expectancy I see in the eyes of children who come for communion with outstretched arms anticipating the gift of Christ’s body and blood.  It is a remarkable experience.  In the great mystery of our faith, we come to the altar forgiven, loved, and expectant.  Theology takes a back seat to our experience of the divine and Christ welcomes us to his table and gives us his blessing. 

I was always comforted by that window at St. Paul’s and when I learned the story behind it, its meaningfulness only increased.  The window was given by a couple who had three children.  There are three children pictured in the window with Christ.  All three children died from diphtheria in the 1920’s, and all three are memorialized in the window above the altar.  Like the love of God, the light shines through the memory of their children as the rays of the sun fill the church with color and light.  The softness in the face of Jesus and the gentleness reflected in the scene remind us that Christ invites us to come unto him – to come as a child, sometimes frightened, often confused, hurt, and angry.  We approach relationships with others the same way – sometimes frightened, often confused, hurt, and angry.  We are vulnerable as a child is vulnerable.  And yet, Christ calls us to commit ourselves to each other and to God.  And Christ invites us to come experience the comfort we can’t explain, the comfort we can find in him.