A Kingdom for Everyone
Posted on Oct 07, 2018 by David Whetter
As I noted last Sunday, we are in the midst of reading through a portion of Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus is trying to teach the disciples about how God desires we live and care for the world. This series started with Jesus predicting his death and resurrection, but the disciples didn’t understand and instead of pursuing what that meant, they began arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest. Upon hearing this, Jesus took a child, the most vulnerable of that society, and told them that greatness would not be found in being the best, or being the strongest; no, greatness will be found by welcoming and serving the most vulnerable of our world. We are called to care for the vulnerable.
Then, last week that scene continued, with Jesus still holding that child, and immediately after he told them to care for the most vulnerable, John, without missing a beat, ignored all that and said, yeah, but we shouldn’t allow others, who aren’t us, help people, should we? And, of course, we remember Jesus’ straightforward response, “Don’t stop anyone who desires to heal this world in my name.” And to make his point, Jesus said we are to cut anything out of our lives that will cause others not to experience God in this world. God’s ways are not our ways, and as odd as they might look at times, God is busy reconciling the world to herself, and nothing, and no one, should get in her way. God walks with, stands with, and seeks to heal all people, especially the vulnerable.
And so, here we are this morning, and you are probably saying, we get it! It’s clear, God wants us to be his hands and feet in this world, for EVERYONE. Let’s move on. But if truth be told, we are probably like those disciples and other religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Like them, don’t we, also, think that there must be some people that we don’t need to care about. I mean, don’t we all want to know who the vulnerable ones are that we don’t have to worry about? We don’t need to worry about the people in Palestine, or the Middle East, or Haiti, or Columbia, or…”. After all, that’s the way it is in that part of the world, right? Those aren’t our problems. Or even closer to home, racism isn’t our problem, right, I mean, we aren’t racist. Heck, I don’t abuse my wife, I treat women with respect, I don’t see why all these women are complaining about stuff that might have happened 10, 20, 30 years ago? It isn’t a problem for me, or my family, so let’s move on!
Well, this is exactly how people of Jesus’ day thought, too. As Jesus was sitting there holding that child, the most vulnerable of that society, the Pharisees wanted to test him. They wanted to see where they could identify the loopholes in God’s law. They wanted to know who those vulnerable were that God wasn’t going to include in this teaching. I mean, surely God didn’t mean that men needed to care for a woman who wasn’t doing what she was supposed to do. Surely God didn’t mean that a man had to keep a wife that wasn’t doing everything the husband wanted, right?
You see, women in Jesus' day, as in many parts of the world today, had no rights or status without a man. They were considered property. Without a father, or husband, women were not much higher on the status chain than children. So, Jesus, let’s talk about divorce. Surely you don’t mean that a man should have to keep a wife that isn’t cooking properly, or cleaning properly, or caring for him properly, right? After all, Moses provided for divorce; it is the law.
Of course divorce is legal, but that doesn’t mean it was God’s intent. God’s intent was that in committing ourselves to each other, regardless of gender, that we would become one. In the Gospel of John, Jesus prays that we might all be one, like he and the Father are one (John 17:11). I know many of you sitting there today are divorced, or have a loved one who is divorced, and texts like this are hard, even impossible, to listen to, so let me say one thing — God loves you and God grieves that broken relationship with you. You are not going to hell because you are divorced, a question I was asked recently. No, Jesus did not condemn divorce because he wanted us to stay in bad, unhealthy relationships. What Jesus was trying to say was this — God made us to be in relationships. God desires that we live in committed relationships and God upholds those relationships as sacred. Jesus commanded us to love as he loved. Yes, marriage is a sacred relationship, but I don’t think that is where God draws the line here. Friendships, relationships in faith communities and between other faith communities, are sacred, too. Relationships between genders, races, nations, and relationships of all kinds ought to be held sacred, and when we seek ways to be out of those relationships because of our own personal desires, wants, and ways, then we have failed to be the creation God has created us to be.
When we ask questions like, is it legal to get divorced? Why do I need to do anything about helping get water to those villages in Tanzania? Why do I need to do anything about the suffering of those who live in Palestine? Why should I have to do something about the crime in the inner city, that isn’t where I live? Why do I need to stand with women, or men, who have been abused, that’s not my problem? Why do we need to offer programs that help people get free food or at a reduced cost, they should handle their own problems; after all, I work, I handle my own stuff? When we ask questions like these, then we are asking the wrong questions. We ought to be asking, LORD, how can I best serve and accompany the vulnerable? LORD, give me the strength to love as you have loved me.
Like our ancestors before us, so often we love to hear about God’s love and mercy as long as it is for us, but we struggle with offering that same love and mercy to those we don’t like, or don’t know. But today, Jesus invites us to open our hearts and our minds to those most in need. He challenges us to “see” those who are vulnerable, and then care for them as Jesus cared for the vulnerable, whoever they may be.
So, once again, I invite you to imagine with me that scene that is before us today — Jesus is sitting before us holding a child, and as he sits there, more of society’s most vulnerable are being brought to him. As you see the scene unfold, you see people who have been abused, people of color, those who are of other nationalities, refugees, those who are jobless, homeless, hungry, poor, those who have to live in fear of violence in their neighborhoods, and so many more. The crowd around him grows, and as it does, we want to stop them. We want Jesus to be with us, but as we seek to stop them, Jesus says, “ '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.' And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:14-16).
Brothers and sisters, our story today makes it clear that God is present among the vulnerable, the hurting, and the marginalized. And if that’s where you find God, then that’s probably where God’s Church should be, too. Our call is to extend grace, accompany, support, and love for those the culture is prone to leave behind, those without power, those who are easy to miss or dismiss. For it is to such as these, Jesus says, that the kingdom of God belongs. Amen.