A Sacred Bond - Pentecost XVIII--Year B--October 4, 2009 - The Reverend David R. Williams

God of grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have given us new life in the waters of baptism; strengthen us to live in righteousness and true holiness, that we may grow into the likeness of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus is asked by the Pharisees.

The answer Jesus gives eventually has become one of the most controversial passages in the Bible – especially for people like you and me living in a gray, imperfect world.  We know by all means that marriage is sacred.  We also know all too well that marriages may die.  Like most Christians, we ask, “What would Jesus say or do?”

The subject is always a challenge for the preacher.  I looked at the lectionary lessons a couple of weeks ago and said to myself, “Uh, oh!  Marriage and Divorce is coming up.”

A story is told about a couple planning to get married.  On their way to the ceremony, the couple has a fatal car accident.  While they are sitting outside heaven’s gate, waiting for St. Peter to do the paperwork, they wonder if they could possibly get married in heaven. 

St. Peter finally shows up, and he answers the couple’s question, “I don’t know, this is the first time anyone has ever asked.  Let me go find out.” 

The couple waits patiently for a couple of months for St. Peter to return. They begin to wonder if they really should get married in heaven, what with the eternal aspect of it all. 

“What if it doesn’t work out?” they ask.  “Will we be stuck together forever?”

St Peter returns after yet another month, looking somewhat bedraggled.  “Yes,” he informs the couple, “you can get married in heaven.”

“Great,” says the couple, “but what if things don’t work out?  Could we also get a divorce in heaven?”

St. Peter, red-faced, slams his clipboard onto the ground.

“What’s wrong?” exclaims the frightened couple

“Please!” St. Peter exclaims, “It took me three months to find a priest up here!  Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take for me to find a lawyer?”

Jesus never answers “yes” or “no” to a stump question by those authorities out to get him.  Jesus takes charge of the dialogue. 

“Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor or not?” The adversaries of Jesus try in another scenario to catch him in a trap.

“Whose head is on the coin?” Jesus asks. 

“What did Moses command you about divorce?” Jesus asks.

Jesus begins to lecture his assailants about marriage – the sanctity, the sacredness, the one-ness of marriage.  “What God has joined together, let no one separate.”

This is what makes the humorous story so relevant: after a three-month wait, the couple begins not just to hear, but also to feel “eternity.”  What does eternity – “until death do us part” – actually mean?

I feel privileged to have parents ready to celebrate their sixty-ninth wedding anniversary in January.  Wow!  What inspiration. 

You can’t tell me that they have not had good days and bad days throughout the past sixty-nine years – I have lived with some of those tough moments with my folks, but I have known them to model the words of our Lord, “What God had joined together, let no one separate.”  And they have been in love with each other every moment of their marriage.  Sure, there are days grumpier than others.  And there have been disagreements, disappointments, and arguments alongside the joys and the blessings. 

Jesus answers his challengers on another level from their concern about law and tradition; Jesus answers in the spirit of intent, the spirit of a committed marriage.  When two people come together for marriage, the occasion is not about divorce or about who (men, in the Pharisee tradition) can dispose of whom (women, in the Pharisee tradition).

The entire question and process obviously makes Jesus angry and he throws it right back into their faces.  Jesus does not like the inequity of men controlling women, nor does Jesus approve of the way the Law of Moses is being interpreted. 

When the writer Mark develops the person and the character of Jesus, as Mark has known Jesus, Mark uses stories like this to make a bigger point.  The concept of marriage – between two people – is comparable to the marriage relationship of God and humanity as celebrated at our Baptism.     God makes promises over time – to a struggling humanity-- and we break those promises.  God stays with us, providing an incarnate version of himself, Jesus the Christ, to show God’s love. 

Jesus dies.  Some marriages die.  Eternity “until death do us part” embraces frailty and human vulnerability.  Divorce does not come without suffering, without darkness and judgment.  Just read again the story of the land of Uz – the story of Job.  For no earthly or heavenly reason, human beings do suffer.

Our best intentions, hopes and dreams undergo transformation and may break--in spite of ourselves.  Too, we may know loss because of our selfish nature, our desire to be like God.

Jesus is resurrected as we are raised from our darkness. 

“Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?”

We renew our Baptismal vows:

“I will, with the help of God.” 

“Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?”

“I hope so, Lord.  It is a bit overwhelming when I think of doing this for eternity.”

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

“God help me, I will. And I might fail.  I know you, Lord, will guide me through that darkness.”

Today we celebrate and dedicate a wonderful gift to Holy Comforter.  Gifts like the Holy Comforter landscape and gardens are made in the true spirit of genuine love – love of a living Christ.  Sam, David, and Tom Moore have graced the church with Japanese maple and holly trees, nandinas and azaleas.  Their sister Anne Moore Colgin loved natural gardens and landscape architecture.  The gift, thoughtfully and quietly made, is in memory of Anne. 

This gift, as any gift to a beloved, speaks dedication and loyalty surpassing all dailiness--enabling each of us a glimpse of the eternal. 

Amen.