Reach Out and Care

Mark 10:2-16

           This week Jesus begins by teaching about divorce.  First and foremost I want to be clear that divorce in the 1^st century was much different than it is today.  It often left women and children to fend for themselves.  In those days women were at the bottom of society.  They were on the fringes.  They were on the outside.  Being served divorce papers from her husband only put her in a worse position.  So, Jesus explains that divorce is not lawful.  It is not lawful because of the effects that it has on these women, the marginalized.

            Many people today have been touched by divorce.  I would guess that a majority of us gathered here today have been affected by divorce in one way or another.  I am not excluded from this phenomenon, as my parents are divorced.  I have also witnessed the divorce of other family and friends.  I do not think it is my job as your pastor to stand before you today and condemn or condone divorce.  I think my role is to make this text relevant for us today.  To be honest, I think it is about much more than divorce. 

That is part of the reason that the lectionary continues with Jesus welcoming children, that the disciples were trying to shoo away.  Who knows why the disciples were shooing them away.  Maybe the children were sick or maybe they thought Jesus was too busy.  Remember children were at the bottom of society, too.  They were on the fringes.  They were on the outside.  Jesus, tells the disciples that the kingdom of God belongs to these children, the marginalized.

I think the lessons Jesus was sharing about divorce and children can point us to an even bigger lesson.  I think the message that can be found in our texts today is two-fold.  First, we are created, by God, to be in relationship with others.  Second, we are called to care for the marginalized in our society.

            God created us as individuals to be in relationship with others.  I don’t just mean romantic relationships like marriage.  I mean all relationships.  We were not created to be alone or lonely.  We were created to have friends and family.  We were created to be parents, to be siblings, to be friends, to be co-workers, to be partners, to be relational beings.  We were created to be in relationship with one another.  Everyone is created to be in relationship with others.  Each person was created to love and to be loved.  But it doesn’t always happen that way.  There are people who feel unloved.  There are people who feel unlovable.  Often the marginalized feel like they are unloved or unlovable.  They are the ones we are called by God to love.

Jesus was constantly looking out for the marginalized in the world around him.  As we know Jesus typically was turning the world upside down.  He would welcome the stranger.  He would make the last become first.  He would love the unlovable.  He would give the kingdom to the least of these.  Who are the marginalized in our midst?  Who is it that we, as God’s people, are called to care for?

A mother and wife is fearful of returning home.  She knows that her husband will greet her at the door with more abuse, both physical and emotional.  She is afraid of what might happen to their son.  Would her husband possibly hurt him?  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A father stands near the interstate bundled up as best as he can with a sign that reads “I need to pay the heat bill.”  After losing his job last month, his wife and newborn baby are at home in the cold house without the funds to keep warm.  He was hoping the cold weather would hold off until he was able to get another job.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A teenage girl just found out she is pregnant.  She has no way to care for this child and knows that her parents will condemn her if they find out.  She contemplates an abortion, yet wonders if maybe taking her own life would be easier.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A woman sits in a cell alone, wishing that someone would come visit her.  She has spent far too many days alone, locked in this prison cell.  She counts down the days wondering when she will die.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A teen finds ways to spend a majority of time away from home, because she is afraid of the way her parents fight at home.  She participates in nearly every extra-curricular activity, just so she can get away.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A man is sad, depressed, and alone as he sits in his hospice room.  He has no family to visit him.  He wishes and hopes for his own death so he can be reunited with his wife.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A young boy comes home covered in bruises.  At school his so-called-friends punched him while calling him names because he befriended the new kid at school who didn’t really fit in.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

A family of five sits down together, knowing it is time to eat as their stomachs beg for food.  The cupboards are empty though.  They have nothing to eat.  They hope their children will make it until the next school day so they can have a warm meal.  God, help us to reach out and care for your children.

Lest you think these are fictional stories that could never happen here – think again.  These people exist here in Rapid City, in our state, and in our world.  If it was unlawful in the 1^st century for a husband to divorce his wife because it left her on the margins, then it is also unlawful to let these children of God suffer on the margins.  These are the marginalized in our midst.  These are the powerless.  These are God’s children.  These are who we are called to be in relationship with.  These are the ones to whom the kingdom of God belongs.  These people deserve to love and to be loved.  These are the ones who we are called to care for on behalf of Jesus, the one who first cared for us, by giving his life for the life of the world.  Amen.