Speaking about divorce, Jesus named its root as “hardness of heart.” Then, welcoming children, he showed what softness of heart looks like.
Here’s a transcript:
I’m thinking about the tenth chapter of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 10:2-16) — thinking about it, but I won’t be preaching. We have a guest to the pulpit at Church of the Holy Cross this coming Sunday: the Reverend Jessicah Nakamura. I’m very much looking forward to her wisdom and her words.
The tenth chapter of Mark, well, at least its beginning, is not my favorite. I doubt that it’s very many people’s favorite passage in Scripture. It opens with a group of Pharisees coming to Jesus and asking his opinion on divorce. Jesus replied Moses gave this to you — divorce — because of your hardness of heart.
It’s tough to argue that he was wrong.
I have been officiating at weddings for over 35 years and never once have I encountered a couple who planned to get divorced. I believe it does happen, but my goodness, the circumstances in which it makes any sense are pretty rare. People come into relationships intending for them to make them stronger as individuals and as a family. They come into a marriage with the intention that it will last.
But then along comes hardness of heart, and nobody plans for that one, either.
Hardness of heart can be simply disagreements that cannot be reconciled, because the interests clash too deeply. Hardness of heart can also be violent and abusive. And in either case, without some willingness to melt the heart, then divorce is the best option.
Unfortunately, in the 2000 years since Jesus said these words, we human beings have maintained our hardness of heart.
The second part of this passage (which is, I think, where Reverend Nakamura might be focusing this Sunday) is the one in which mothers bring children to Jesus so that he might touch them, and the disciples tried to keep them away. I think Mark juxtaposed these stories for good reason. Because on the one hand, there was the example of the pain and the injury of hardness of heart, broken relationships, broken families; and then next to it Jesus’ example: “Let the children come to me,” illustrating what it means to have an open and soft heart.
If we can, in these days and weeks and months and years ahead, let us follow Jesus’ lead in welcoming the children, welcoming the adults in our lives, to give them the blessings of God and of our deep and precious love.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
