Of such is the kingdom of God

Then he arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to him again, and as he was accustomed, he taught them again.

The Pharisees came and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing him. And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the 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 then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

In the house his disciples also asked him again about the same matter. So he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Then they brought little children to him, that he might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

- Mark 10:1-16

Jesus now begins his Judean ministry, leaving Galilee. The focus here is Jerusalem. We recall his repeated warnings to his disciples in recent readings that he is to be rejected and treated with contempt, that he will be killed and that he will rise from the dead. They have failed to completely understand these warnings. In today's reading, his confrontations begin with the Pharisees.

Then he arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to him again, and as he was accustomed, he taught them again. Clearly, Jesus is already well-known in Judea, and so, he begins his teaching ministry. My study bible notes, "Teaching is not all people need, but it is indispensable for effective Christian living."

The Pharisees came and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing him. And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." The Pharisees begin to test Jesus. My study bible says that scribes and Pharisees often debated the legal basis for divorce. At this time, all that was required for divorce was a certificate written by a dissatisfied husband. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept." My study bible notes that "Moses' legislation on divorce is a concession to a human weakness, hardness of heart, which is at the root of divorce on the part of one partner or both." Often, we will find this phrase, "hardness of heart," used to mean a lack of spiritual understanding. Jesus' perception of marriage is as a sacrament, a spiritual union with a spiritual perspective to understand. "But from the beginning of the 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 then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." We must recall that at Christ's time a divorced woman had very little left to her in life - difficulty supporting herself, a lack of social status. What Jesus is encouraging here is a spiritual union between the partners in a marriage; in spiritual terms they are "no longer two, but one flesh." This is love, a union in which each partner is indispensable to the other. Marriage is a sacrament by the grace of God. My study bible notes that the issue here is not really whether or not divorce is permissible, but rather the bond of the marriage -- can such a spiritual union be truly broken, even when divorce occurs?

In the house his disciples also asked him again about the same matter. So he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." My study bible notes that, "According to Jesus, remarriage after divorce is equivalent to adultery." We must understand, however, that the case of a woman divorcing her husband was only applicable to Gentiles in Jesus' time. Jewish women could not legally divorce their husbands. In Matthew's gospel, the discussion of divorce will include Jesus' exception of "sexual immorality" as a grounds for divorce. (See reading and commentary on Matthew 19:1-12, The two shall become one flesh.) The ancient Church would expand reasons for divorce to include threat to one partner's life, desertion, and forced prostitution. Divorce, however granted, remained considered to be a great spiritual tragedy - and it is this spiritual perspective that we are encouraged to take on marriage itself, in order to form our understanding of the nature of marriage in the first place. Through marriage, we are to learn love - a separation from selfishness that is the spiritual discipline required in our relationship to God. In this perspective, a good marriage helps each partner not only in growth in the understanding of love, but also in relationship and spiritual growth with respect to God.

Then they brought little children to him, that he might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. My study bible says that "Jesus rebukes the disciples not only because he has compassion for children, but because children are models of those who receive the kingdom in their openness and simple trust." I find it interesting that the passage on the little children is juxtaposed together with the one on divorce (and essentially, on the nature of marriage). Children are loving without questioning. In some sense, we get a taste of the nature of love in relationship that Jesus encourages. Belief, or faith, as we have often said, in the original Greek word in the gospels (pistis/πιστις), means more than an assent to a set of values. It also means trust. Nowhere do we understand the component of trust in relationship more clearly than in the example of a child.

In a marriage - as a spiritual sacrament that hopefully leads us closer into relationship with Creator - and in the relationship of the child to Christ, we see something in common: the concept of love and trust. Trust is an inseparable component of love. As we are taught that God is love, the entire spiritual dimension of relationship and relatedness - through marriage, or in the example of the children welcomed and blessed by Christ - becomes more clearly apparent when considered from this perspective of trust. Trust is an important component of love when it comes in any form, be it belief and faith in Christ or Creator, or trust in the loving bond of a relationship of love such as marriage. From the spiritual perspective, these sacraments of love are to work together; one should reinforce the other. We come to God as children, we develop bonds of trust. A loving, trusting bond developed through a spiritual perspective on marriage should also help us to form that bond to Creator. It is love that is the point. My study bible also notes that Jesus here is laying out very clearly that this kingdom is not only for the adults who come to it through spiritual sacrament such as marriage, but clearly open for children, too (who also participate in sacraments of the church). All are included. We are to be rational sheep, Jesus will tell us, and on our guard against wolves in sheep's clothing who will try to usurp leadership positions of the flock. But our basic loving, trusting relationship to Creator is what the spiritual sacraments are for - and that includes the sacrament of marriage. Today, let us consider the bonds in our lives, and how they nurture this spiritual understanding of love and trust, and the relationship to Creator.