“What Is Perfect?”

Theme:  “What Is Perfect?”                                                       18th Sunday after Pentecost

Text:  Mark 10:2-16                                                                     October 4, 2009

A young man shared the excitement of his engagement with an older friend who had never been married.  “How come you never got married?” he asked.  “I was looking for the perfect woman, finally I found her, she was spiritually deep, graceful, beautiful, and generous.”  “Did you marry her?”  “No, unfortunately she was looking for the perfect man.”  Many people, some multiple times have tried to find the perfect spouse, and all they find are people with faults and weaknesses.  What is perfect?

How many times have we heard the words, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.”  These words are bittersweet; I would guess there is not a person here who has not been touched by the pain of divorce.

The Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus, test him, trap him, embarrass Jesus in public.  He was put in the position the church finds itself frequently, offending someone no matter what he said.  What they get, is the beautiful statement of marriage, what it was meant to be.  Going back to the words of Genesis.

So first of all we have the original intent of marriage, what’s perfect.  I don’t think Jesus really wanted to argue about divorce, but instead point to what marriage should be, marriage as God intended.  Self-giving love that reflects the love and compassion of God.  God joining and no one separating.  Promises honored.  A commitment made, why a commitment, you all know by now there is no perfect men or women.  We are all sinners.  So when you have two imperfect people in a relationship, there will naturally be challenges.  It will require total commitment on the part of both, that was God’s intention.  One billboard said this, “The wedding was nice.  How about inviting me to the marriage. Signed -God”  There is that additional ingredient that God intended, make God a vital part of the marriage.

What is perfect?  Well 2ndly, we are not.  Marriage involves imperfect people.  Divorce involves broken people, living broken lives, in a broken world; it is the evidence of how desperately we need God’s healing grace. One pastor said, “Divorce is not evil, so much as it is unfortunate and damaging.”  The damage it does to those involved.  Jesus is concerned about the damage control, the breaking of the law is minor compared to the concern Jesus has for those involved.

I don’t believe two people pledge their love with the intention for it to fall apart, or create a family with the hope of destroying it one day.  Divorce is tragic, but Jesus would never want it to be seen as the end of the world.  Grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, kindness, and a host of other practices can bring new beginnings to these situations.   As Christians we can cope with the implications of divorce in the family, the workplace, the church.  Jesus then uses the example of a child’s trust, loyalty, innocence.  Divorce may be legal, it may be necessary, but it is never something we should easily dismiss.

We are not perfect, but God is, the God of Genesis is the same God that deals with you.  You see the nature of God displayed in this text, a God that keeps promises, commitments, covenants.  That brings us to our last point, “You have as God that Keeps promises.”, perfectly.   In this passage we see the nature of God.  Someone said this story is not about divorce, but about God, a God with no limits.

God brings people together, and desires they stay together, and this even includes “the little ones.”  This story shows the difference between God and you.  You have limits, you make promises with the good intentions of staying together, but people disappoint, become trapped, addicted, distant, and estranged.  Nobody wants a divorce, but you do have limits, finding it impossible to keep promises and they are broken for “Good” reasons.  Human beings with limits, fortunately the love of God does not have such limits.  You might separate from God, but God never separates from you.  You may come to the limits of your ability to love, but God does not come to the same limits.

God loves you, a limited being in a limitless way; you have a God who forgives failures, who loves you despite your limits to love in return.  It is obvious that God is on the side of the vulnerable, whether that be the women or the ‘little ones’.  God heals the brokenness, and reaches out to the most vulnerable.  God works with both sides, hearing the words of repentance as they turn to God and the new hopes and dreams for their lives.  God welcomes those who do not matter, those who could not stand for themselves.

The gospel ends with Jesus receiving the little children.  The disciples thought they were a nuisance, but Jesus refused to send them away, he receives them, hugs them, blesses them.  This is what’s perfect.  God did not forbid them.  Children are dependent for safety, care, feeding, shelter.  How dependent are you?  Dependent on whom?  Fortunately for us, God is good at keeping promises; in fact God’s perfect at it.

The same Jesus, who picks up little children, puts his hand upon them and blesses them, will also take you, give you his blessings and life will be better forever.  Amen