October 8, 2000
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

LECTIONARY READINGS
from the Revised Common Lectionary

Genesis 2:18-24 and
Psalm 8
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16

[ Read the texts at the Vanderbilt Divinity On-Line Library ]
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When the Crown of Creation is Cracked

Have you ever had the experience of seeing a sunset so brilliant that it literally stopped you in your tracks?  Or have you seen a the burst of sunlight find its way through a dark and cloudy sky?

Some people find a starlit night sky the greatest joy of their experience of creation.  What is it for you?

Is there one particular spot that comes to mind when you think of the most peaceful scene in all of God's glorious earth?

For the Psalmist who gave us the words of Psalm 8 it was the night sky. "When I look at your heavens, the moon and stars which you have created...  I feel so insignificant and it causes me to wonder that you should care for the likes of us human beings!"

I think I know what the Psalmist was talking about.  I've looked into a night sky from the sparsely populated regions of Northern Ontario and felt overwhelmed by the immensity of the universe.  Without the pollution of light and air, the sky virtually fills with starlight and suddenly our miniscule corner of the universe seems less than a speck of dust. The significance of the insignificance that can flood the mind is no little thing. To think that an Almighty God who brought all of this creation into being should care for you and me is absolutely mind boggling!

We are not alone with this thought. Over 2500 years ago, our Psalmist had the same thought:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"  [Psalm 8:3-4]

What an amazing thing.  Our Creator God cares for us.  But this is not the most amazing thing in our Psalm -- hang on to your hats -- there's more:

"Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet..." [Psalm 8:5-6]

Can you believe it?

When you consider all the beauty and wonder of creation --  the most glorious sight you can imagine in all of the universe, the crown of it all is the human race.  Created, "just a little lower than God," the scripture says, "crowned with glory and honor."

Perhaps we see this most clearly in a baby's face.  The delight we take in a baby's face and the joy of an infant's laughter point us to the wonder of God's greatest creation - a human being.

***

The next most wonderful thing about creation is the ability of God's greatest creation - human beings - to have relationships with other human beings.  A relationship of intimacy, characterized by love and trust is the central joy of our lives.

Why?

Because we are created in the image of God and in the very deepest sense that image is about relationships of love.  The steadfast love of God (Hësed in the Hebrew scriptures) creates the crown of creation with an ability for relationship.  The wonderful story of creation and the Garden of Eden is the story of God and persons sharing an intimate relationship of love and trust.

 The sound of the words Man and Woman are more striking in Hebrew.  It is "Ish" and "Ishah"  -- even the sound is complimentary and harmonious. Now there is a genuine community between God and the Man and Woman -- between God and the crown of God's creation. If everything could have concluded at the end of creation and the formation of the amazing bond between the Man and the Woman things would have been wonderful. Even nature was at peace under the dominion of the Man and Woman.

But hold the phone!  There's just one big problem with this notion of human beings as the crown of creation.

If you watched the news last evening pr read the newspaper this afternoon, there will undoubtedly be major stories about evil and wrongdoing and disaster.  Crime and corruption will fill the airwaves and the printed pages while God's creation endures terrible turmoil.  The crown of God's creation has lost its glory... The tarnished crown of creation and faded image of God are as painful spiritual memories in the soul as in a world that struggles under the weight of broken relationships and battered ideals.

***

The story creation story of "Ish" and Ishah" and the glory of God as reflected in Psalm 8 is the backdrop against which the gospel lesson from Mark and Jesus words on divorce are to be seen. When asked about the contemporary issue of divorce and which side of the theological debate on divorce he stands, Jesus brings the whole discussion under the eye of God's creative intent. 

What are we to make of Jesus words on divorce?  Debate has been lively over the meaning of the words and implications for contemporary religious standards and practice.  While we will not settle the long standing arguments with one sermon, there are some important issues that emerge when the gospel is heard in light of the remaining lectionary texts for today.

1. It is important to note that our gospel reading is an incident where the Pharisees came to "test" Jesus.  (The word test carries the meaning that the Pharisees were going to "scrutinize" his answer so as to find some fault.) There are several incidents in the gospels where the Pharisees and other religious leaders ask Jesus some question to "trap" him in an incorrect answer. This was simply another attempt on their part to get him mixed up in a debate, find him on the wrong side of their religious notions and build their case against him.

If the disciples had come to Jesus in private and asked something like, "Master, what is your opinion on the tragedy of divorce and what should happen to people who go through divorce?"  -- we might have some additional insights.  Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well who had been in several marriages or the woman caught in adultery brought about a very different response than we see when Jesus answers some very "letter of the law" religious males question about divorce.

The reality is, we do not have a discussion of divorce from Jesus apart from very specific circumstances and it is difficult to lift his words out of context to construct a purely didactic view of divorce.

2. The debate over divorce is not new with our generation.  In fact it was a matter of debate in Jesus' time.  There were specific rabbinic views which were in conflict.  Two schools of rabbinic teaching were the Hillel school and the Shammai school.  There is a reference to the allowance for divorce in Deuteronomy [24:1] A loosely defined reason for divorce is that a man finds "some indecency" in his wife (Deut. 24:1); the Hillel school viewed this as a general term, and the Shammai school took it to mean adultery only.¹

When the Pharisees came to Jesus, they were hoping to find Jesus choosing one interpretation or the other.  The "loosely defined" school had those who went to the extreme of considering anything they disliked an "indecency" and sent the woman away. The "strict" school wanted the "indecency" to include only the case of adultery. Either way, Jesus was bound to make some enemies.

3. Though we do not get a discussion of divorce from the mouth of Jesus apart from specific circumstances, the conversation between him and the Pharisees is instructive.  The Pharisees come with a loaded question:

"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

Jesus' reply is a standard tactic he uses with those disingenuous detractors who dogged his every move.

"What did Moses command you?"

Bingo!  They think they have him.  Here come his decision to go with one party or the other.

"Moses," they pointed out, "Allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her."

Jesus response to this "out" for Jewish males went along this line.  "Moses permitted this because of  [do not miss this} your hardness of heart. But -- marriage is rooted in God's creative union of "Ish" and "Ishah."  This is a divine union that ought never to be broken."

Well, now, the Pharisees could not very well argue with the creation account from the Torah could they?  (With the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, and brought before Jesus for judgment by scribes and Pharisees -- you have to wonder if some of those fellows from Mark 10 didn't develop an obsession and wait in the wings for an opportunity to force the issue of what should become of a woman who was caught in adultery.)²

The disciples ask Jesus privately to say more about the divorce issue.  His reply is in light of his remarks to the Pharisees.  There is no such thing as an alternative to God's divine intent. God never intended for the bond to be broken.  If human beings break the divine bond, any other union would be adultery.

One could wish, the dialogue would have continued with something alone the line of, "So Lord -- in this broken and sinful world, what should be our attitude and ministry relationship with people who experience the tragedy of divorce?"³ 

Although there is no such discussion, we might visit the incidents of the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery to gain insight into the practice of Jesus -- and thusly -- the practice of ministry when the tragedy of broken relationships has come to pass.

4. There is an important lesson in this gospel story that goes to the heart of all our lectionary texts for today.

• Anything that blemishes Gods good creation is a tragedy.

• Divorce is a tragedy.

• Broken families are a tragedy.

• A lake or river that can no longer support life is a tragedy.

• Injustice is a tragedy.

• Poverty and hunger in a world where there is enough is a tragedy

• Anything that blemishes Gods good creation is a tragedy.

This world can be an overwhelming place where it is easy to give up on working to make things right.  Many have.

There is no doubt that the crown of creation has been cracked.  The grief of broken human lives is matched only by the grief in the heart of God over the lost glory which was once the joy of creation.  But this world is also a place where followers of Jesus Christ give their heart and soul to bring hope and healing, renewal and re-creation wherever tragedy has invaded God's good intent.  

May God give us grace for the tragedies of our own lives and abundant love to share with a broken world. 

Connections in the Text

Genesis 2:18-24

Mark 10:2-16

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

 Worship Helps

A Call To Worship ( Adapted from Psalm 8)

Leader:   O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People:  All of creation speaks of your glory.
Leader:   When we look at the skies and all you have crated,
People:  We are amazed that you should care for us mortals.
Leader:   And yet, you have put all creation in our hands,
People: And made us stewards of all we can see.
              Your name, O Lord is worthy of all praise!  Amen.

A Prayer of Confession

O gracious Lord of earth and sky, our hearts turn this day to the amazing ways we have come short of the stewardship you have given us over creation.  The land and sky cry out to you and countless millions around the world cry out for simple justice. We who have been blessed beyond measure confess to you that we have sinned against you and stand in need of forgiveness and renewal.  Cleanse our hearts today and renew us according to your word that we might become the stewards you have trusted us to be.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Dear friends, hear these words of the Psalmist, "Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!"  Receive the good news that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.  [Ps. 25:6-7]

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

O Lord God of all creation, we give you thanks for the amazing display of beauty and wonder that surrounds us every waking moment of every day and envelops us every sleeping moment of our night time hours.

Lord, give us grace to take time to embrace the miracle of all you have made.  May we learn to gather joy from the sight of morning's first light and the brilliance of a golden sunset. May we harvest peace from the sight of clear blue waters and the sound of crashing waves.  As the eagle soars above, so may your care descend upon us from the heavens and your love circle our hearts with life anew.

From mighty river to majestic mountain, your name is above every name and your power beyond every earthly force. You speak and worlds are formed, you command and light appears.

O Lord God of heaven and earth, we your people, gathered here today, proclaim and confess that you alone are worthy of all praise and honor, blessing and thanksgiving.  

O bless us with an infilling of your Holy Spirit and send us away with new strength to serve you as stewards of this amazing world!

Amen.

A Prayer of Dedication