Pentecost 20
Jesu Juva
“A Model Marriage”
Text: Mark 10:2-16; Genesis 2:18-24;
Hebrews 2:9-18
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
We’ve made a mess of marriage in our world today. Instead of seeing marriage as a wonderful
gift of God, for the mutual benefit of husband and wife, many today see
marriage as “just a piece of paper,” which they can take or leave. Divorce with increasing frequency today puts
asunder what God has joined together. And
in just a few weeks, we in
The results of all this have been devastating. Our world is filled with broken and hurting
people, and broken and hurting families.
Single parent households are becoming more and more the norm. And holidays, instead of being times of
togetherness and love, have devolved into tugs-of-war between families,
extended families, and step families. The
joke of marriage as “the old ball and chain” has unfortunately become a reality
for many. With
marriage being no gift, but a burden, a struggle, an imposition on my freedom.
How far we have fallen from Adam’s wonderful “Aha!” when God first presented his
bride, Eve, to him. It’s a wonderful picture we heard there in
Genesis. Adam goes through all the
creation of God, but is disappointed that there is no one for him . . . until
God forms for him a special mate, specially made. So that when Adam wakes from his sleep, he
cries out in complete joy, “AH! At last!” Someone for him. It
is the same joy we see for newlyweds on their wedding day. And we see a glimpse of the gift of God that
marriage was intended to be.
So what happens? Sin
happens. It doesn’t take Adam and Eve
long to have their first fight, Adam blaming Eve for eating the forbidden fruit
and giving some to him. And you can be
sure that wasn’t the only fight they had in 900 years of marriage! By the time of Moses, God has permitted (but not desired!)
divorce, because the hearts of His people had become so hard and
calloused. And today, for many, marriage
has become a “take it or leave it” thing.
Just another option in life, like whether or not you
will get the DVD player in your new car.
And now even to its redefinition as something of a civil right, and
whether or not we will allow anyone –
regardless of sex – to marry. . . . Yes, we’ve made a mess of marriage.
But the answer is not to go
the way of the law. That was the way of
the Pharisees, asking Jesus: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his
wife?” No, the law cannot give
us the reformation we need. It cannot
fix our problems. In fact, according to
No, we need a change of heart. A change from the inside out. Holiness that is received, not achieved. And that is why Jesus and the children at the end of the Holy Gospel that we heard
today. It seems out of place there,
doesn’t it? Tacked
onto the end of a reading about marriage, divorce, and adultery. But it is there to serve as the
anti-Pharisee; to show the way of God as opposite the way of man – of our
pharisaical desire to achieve our own holiness.
For the children brought nothing to Jesus, they weren’t there to test
Him, or get anything from Him – only to receive from Him. His good and perfect gifts. His blessing and love. And to give to them is the very thing that
Jesus desired to do. No, even stronger
than that! It is the very thing He came
to do, and delighted in doing.
Yes, Jesus delighted in the
children, just as Adam delighted in
his bride, and his bride in him. For in
these children brought to Jesus, we see a picture of the marriage of Christ and
His bride, the Church. And it is in Holy
Baptism where Jesus takes us as His own, vows to us His love and His life, and
where we become one flesh with
Him. And to rebuke the children coming
to Jesus and try to prevent them from coming would be to put asunder what God
has joined together. For to even these
small brides of Christ, the
And so too you and me. If we
seek holiness through what we do (which means: through the law!) . . . if we
seek holiness through our performance of good deeds and our avoidance of bad
deeds, then our lives and our relationship with our Saviour will wind up
tattered, torn, and broken – just as we see in many marriages today. But our relationship with our God is much
more than that; much more than a matter of law-keeping – it is a gift. And even though the Holy Gospel we heard
today is not a proof text for infant baptism, it helps us to see all baptisms as infant baptisms – that
we receive the
And what God has joined together, let man not separate.
You see, that is what makes sin so serious – not just because we happen
to do something wrong, but because it is spiritual adultery; it is separating
us from our heavenly bridegroom; and if left unchecked, would lead to
divorce. And in such a case, the question
of whether or not that is lawful really
doesn’t matter, does it? It is sad. It is destructive. It is life-killing. Just as we see in many hurting and broken
people today; in many hurting and broken families, and churches. And when you’re hurting and broken, you don’t
need someone to come and tell you what to do – you need rescue! You need a spouse to love you when you are
unlovable. And to
forgive.
Our marriages are not like that, as much as we wish they were, or that
we could legislate them to be! But as I have been saying, there is one that is, and it is our heavenly bridegroom,
our God and Saviour who comes to us with rescue, love, and forgiveness, exactly
when we are most lost, most steeped in sin, and most unlovable. Our Saviour who in His
incarnation became one flesh with us, so that through His death and
resurrection He might make us one flesh with Him. And so on the cross He
spoke His marriage vow to us, His sacred “I will,” as He laid down His life for
His bride. And so
just as a tree broke that first marriage in
And this vow our Saviour didn’t only make once – once for all on the
cross, and then once for me and you in Holy Baptism. Not only then, He also renews His vows to us – His vows of forgiveness, life, and
salvation – every time we gather here at His altar, taking us in His arms in
the Absolution, and giving us His body and blood in His Supper. Here delighting in us, as He makes us His
own. Never tiring of
receiving us. Never
tiring of forgiving us. We brides who come as black as sin, and leave as white as snow. For the Son came from the
Father and holds fast to His wife, His Church.
Again, our marriages are not
like that, but in Christ, we don’t only
have to wish they were! In Him, we have been given the holiness and
change of heart we need to begin living like this. Not perfect, to be sure! But forgiving and loving as we have been
forgiven and loved. No amount of laws
can produce that; but the Gospel can!
The Gospel of our Bridegroom, whose marriage our marriages are modeled
after. If we make marriage something of our doing and our definition, we are doomed to failure before we even start. But in Him, and modeled after Him and by Him,
we see marriage as our Lord always intended it – as gift, not law. As blessing, not obligation. As one flesh, not paper.
So should you vote for the marriage amendment in a couple of
weeks? Well, we should always vote to
uphold God’s Word. But not in the expectation that the Law will
solve our problems, make us holy, or return us to paradise. No, paradise, holiness, and forgiveness are
already ours, in Christ. We now live the
life we have received, as brides in the arms our of bridegroom; as children in
the arms of our Saviour. And with such a
perfect bridegroom, we live not in fear, but in confidence, knowing that what
God has joined together, He will let no one put asunder!
In
the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now
the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Amen.