October 7, 2018: May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard.  Amen.

Lordy, one commentator was right when he remarked about the scripture passages assigned for today – “Beware!,” he said.  Indeed, beware – and be A-ware.  If there is ever a time for a preacher not to allow a lesson to be read if you aren’t going to address it in the sermon, it is in the gospel and our Hebrew scriptures today from Mark and from Genesis. 

There is no doubt though that these two scriptural passages are probably not embroidered on any pillows in the house of Gloria Steinem or Notorious RBG, but the truth is – the passages aren’t the problem.  The way they have been interpreted through the centuries is the problem.  Thankfully, there is an abundance of corrective scholarship available, and we need there to be, because what the interpretation of these passages have done to our sisters and brothers, plays out even today in our societal patriarchy and discourse. 

So, let’s take them on, because the reality is – there is nothing to fear here except…biblical literalism and misinterpretation, and we don’t do that here, nor should we.

In the gospel of Mark, we hear another test story.  The Pharisees are asking Jesus what might appear to be a simple question – “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”  Jesus tells them that the law is there because of their hardness of heart, and that“…what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 

[for Mtr. Diana’s other sermon on this topic from 2014, click here: https://christchurchepiscopal.org/?p=3660] 

Now, before folks start getting uncomfortable about their own divorces, or that of their loved ones, take your biblical literalism glasses off and relax. Jesus isn’t condemning what we now call divorce.  Divorce, or for that matter marriage itself, as we know it today would have been beyond the imagination of those hearing these words from Jesus.  Yet literalists have used this to persecute those who get divorced, or worse, push some (women mostly) to stay in marriages that are abusive or life draining.  It is not unlike the passage from Genesis we heard today in that regard. 

That passage is the second of two creation stories, but if you ask most people how women were created according to the bible, this is what they will tell you – from the rib of Adam.  Most don’t mention, or perhaps don’t know about, the creation of woman in Genesis 1 – together with man – at the same time – both made in the image of God. Why does that matter?  Because for centuries, this passage that we heard today, particularly the idea that woman was created as a “helper” and a “partner,” has been used to subjugate women as being some sort of subset to man – which, not for nothing, sounds odd, considering that the word man is actually a subset of the word woman.  Just sayin.’ And, of course, if we really dig into that word “helper,” which in the minds of many seem to indicate that women were made to fry up the eggs, do the laundry, and clean the house, we will find that women have once again become victims to another problematic, and by problematic – I mean rooted in patriarchy, misinterpretation of scripture.

So, let’s start with that – You know where else you see that word helper in the bible?  Psalms 115:9 and Psalm 121:2, for instance.  Who is described as a helper there?  God.[1]  God, the helper of Israel.  Our help in our times of need.  So…not for frying eggs then – though dang, would that not be the best breakfast EVER! I can see the diner sign now “God’s Diner – Good Eats!”

So, being a helper is not a ticket to servitude, as least not in the marginalized sense.  God wanted humans to have relationships because God knew the power of love, and part of loving another, is helping them.  She wanted humanity to experience love with one another, and with all of Her creation. Remember, if you read the passage, any one of the creatures God made could have been man’s partner, but none were the right match.  God doesn’t look at the rest of Her creation as less than the human part, just different.

If you were here yesterday, you would know, really know, the way our relationship with animals profoundly touch our hearts.  We love them, and are loved by them.  When we are sick, they let us know they are sad for us. When we have to let them go on to heaven, we are in deep mourning.  A colleague of mine, the Rev. Laurie Brock, wrote a book recently titled Horses Speak of God: How Horses Can Teach Us To Listen and be Transformed.” In the book she writes “Horses speak, as only they can, the holy language God speaks to my deepest soul.”  Animals truly do speak to us in a unique way.  I think the reason why we love animals, is because they love us the way God does – unconditionally and as our helper.

God yearned for us to have relationship – with one another, and with all of God’s creation.  Right relationship.  And God wanted relationship with us too – which is why the incarnation happened in the first place.  God wanted so very much to be in relationship with us – to have us in right relationship with our Creator – that no matter the cost, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

And that Word, that logos, that Jesus would never say something that would create harm to anyone, because all people are God’s children. No parent, no loving one anyway, wants to harm their children.  Now…that doesn’t mean we don’t want to harm one another from time to time – even in the best of marriages, folks can get on each other’s nerves.

I remember a story about a speaker at a Woman’s Club who was lecturing on marriage and the importance of equality in the relationship. She asked the audience how many of them wanted to “mother” their husbands. One member in the back row raised her hand.

“You do want to mother your husband?” the speaker asked.

“Mother?” the woman echoed. “I thought you said smother.” 

So yes, we have trouble sometimes loving one another as God had hoped when we were created.  That is why Jesus came to us, to show us the way.

And here’s the thing about Jesus – based on all you hear him say and do: telling us to love one another, hanging out with the marginalized and the oppressed of his day (the women, the tax collectors, the poor), telling his disciples that they must welcome a child as they welcome him, that in serving the least of these, you will be serving him – based on all of that, does it sound like Jesus would tell people to suffer in bad marriages for the rest of their lives? 

Of course not.  So what is really going on here?  That is an important question – important not only for understanding the sacred texts of our faith, but for living it out in the world, as we are called to do.  The answer will require a few changes from us.

First, we have to stop looking at scripture from our own modern context, and consider what was happening at the time Jesus said this – in the same way we did a few weeks ago when talking about the child.  Let’s start with the word we hear as divorce.  Not to get all Greeky on you, but the word for divorce is more akin to flat out abandonment.  A man could just push his wife, literally in the Greek “his woman” – out the door for any reason.  If you burned those fried eggs, you could be dropped off on the side of the road to fend for yourself – a near death sentence for a woman in that time.  Talk about a throw away society.

That is why Jesus was always telling his disciples to care for the widows and the orphans, because women without men in that culture – be they husbands or family – were in danger for their lives, unless they had their own money.  That is why he is standing against the idea that a woman should be cast aside like discarded trash at the whim of her husband – it is a horrible way to treat another human being.

 Jesus was always focused on relationship – our relationship with God, and our relationship with one another.  Right relationship is at the root of all that God hopes for us, all that Jesus spoke of to us and commanded of us.  These scriptures are a reminder to us that God wants Her creation – all of it – to live in right relationship with one another – to love and to be loved.

Why? 

Because in loving one another, the ones created in the very image of God, we love God.  When we love all that God created – the earth and all the creatures that dwell here with us – we love God.  And when we love God, our neighbors, and ourselves, we will bring about God’s dream for all of creation – a world of peace – where no one hungers or thirsts, where no one is tossed aside, where we live in harmony with the earth and all the creatures that inhabit it.

We are sadly far from that dream.   

Women are abused and discarded…or killed outright.

LGBT people are attacked, and in some places around the world killed.

People of other races and languages are robbed of their dignity, and sometimes their lives.

And, people of other faith traditions – our Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers for example – are targeted verbally and physically.

This past Thursday night I attended a vigil sponsored by the local clergy in the towns near where I live.  It was in response to swastikas and a misogynistic statement, that I will not repeat,  spray painted on neighbors garage doors and other places around our towns.  Sadly these actions are a daily happening all over our country, but worse – many who commit these heinous acts claim a Christian identity!

And you want to know what is often at the root of a lot of it? Literal fundamentalism – a horrific theft of Christianity by those who have lack the understanding of the depth and beauty of our sacred texts, but worse, they weaponize the bible using the text, including the ones read today, to justify their misogyny, their sexism, and their bigotry against other people. 

The absolute insanity of it all is that they do this while ignoring the passages that, if taken literally (as they believe they should be taken) would condemn them!  They say LGBT people are an abomination, but they go and eat lobster with their second wives or husbands.  They say marriage in the bible is between one man and one woman while ignoring the patriarchs of our faith who had multiple wives and concubines.  They say Jews killed Jesus, so they should be hated, when the it is clear that he was crucified by the Romans.  Yes, Jewish leaders at the time played a role, but these same folks ignore the fact that Jesus himself, and all his disciples, and Paul, and….well, everyone in the New Testament was Jewish! 

We must not allow our bible, the sacred text of our faith, to be misused, weaponized, made a tool to hate, as a way of separating and dividing all of creation one against the other.  This is antithetical to all that God intends for us, all that Jesus taught us. How do we do that then?  It isn’t like we can grab all these folks and de-program the literal fundamentalism out of them – if only we could.  No, that isn’t the way for us.  The truth is – these passages give us the answer.

We love.

In fact, the name given to the vigil that I went to was “Love Wins.”  Love does indeed win.  It is the only thing that can ever drive out hate.  It is the only thing that can ever change the world.

God knew that – Jesus was that – and we must be that. 

We are God’s beloved children, made to be in relationship with one another and with all of creation – and what God has brought together – let no one separate.

So let us go forth from this place, and declare in our words and in our deeds, that love is the way of God. 

If we do that, if we live in love as God intends, if we walk in love as Christ loved us, then the light of God’s love, the light of Jesus Christ, shining in our lives can and will defeat any darkness in the world – because each little step we take, each moment of love we offer, each little light that we shine, may just be the thing that changes the world – for that one person, for that one animal, for that one part of God’s creation.  And that, my friends, THAT will bring about God’s very dream.

The dream of a world full of love.

Amen.

For the audio from the 10:30am service, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here:

Sermon Podcast

[1]Phyllis Trible, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
October 7, 2018
Pentecost 20 – Year B – Track 2
1st Reading – Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 8
2nd Reading – Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Gospel – Mark 10:2-16