Mark 10:2-16 (NRSV)

²Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

The church I serve, Zion Lutheran in Lexington, SC, has a Wednesday night Bible study where we look at the texts for Sunday. It’s always a good conversation and sometimes leaves me with questions rolling around in my head afterwards.

Here’s the question of the day/week/lifetime:

Jesus clearly lifts up the intentions of God in creation as God’s plan for humanity. It isn’t good for us to be alone. (2020 taught us that!) We aren’t meant to escape relationships quickly or easily. We are meant to stay in them, all things considered. And we’re meant to be partners in creating and sustaining life.

The question comes because we don’t live in the Garden of Eden anymore. How do we participate in the life God wants for us in the world we live in now? How do we make the best of our broken and sinful hearts? How do we live faithfully in broken systems? What do we do with cultural grudges and biases that go back thousands of years?

We can’t all hold hands and sing Kum-Bah-Yah all day. They will know we are Christians by our love, to be sure, but sometimes that love is difficult.

In the state of South Carolina, at every divorce hearing, the person suing for divorce is asked whether there is anything the state of South Carolina can do to preserve their marriage. I can see the intent, but by the time things have gotten in front of a judge, it’s too late. Divorce isn’t a one-time, quick decision. Divorce is the culmination of a thousand small decisions, played out over months and years.

In the same way, our answer to the question of living in a broken world isn’t one simple thing. It’s a thousand small decisions. It’s countless conversations. It’s noticing who is left out and including them. It’s speaking up when injustice leaves people out in the cold.

I would also argue that the attempt to live an ethical life is to be willing to be wrong. Even the best of human beings have limited perspective. We can’t see all the options and we don’t have power to do all things. Even when we are fairly certain that something is right, we may be mistaken. It’s still our calling to act, boldly and humbly. It’s always our calling to be open to new insights, so that we can do better next time.

Jesus bookends this conversation about divorce by lifting up a child. Children in the first-century weren’t idealized the way we do now. They were virtually non-persons. They got more attention once people were sure they would survive to adulthood. Jesus is lifting up someone who is vulnerable and overlooked as an example to his disciples. When he discusses divorce, he lifts up the rights of the women (and therefore, children) along the way. Jesus shows us that God’s perspective has a special emphasis on caring for those who need it most.

What do you think? How do we live with one foot in God’s kingdom and one foot in the world as we know it? Where do you see that done well? And how does it shape the way you live your life?