Divorce & Children Are Not The Trap - October 7, 2018

October 7, 2018 - World Communion Sunday
Mount Olivet United Methodist Church
Mark 10:2-16

By quoting Genesis instead of echoing Deuteronomy Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of G-d, G-d’s disruptive reign, will empower those previously without power. Social structures designed to keep people groups in their place will be disrupted. This point is driven home further when Jesus double-down, using children, a segment of the population viewed as property, to illustrate what kind of dependency, reliance on G-d, will be necessary to be apart of the Kingdom building world Jesus has begun in his own ministry.

Jesus told the disciples and the scriptures remind us today that in the Kingdom of G-d there is a greater equality and hospitality for those who are most oppressed. Not seeing or understanding this is a trap we all fall into, because while Jesus is talking about equality, inclusion, and humility, the Pharisees, we, continue to think that the Kingdom of G-d is about us.

Childlike dependance on G-d relieves us from debating the finer points of the law & instead invites us to step into the grace of G-d made known to us by Christ who extends the same invitation despite how many times someone else sets a trap for us or how many times we set the trap.