Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 1:1-4; Mark 10:2-16
· Two weeks ago, I preached a good news message about God's wanting us to have not just a good life but a great life. The great life constituted protecting the vulnerable of society, not just the cherub-faced ones, but the deeply marginalized members of society (widows, orphans, poverty stricken, mentally ill, homeless, etc.).
· Last week the good news was about the immense power we have within us because we belong to Jesus Christ. This power, when used for good, allows us to accomplish great things for God in terms of serving the least of our brothers and sisters and improving the lives of the powerless among us.
· Today we have scripture that lends itself to discussing the foundation and sanctity of marriage. How does this follow along with the previous messages—that is our task for today; and somewhere in here lies the Good News.
· And what might this scripture say to Christians faced with the legal (Pharisaic) question regarding same-sex marriage?
· Pharisees are really good at bringing up the Law to trick and trap Jesus. They've never been able to do it, but we have to give them and A for effort.
· Please notice that their question is not about marriage but about divorce. Yet, when Jesus answers them, HE talks about relationship and God's true intention for marriage.
· In ancient days, marriage was primarily a means of ensuring families' economic stability and social privileges. A woman's sexuality—important for creating offspring and inter-family alliances—was essentially the property of her father, then of her husband.
· Divorce was an offense against the property owner, not against the woman, lawfully speaking. There was no such thing as “marriage equality,” any way one might want to understand that terminology.
· Jesus redirects the question about divorce because God's design was for marriage: a covenant between two people that grew by mutual commitment and accountability to each partner; it was never about cows and land and virgins. Those things are of human construct.
· Marriage in our industrialized day is not usually about property and blood lines and virginity; it is much more about people seeking mutual fulfillment—where two people commit to be there for better, for worse; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; in plenty and in want; til death they doth part. The problem is, of course, we all happen to be human.
· When I marry a couple, I believe that they believe they have every intention of fulfilling their vows. But there's something I say to them, (I look right in their eyes when I say it, too) just after I pronounce them husband and wife: “And above all else, never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.”
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· All jokes aside about the downside of marriage. I know it's hard work; I know it's not easy; I know that sometimes divorce is necessary. On the other hand, I know that marriage is a great blessing. It accomplishes great things for society: security, commitment, fulfillment, etc.
· Yet, from where I stand, I wonder how many married people perceive that marriage is treated as a privilege in our society when it really should be a right—fits right in there with the inalienables: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
· Whether you vote Yes on One or No on One is your right; I just want to ask you to know what you're voting on and why you vote the way you do. Avoid the tendencies to put our own opinions in God's mouth.
· This vote on November 3 on this question of legalizing same-sex marriage is just that: a legal question. And the legality is about granting the rights and the privileges of marriage to people who find mutual fulfillment with each other, are committed to each other for life, whether they stand before a legal representative of the state and pledge these things or not.
· However, when one is legally married, one has privileges that are not available to others in committed, covenant relationships: health insurance, purchasing power, visitation and end-of-life decision making for or by the loved one.
· And that is what this vote is about. The vote has nothing to do with God. It has to do with extending legal rights to people in the margins of society—just like the widowed, the orphaned and the leprous ones in Jesus' day.
· It's about allowing, legally in the eyes of the state, two persons who are in a committed, covenantal, mutually fulfilling and satisfying relationship with each other, who desire to be responsible to and for each other.
· We are called to lead a great life and we have the power to lead a great life—a life that watches out for the poor and marginalized, the oppressed and ostracized—because we belong to the one who came to save us ALL from poverty and oppression, sin and death.
· My job here today is not to convince you or instruct you or demand that you or judge you in how to vote on November 3. I will love you no matter which way you vote.
· I do not know what it is like to be married, both the good stuff and the hard stuff and the bad stuff if it all goes wrong. I do not know a lot of things about life, but what I DO know is this:
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· to love as I have been loved;
· to heal as I have been healed;
· to forgive as I have been forgiven;
· to feed as I have been fed;
· to care for all others as I have been cared for;
· to speak for those who have been silenced;
· to remember those who have been forgotten;
· to suffer not the little children to come unto Christ for such is the kingdom of heaven;
· and above all else, to never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you, for me, for the whole wide world through the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that we would never have to be alone. Amen.
