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If No Sound
Married to the Church Universal©
October 4, 2009
Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 26
Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16
Amy DeWitte
The analogy is an old one – comparing a
marriage relationship to the church. Usually we compare these two things in
terms of Jesus: The Church as the Bride of Christ. But we could also think of
the church as something we are each married to, something we pledge our devotion
to for all of our lives. I think it is appropriate to take seriously, then, the
idea that have made a commitment to the Church Universal – even to the extent
that we have made vows, just like marriage vows, that say explicitly what we
promise to do and be. In terms of being committed to the church – our role is to
be radically different from what the world finds acceptable, and yet, live in
such a way that that model is inspiring and transformative. How might we do that
with what Jesus says in this week’s Gospel regarding marriage?
The Pharisees were trying to trip us Jesus and
they came to him with a question. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
There were two competing ideas at the time – some said a man could divorce his
wife if there was a particular reason, but they weren’t quite sure what
substantiated a good enough reason. Others said that it was only ok for couples
to get divorced in the case of infidelity. The Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus
would validate what they thought, if he would choose sides, if he would give the
right answer. But Jesus didn’t give them that satisfaction. He answered them
with another question: What does the law say? What does Moses say?
They answered that a
man can write a writ of dismissal and divorce his wife. Jesus agreed that that
was, in fact, the law. But that’s because we’re living in a fallen world, he
said. that’s because our hearts are not always in the right place. But it’s
not the way we were created. We were created to be partners for each other. We
were created to be faithful to each other. In fact, we were made to be a part
of each other. Think about Genesis. God saw that Adam needed a companion, and
the birds of the air and the beasts of the field and the fish of the sea didn’t
do it for him. He needed a partner. So for the man (human) God made a partner
from his very rib so that they could live in companionship and fidelity and
community together
If we see church as
the one that we are married to we are called to something radical. Just as in
America divorces of married couples are as plenteous as the day is long and
marriages don’t necessarily reflect or intend any lasting commitment, the same
is true in our relationship with the church. People hop from congregation to
congregation to find what suits them best that day, or when things are going
their way in their church, they pack their bags and find a new one.
But that’s not what we
were created for. Just as couples are intended to be faithful to each other, so
are we called to be faithful to the church in good times and in bad, though
thick and thin, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. And our
part of our role in the world is to model what community and fidelity and
faithfulness look like – to model how much we truly need each other, bone of our
bones, flesh of our flesh.
Today
is World Communion Sunday – and that means a lot of things. It is a celebration
of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It is a celebration of the worldwide nature
of the church. It is a celebration of our connection in Christ to sisters and
brothers around the world– some who are much like ourselves and some who are
altogether different. Today Christians around the world are reciting the same
creed we recite are sharing in the same meal we share in, are praying a
universal prayer, reminding us that we are all in this together. And so today I
invite us, as we gather together around this Table that we would see this Holy
meal as a renewal of our vows to the one we have promised to be committed to for
all of our lives: God’s Holy Church, God’s reigning Kingdom, God’s people, to
whom we are created to be faithful.
Copyright © 2009 Amy DeWitte. All Rights Reserved. No portion of
this writing may be reproduced in any form without specific, written
permission of the author.
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