READ SCRIPTURE (Mark 10:2-16)
Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “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.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But 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. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
REFLECT ON THE READING
Hardness of heart is a human condition that can open the door to the worst treatment of others. When hardness of heart creeps into a marriage, the relationship withers and dies. People may continue in the marriage, but there is neither life nor God. Those marriages are in need of resurrection, a gift from God to restore the unity and love. Marriage and all relationships are in need of God’s presence.
What counsel might you give to those who find themselves in a marriage that is less than God’s intention?
What role does God play in renewal of marriage?
-What are the possibilities of new life in marriage if both do not desire it?
PRAY
Gracious God, grant your grace to fill our relationships as we seek your reign in our lives. Amen.
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