Scripture Micah 4:1-5
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s temple
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised up above the hills.
Peoples shall stream to it,
and many nations shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For all the peoples walk,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
forever and ever.
Scripture Mark 10:2-16
Some, testing [Jesus], 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 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 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.
Sermon “The Vine and Fig Tree”
Today is World Communion Sunday, and as Presbyterians, we always connect this day with our Peacemaking and Global Witness offering. It is a day when we remember how connected we are with others around the world. We are connected with other Christians in that we are all one in the body of Christ. We are connected with those other than Christians in that we are all part of one human family. Therefore, we care about others. We even care about people we don’t know, and will probably never know.
Today is also the beginning of our Stewardship campaign. It may seem like this is somewhat a clash of priorities, but I think these celebrations and observances are more connected than we might imagine.
Our working theme for our Stewardship campaign is this: Living Like Kings. Not the King Charles kind of king; the kind of king Jesus is. What does it mean to live like Jesus, to let his ways direct our living?
We start with a startling passage of scripture: the one about divorce. This must be my year for preaching things for the first time: I’ve never preached on this passage, probably in part because I am divorced, and that makes it a little awkward. But this passage ties into our themes, you see: Caring for others. We care about one another, and Jesus has some interesting things to say about divorce that reflect his concerns on how we care for one another.
The passage starts with Jesus being tested: Someone asks him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” As he often does, Jesus answers the question with a question: What does Moses command you about this? Notice, the question is asked in a way that is theoretical—it’s about a man, some theoretical man out there. But Jesus makes the question personal. What does Moses say to YOU, he responds. The questioner ignores this and says, Moses says it’s ok. The man can write a bill of divorce.
Notice, the man. Not the woman. In Jewish law, the bill of divorce is called a “Get.” Even today, in Conservative and Orthodox Jewish communities, the husband must present his wife with a Get for the divorce to be finalized, and the wife must receive it willingly. To be fair, women couldn’t initiate divorce in the United States until 1937, so this was civil law for a long time as well. Now, women as well as men can file for divorce in the U.S., and in the more progressive flavors of Judaism.
Jesus doesn’t think this is right. He says that this right for a man to get a divorce was based on the hard-heartedness of the people—your hard-heartedness, he says to the questioner. What God has joined, let no human divide, he says.
Why does Jesus say this? We get a hint in his further statements. This is where the “caring for others” comes in. He mentions that a man who divorces his wife and remarries commits adultery. But then he says, a woman who divorces her husband commits adultery, too. A fascinating thing to say in a time and place where women have no power to divorce their husbands!
It seems that Jesus’ opposition to divorce is based on how one-sided it is. A man could divorce his wife and make no provision for her care or the care of their children—just walk away, leaving her penniless and with very few options for surviving without his income. He could take the children from her, and forbid her to ever see them again. Divorce was a devastating outcome for women who had no resources other than those their husbands had once provided for them. Imagine how terrifying it would be for a woman and her children, if there were no provision for their care. None.
The question becomes: How do we ensure that all people are cared for? Jesus’ first suggestion is to banish divorce entirely—if, that is, if it was God who brought the couple together. He leaves open the possibility that, if God has not brought them together, divorce might be permissible.
Now, think back to this whole exchange between Jesus and his questioners. Jesus is out in public when the first part happens—in front of people who have been following him, presumably. This means, there are very likely women and children in the crowd, and the women have been able to hear what Jesus says about divorce. He has sent them a message that they are entitled to the dignity of not being left in the lurch by a husband who has tired of them, or has tired of family life.
And so, “people”—I’m guessing, women—start bringing Jesus their children, so that he might touch them. Maybe to bless them. Maybe to heal them. Maybe to simply be in contact with a man who believes women and children have innate worth and dignity. And the disciples shoo them away—don’t bother the rabbi, he’s too important for the likes of you. But Jesus objects. He says, “Let the 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 holds them in his arms, and lays his hands on them, and blesses them.
Jesus wants everyone—every man, every woman, every child—to have the dignity of being cared for. He wants them all to live under their own vine and fig tree. In our choir loft, just above the sopranos, you can see our vine and fig tree windows. Each of these plants, the grapevine and the fig tree, has powerful and important symbolism in scripture. The grapevine is, of course, a symbol of abundance, as is the wine that comes from grapes. Those of us who follow Jesus remember that he reminded us, he is the vine, and we are the branches. The fig tree is a symbol of both abundance and wisdom. The prophet Micah speaks of a time of peace and plenty when everyone in the entire world knows that the Lord, Yahweh, is God. As a result of this, they will repurpose their weapons, which they no longer need, and make them farming implements. Not only won’t there be war, but even the old stories of war won’t tempt people back to it—no one will learn war anymore. Furthermore, he writes,
… they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. ~Micah 4:4
Caring for one another means that everyone lives in peace, that everyone has what they need, and that no one is afraid. No one—neither Israeli children nor Palestinian children. Neither American children nor Haitian children. Neither Russian children nor Ukrainian children. No one.
This is what living like kings looks like, if Jesus is our model for a king. On this day on which we remember and mark that we are connected with other Christians in that we are all one in the body of Christ, and we are connected with everyone else in that we are all part of one human family, we remember that we care for others. We are called to care for others. We are even called to care for people we don’t know, and will probably never know. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Thanks be to God. Amen.