Mark 10 -- To Such as These

This sermon is based on this week's Gospel Reading from the Revised Common Lectionary, Mark 10:2-6.

In Jesus’ time, women and children were disposable items. Men could divorce their wives for just about any reason from infidelity to gray hair to whatever. The reason didn’t really matter, and women were powerless against it. Similarly, children were at best an extra worker…once they were old enough to do something. Childhood mortality was high, so investing emotion or financial means in them was not really all that wise. It's just the way it was.

Jesus turns these cultural norms around in this reading. He says that no longer can a certain part of humanity cast aside another part on a whim. No longer can the dominant oppress the marginalized. Why? Because dominance, power, influence, status, and class are all human constructs. Guess what? This is God’s world. We’re all people worth the same as everybody else.

So what does that mean for us? Well, Jesus literally takes the little ones—these thrown out people—and blesses them. In today’s world, there are many who have no voice, who are marginalized, who would be thrown out or stopped from gaining equal status with the dominant people of the world. Yet we remember that these are the ones Jesus blesses. As we go through the litany of just some of the many scenarios that are out there, we'll end with the response “And Jesus said, It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

LITANY OF THE MARGINALIZED

A single dad stands in line at the food bank, wondering whether the electricity will work this evening. While volunteers help him pick out his groceries for the coming months, strangers on the street judge him for not being able to support his own family. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

Ten-year-olds are sold to pay off the family debt. They work as shepherds, sleeping with the sheep in the barn and eating scraps from their owner’s house. As they turn eleven, their dreams diminish—last year they dreamed of a career someday, this year they dream of school, next year they’ll dream of freedom. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

A teenaged girl stares at a stick in a bathroom stall. She contemplates whether to watch her life become distorted and abused and judged over the next nine months, or to abort this invasion of her body. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she fears no one is out there to support her—to understand her, to love her. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

A husband and wife find themselves in a land where everything feels foreign, but they can live. Strangers stare at them in the grocery store for taking comfort in the last familiar thing they have—their native language. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

A teenaged boy limps home with garbage in his hair. The schoolyard isn’t safe anymore for someone who likes fashion, design, and other boys. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

An elementary school student comes to school with bruises. The teacher sees but doesn’t say. The child goes home to face more of the same…and to watch a parent suffer, too. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

A 22-year old receives their college diploma. Six months later, they still live in their parents’ basement. They were told that they could be anything, so they’re waiting for that job to open. They can’t afford to live on a fast food salary. Now society frowns on them for wanting to be what they learned and worked to be. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

An elderly lady sits in a nursing home. It’s been two years since anyone besides a nurse visited. She waits for death, hoping the insurance holds out long enough to go with dignity. And Jesus said,

“It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. This is a small snapshot of the sorts of situations that exist here—in this community, this country, and this world. These are the people who get discarded, silenced, and ignored by those around them who could speak up, but don’t. Like the little children Jesus blesses, these are the powerless of our world. In our gospel lesson, Jesus tells us that we can’t ignore these people anymore. These are human beings—not concepts or categories.

I know that there is no overnight fix for this system—cultures, biases, and prejudice don’t disappear or radically shift overnight. But we do need to acknowledge that there are people in our midst that are excluded by the system of society. People who need to know they’re not forgotten—who need the love of God that Jesus spoke about so often to shine in their lives.

There may not be an overnight fix, but there is hope. Perhaps at some point, we can be light bearers, shining God’s love into the lives of those around us. As we come forward for communion this evening, I invite each of us as you are comfortable to light a candle for those without voices and place it in the sand there.

There is hope for this world and all the people in it. As our little lights fill up the boxes, we will see that none of us are shining alone. The light accumulates and shines together, and the more who shine their light, the brighter the space will be. Just like these candles that we’ll light in a minute, the more who shine their light, the brighter this little corner of the world becomes.

Imagine that spreading to the next corner of the world, and the next, and the next. This could be one amazing planet, filled with God’s light.

There is hope. There is most definitely hope.