Year B 5th Epiphany WED 2021 Coronary Softening

 Year B 5th Sunday after Epiphany WEDNESDAY, 10 February 2021

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Coronary Softening”

Collect: Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Mark 10:1-16

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.

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.

This morning I am going to keep it simple. No need to do otherwise. 

I will not be speaking about divorce, not directly anyway. It comes up because that is the question that is brought to Jesus, not for an answer but to be a “Gotcha!” which we have talked about before. 

Jesus answers if divorce is legal, and he says yes. But then he says this, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.”

And that is where I want to spend my time today. If hearts were hardened in Moses’ day, if hearts were hardened in Jesus’ day, what would be said of the hearts of our day?

Hardened does not even begin to describe it.

In all of our conflict, in all of our disagreements, in all of our divisions, the issues are not the issue. The hardness of our hearts is the issue. And Jesus’ followers need to NOT have hardened, jaded, embittered, calcified, obstinate hearts.

Jesus’ followers need to have supple, pliable, humble, approachable, teachable, inquisitive hearts. They need hearts like children. And that is included in our passage, too. As Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

We are called to be like children so that we might not have hardened hearts. We have divorce, and divisions of all kinds because we do not have the open hearts God calls us to have.

We are called to seek reconciliation, so our hearts can be like Jesus’.

We are called to seek unity, so our hearts can be like Jesus’.

We are called to live blamelessly, so our hearts can be like Jesus’.

We are called to forgive, so that our hearts can be like Jesus’.

When we harden our hearts we move away from Christ. As we begin a week from today to move toward Jerusalem and identify with Jesus and his death and his Easter, we need to focus on softening our heart, decalcifying our coronaries. We need to come like children, simple, honest, and pure. Amen