Refreshing to hear the Church make a Confession for a change.....

The text used for this Sunday's lectionary posed a difficult hurdle for some preachers.  One of the creation stories, Genesis 2:18-24 and Mark 10:2-16 set the stage for dealing with the issue of divorce in our society.  A reality that is a painful one to so many, how does one address this? 

Through text study with pastors and reflecting with fellow classmates on internship there was much insight gained in how to address the text that allows for the Good News to be proclaimed. 

It was nice to hear my supervisor procalim the gospel this Sunday.  He spoke of the creation story and how God desires us to live in a circular unity and not the hierarchy models of realtions we tend to develop, in which some people are worth more than others......for God all of us matter, the same. 

In the Gospel, I heard him tackle the issue of divorce that was being addressed and how divorce was understood in Jesus' context and time and then it happend.......

My supervisor said, "before I go any further, if any of you here are divorced, on behalf of the church I apologize for how this text and others have been used to condemn you and put another label on you."  He called us all out on being broken. 

That simple apology spoke to people in the congregation, some of which have been divorced.  The Mark texts flows from the discussion of divorce to Jesus allowing children to come to him.  Once again we see a society that creates an order of value among human beings based on gender and age just to name two, we all know there are many more.......but Jesus calls us break the ranks we as humans have set up and the lables we create to oppress each other. 

It was nice to see someone tackle this text head on.....humbling himself to make an apology for the sin the instiutional church has caused and in many cases still afflicts on its people and called us to hear that Good News in how God desires our communion with one another.  We know that in the end it will truly be a communion in which there is no divisions, dividing walls and ladders between us......Thanks be to God.