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This sermon deals with a painful topic (October 4, 2009) This sermon deals with a painful topic, a topic that, in some way, touches all of us. This sermon deals with divorce. Listen to these strong words: “I hate divorce!” These are not my words. These are God’s Words (Malachi 2:16 NIV). God reserves His hatred for evil. Divorce is evil. We know divorce is evil. Just look at all the pain and suffering it causes.
Marriage is also a picture, a picture painted by God to show
us what God is like. God’s own Son is the Bridegroom. The Church of all
believers are His Bride. To hurt or destroy marriage is to hurt and destroy
God’s picture of Himself. If you vandalize a great work of art by Michelangelo
or Monet or Matisse, you are a criminal. How much greater a crime is it to
destroy God’s picture of Himself? Many people think marriage is a contract. If marriage no
longer gives them pleasure, they annul that contract. Then, they move on to
someone or something that makes them happy. After all, the goal of life is
happiness, isn’t it? That’s what the Children of Israel thought. Their hearts
were hard and unbelieving. Happiness was their god. Therefore, they demanded
that Moses widen their options for divorce. Where does divorce first start? Divorce starts in the Garden
of Eden. God is a husband to His people, but Adam and Eve decide to go their own
way. They commit the only two sins that constitute a legal divorce in God’s
eyes. First, they abandon God, their husband. Then, they follow a false lover
called Satan. By deserting their first husband, and by following that false
lover, Satan, Adam and Eve file a divorce against God. God has every right to
accept this divorce, because God has not left them. They have left God. But God will not accept this filing of divorce by His beloved
Bride. Even though she commits adultery and desertion; even though these are the
only two actions that create a valid divorce, God has a plan for reconciliation.
We have seen God’s plan through His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Son embarrasses
Himself in front of His whole creation. He humbles Himself. He becomes one of
us. He dies, naked, on the cross. Christ, the innocent One, runs after His
guilty Bride. Even now, as in the Garden of Eden, He cries out, “Where are you,
Adam?” Every sin we do is a filing of divorce papers against our God
and Savior. We want what we want, not what God wants. But every time we sin,
Christ Jesus, the innocent spouse, calls us, the guilty spouse, back to His
house. “Let’s talk,” Christ says. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow.” (Is 1:18 NIV) “Now,” Christ says, “Let’s eat. This is Me –
My Body and My Blood. When I said husband and wife become one flesh in marriage,
that’s a picture of what really happens here at My Table. Here, at My wedding
Table, you become one flesh with Me through My Body and Blood. In My sinless
Body and in My pure Blood you are cleansed of all your sin.” “I hate divorce,” God says. In every divorce, at least one of
the spouses has vandalized God’s painting of Himself. Every earthly divorce is a
mirror of that first divorce, when mankind divorced God. But it’s not just
divorce. Every sin we do is an attempt to divorce God. Every sin says “No!” to
God. Every sin says, “My way, not Your way!” However, Christ runs after us!
Christ keeps calling us back to our marriage to Him; to be joined to Him in His
Body and Blood; to hear His Words of forgiveness. Our life is a life of constant filings of divorce. God’s life
is a life of constant forgiveness and reconciliation. Christ will never divorce us. But we can divorce Him. We can
leave God and refuse to come back. If we keep sinning and refuse to repent, God
finally, sadly accepts our divorce papers, because true love never forces.
Christ never forces us to be with Him. Christ never forces us to be here in His
house and receive His wedding gift of absolution. Christ never forces us to eat
with Him here at His wedding Table. But, like a rejected lover, Christ keeps
pleading with us. Christ engages in a life-long begging for us to come back. If you want to be here; if you want to listen to Christ, if
you want to love and obey Him, this means that Christ’s love is working in you
and giving you a desire to receive His wedding gifts. His wedding gifts are wonderful! Jesus’ wedding gifts to you
are Baptism, Absolution and His holy Supper. His wedding gifts are what forgive
you and give you the desire to love Him. However, if you put off Baptism, if you
are apathetic about Absolution and holy Communion, your love for Christ will
start to die. You will chase those other lovers called earthly pleasures. Your
heart will grow cold and hard. But Jesus will do everything He can to prevent
you from doing that. Marriage is for life because God’s marriage to us is for even
more: eternal life. The vow we promise to God is to remain with our spouse for
better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love
and to cherish, till death us do part. Jesus says that even if a husband
divorces his wife and marries another, unless she has committed adultery against
him or abandoned him, he is still married to her. Even if a wife divorces her
husband and marries another, unless he has committed adultery against her or has
abandoned her, she is still married to him. Other than for the sins of adultery
and desertion, marriage is for life. Christ Jesus says, “What God has joined
together, let not man separate.” In that Bridal shower of Baptism, Christ has
married us to Himself forever. He will never break His wedding vows. We are not
to break our wedding vows. But what about our marriages broken by sin: our sin or the
sin of our spouse or the sin of both of us? God desires reconciliation, but what
if reconciliation is not possible? What if our spouse refuses to come back? What
if he or she has joined in one flesh with another man or woman? In the sinful
brokenness of this world, you cannot always go back. However, even if you cannot
go back to your spouse, Christ calls you to come back here: back here to His
house to receive His gifts of forgiveness and reconciliation with Him. What if you are the innocent party? What if everything you
did was rejected by the one who wronged you? This means you share in the
suffering of Christ. You understand Christ when He says, “Take up your cross and
follow Me.” As Christ suffered unjustly under our sins, you who follow Christ
will also suffer unjustly under the sins of others. As His own people rejected
Him, you who follow Christ are rejected by those closest to you. What can you do
for them? Whether they reject or accept it, Christ leads you to even love your
enemies and to offer His forgiveness to those persons who sin against you. What if Christ brings you to realize that you are the guilty
party? What if there is nothing you can do to undo what you have done? What if
reconciliation is impossible and you are left in a state of perpetual
singleness? Look to Christ. Live in His grace, His forgiveness and His strength. What applies to the sin of divorce applies to every sin,
because every sin is an attempt to divorce ourselves from God. Jesus calls all
of us to repent of all our sins, no matter how big we think they are. Repentance means turning away from that sin and hating that sin. But also, remember that Jesus’ love for you is not based on what you do. Jesus does not forgive you based on how hard you repent. Christ died for your sins 2,000 years ago. It’s done. What you do cannot add to what Christ has done. Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. Christ does it all. Here, in God’s house, Christ reconciles you back to Him. Here, in God’s house, Christ renews His wedding vows to you every week. Here, you are received back as His forgiven, His cleansed, His beautiful, His beloved Bride. He will never leave you. You belong to Christ. Amen. |