Re-Drafting My Spiritual Formation – Log #11: Context is Critical and Perspective is Principal

Once again, our Lutheran pastor has shed new light on views I’ve likely misappropriated for most of my life. As we learned in the sermon yesterday, context is critical and perspective is principal.

The sermon text centered on Jesus’ rather explicit comments on marriage as recorded in Mark chapter 10: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery”. Yikes. Uncomfortable words in our culture.

The Pharisees had tried to get Jesus in political and religious trouble by asking him if it was “lawful” for a man to divorce his wife.

This text, along with others on interesting transgressions (like homosexuality and fornication), are often selectively used by conservative Christians as standards for behavior of their fellows, even at the ballot box.

Before you come unglued, hear me out. I am not condoning ANY sin. But in his comments yesterday, our pastor beautifully painted “the big picture” of God’s grace.

He indicated that we don’t know for sure, but the reason this issue may have come up at all, was because Jesus had traveled to Perea, the area governed by Herod Antipas, who married Herodias, the wife of his own half-brother.

It was Herodias who cunningly caused the death of John the Baptist. So, in this context, you can quickly grasp why the question arose where it did.

The perspective offered by our Pastor was what particularly hit home for me. He pointed out – as we should know only too well – that there is not one of us who doesn’t sin. The lesson from the above text, he suggested, should not focus on the particular shortcoming. Rather, it is broader than that.

The full message of the Gospel is overwhelmingly one of forgiveness and reconciliation, and that’s where our center of attention should be as well.

Christ died for our sins – every single one and for every single person. Our task as followers of Christ is not to focus on a few selective sins of church members or public officials or anyone but instead to communicate and participate in the encompassing Gospel message of pardon and restitution which is available to all.

The grace of God has freed us to so live. Thanks be to God.