Today's Gospel story begins, “Pharisees came up, intending to give Jesus a hard time.“ And, the way these religiously devout people intended to give Jesus a hard time was by asking him one of the “hot button” issues of the day. They asked Jesus, “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife?”

Why was this a “hot button” issue? And how, by asking Jesus about it, were the Pharisees intending to give Jesus a hard time?

In Jesus’ day, Jews were pretty much in agreement about divorce. It was permitted; it was legal. In Deuteronomy, Moses wrote, “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, and so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house.”

Moses--and therefore Judaism--permitted divorce. Virtually everyone agreed about that. Where they did not agree--indeed, where there was great debate--was over what precisely constituted “objectionable behavior” in the wife that permitted the husband to divorce her. (And, by the way, divorce was a one-way street. Husbands could divorce wives over “objectionable behavior.” Wives had no such rights!)

One school of thought--the school of Shammai--was strict. They limited “objectionable behavior” to adultery or gross indecency (although, again, only in the woman, not the man!). The other school of thought--the school of Hillel--was more liberal. Just about anything that a husband did not find to his liking was suitable grounds for divorce—even burned food!

This division--this disagreement--over the grounds for divorce made the question the Pharisees’ asked Jesus a “hot button” topic. The liberals disagreed with the conservatives and the conservatives with the liberals. But that’s only the beginning! The place where the Pharisees asked Jesus this question guaranteed giving Jesus a hard time.

Jesus was in Galilee, the region ruled by Herod Antipas. Herod had very publicly divorced his wife so that he could marry his brother’s wife, Herodias (who had used Roman law to divorce her husband). When John the Baptist publicly criticized Herod for doing this, Herod had him imprisoned and then, through the scheming of Herod’s new wife, killed.

By asking Jesus, “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife?” the Pharisees are hoping that Jesus will follow in John’s footsteps and be arrested and killed. They’re giving Jesus a hard time.

Here is what Jesus does. He answers the Pharisees’ question in a way that pleases no one, liberal or conservative. Instead of stating his view on what are--or are not--acceptable grounds for divorce, Jesus instead says there is no such thing as divorce! People may think they’re divorcing--it may even be legal for them to do so--but, argues Jesus, there truly is no such thing as divorce.

Listen to the way Jesus says this. “Moses wrote this command [the command that gives permission to divorce] only as a concession to your hardhearted ways. In the original creation,” Jesus explains, “God made male and female to be together. Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman—no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes,” Jesus says, “no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”

What just happened? The Pharisees wanted to put Jesus in a hot spot by asking him whether he was a liberal or a conservative in regards to divorce. (If Jesus was a conservative--if he was like his cousin John the Baptist--maybe Jesus would also be thrown into prison and, better yet, killed like John!)

Instead of answering their question--instead of permitting himself to be pegged as liberal or conservative--Jesus challenges people--all people of all time--with the purpose of God in creation.

Two weeks ago Pastor Harkness preached a sermon called, Recapturing Eden. In it, she talked about how, in the beginning, God made the man and the woman not only in the image of God, but to be God’s image bearers in the world. They were created to be in relationship with each other--neither one lording it over the over--and, most especially, to be in relationship with God.

Neither the man nor the woman--nor any man or woman since then, save one--were satisfied with that, however. Given the choice between being the people God had made them to be or being God’s rivals, the man and the woman--and every man and woman since then, save one--chose to be God’s rivals. And the world we live in now is the result.

Again I ask, what’s happening? What is Jesus doing? What is his point? The temptation is to think that Jesus’ answer adds yet more disapproval and guilt on those--on those of us--who cannot live as God intends. The temptation is to think that Jesus--like so many religious leaders--is simply drawing a line in the sand, saying, “Those of you who can keep to this side are good; those of you who can’t are bad.”

But notice instead what Jesus does next. I’ll read it again for you. No sooner had Jesus given these words about the intentions of God than this happened: “The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: ‘Don’t push these children away,’” he said. “‘Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.’ Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.”

I’m calling this sermon Both Stories because I think that’s what Jesus would insist upon. We can’t hear one story without the other. We can’t consider what Jesus is saying to us about God’s broken intentions for us in creation without hearing about God’s welcome of us, as children in the Kingdom of God.

God created us--male and female--in the image of God. But, more than that, God created us to be his image bearer’s in the world. God made us to live in relationship with each other and, most especially, to live in relationship with him.

Earlier, I said, that neither the man nor the woman--nor any man or woman since then, save one--were satisfied with that, however. Given the choice between being the people God had made them to be or being God’s rivals, the man and the woman--and every man and woman since then, save one--chose to be God’s rivals.

Who is the one exception to that rule? Who is the one--and only--person who accepted living faithfully as a child of God? Jesus! If a line is going to be drawn in the sand--a line separating those who qualify on one side and those who do not on the other--then, there’s only one person on that side and everyone else on this.

And so, by welcoming children, Jesus shows us the only path available to us. As Pastor Harkness was saying, if we want to recapture Eden--if we want to be restored to being God’s image bearers--we cannot do it on our own. We cannot “behave” our way back.

We must be as children. “Mark this,” says Jesus. “Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Thank God! In Jesus’ name. Amen.