Mark 10:2-16

This week we turn from an extended journey through the Letter of James to our more usual pattern of two Sunday readings. They are Psalm 8 and Mark 10:2-16.

In the Disciple Bible Study class, participants are challenged to memorize Psalm 8. Why not give that a try this week?

What a contrast we have! In Psalm 8, we are described as being “only slightly lower than the divine.” But then, in Mark 10:2-16 people want to know if divorce is OK, and the disciples shoo away a group of children. How do you account for this range of commentary on the human race, from the holy to the  cynical and selfish?

In Mark 10:2-16, Jesus is not absolutely condemning divorce. But he uses a cynical question from some Pharisees to dramatize the gap between who we are as human beings, and who we ought to be. It is not even meant to shame us so much as to help us see how much we need a gracious God.

How does his teaching about, and welcoming, children provide a gracious corrective to cynicism and selfishness?