Mtr Kelli Joyce

Dear friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus upsets the conventional wisdom of his day about family values. First, he is questioned by religious leaders who want to trap him in his own words - he seems to be teaching things about marriage that are contrary to the Scriptures. Then he defends children against those who were trying to shoo them away, saying that it is to them that God's kingdom belongs.

Jesus knows his Scripture, and he knows the culture he lives in. Knows that women and children are seen as disposable if they are no longer able to further a man's desire for power or pleasure or wealth and security in old age. He has seen how the words of Scripture have been used to make marriage a matter of the more powerful party's preference and convenience, rather than a sacred union whose obligations cannot be cast aside lightly. He has seen how children are treated as worthwhile primarily in what they symbolize for adults, rather than being treated as worth listening to and engaging with on their own terms as human beings of infinite worth and dignity.

St. Augustine says, “anyone who thinks that they have understood the divine scriptures or any part of them, but cannot by their understanding build up this double love of God and neighbor, has not yet succeeded in understanding them. Anyone who derives from them an idea which is useful for supporting this love, but fails to say what the writer demonstrably meant in the passage, has not made a fatal error, and is certainly not a liar.” Scripture is a sacred gift from God, and as Christians we cannot discard it or dismiss it. We also cannot abuse it, using its words to bolster our own power and prove that God approves of our behavior, even as other people suffer and pay the cost. Christ demands that we choose to prioritize what is loving over what is legal.

In peace,
Mtr. Kelli