Today we have a celebration.  60 years of marriage for the Stanley’s!  What a blessing that they have been married for so many years, through the good and bad, the hard times and the times of joy!  Blessed with a loving family. 

Did you know that Idaho has the highest marriage rate in the nation?  Almost 60% of people in Idaho are married.  At the same time, Idaho is at a 60 year low in its marriage rate.  And even worse,  Idaho has the 5^th highest divorce rate in the country. It’s been said that 50% of marriages end in divorce, which is a little misleading because if someone is divorced once, it is more likely they will be divorced again.  Fewer divorces, but also fewer marriages, and more people living together outside of marriage. 

All of these show a startling comparison to a Pharisee-like way of thinking.  Our Gospel reading is usually thought of as Jesus’ discussion on marriage and divorce, but there is more to it than that.  The Pharisees try to trap Jesus in a catch-22, so that no matter what He says He will be wrong.  So they bring up an issue of marriage and divorce, hot topic issues that are still being discussed and debated over today.  They point out Scripture verses to back up their claims, invoking the commands of Moses.

Jesus basically says “you’re reading the wrong Bible verse.”  Jesus knows what the Pharisees are trying to do, and He knows their underlying motive.  They are not only asking about marriage, but even more seriously, they are seeking to justify their sin.  They were trying to search out how to bend the rules just far enough not to break them. The Pharisees, just like many today, look for the loopholes in God’s Law. “That marriage was doomed from the start. Our marriage doesn’t have a chance any more.  Too many things have been said.  Too much has happened for us to ever go back to the way it was now.  Marriage is just a piece of paper anyway.”

The real issue isn’t the rights and wrongs of divorce and remarriage, but what is the will of the Lord.  The right question isn’t “when is divorce ok”, but “what is God’s will in marriage?”  Jesus responds to the Pharisees by basically saying that they asking the wrong question.  He speaks clearly and directly on what marriage is, instituted by God on day 6 of creation before mankind’s fall into sin – the lifelong, one flesh union of one man and one woman. Anything apart from this is not marriage, despite how the world might want to redefine it.  Jesus points to the higher law of creation, the divine constitution of marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman. 

Because marriage is rooted in creation and God’s intent for mankind, divorce is never God’s will because it is ripping apart the one flesh union.  God’s intent is never divorce, but always a lifelong relationship.  “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”  God has joined two together into one.  Think about this miracle.  Just as Adam and Eve were originally one flesh then God made Eve out of Adam’s rib.  Out of one flesh came two people, and in marriage God is creating one flesh out of two people.  And God does not create things with the intention that they will fail.  He didn’t cause the two to become one with the intention that someday soon the one would become two again.

But Jesus gives only one reason for divorce: adultery.  This is hard to hear for our world, given that divorce has become almost the norm rather than the exception. God isn’t trying to be mean.  He isn’t trying to prevent someone from getting out of a bad relationship, an abusive relationship, a sinful relationship.  St. Paul also speaks of abandonment.  It happens all the time.  In fact, the emotional abandonment takes place long before the physical abandonment ever does.  Many a couple lives more like aloof roommates than loving husband and wife.  Many a spouse spiritually splits and abandons the faithful one, leaving them to go to church and live their life of faith on their own.  God allows for divorce because of the devastating sinful effects of adultery, all the while revealing that this great mystery of holy marriage signifies Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, and His Bride, the Church. Divorce and all manner of adultery contradict and undermine this sign, and in doing so, they confess a false Christ and a false gospel.  This is why sexual immorality is especially highlighted in Scripture a specific evil and sin, not only because of the harm it does to ourselves and our society, but because of what it says about Jesus, our groom, and the Church, His bride. 

And make no mistakes: This reality of marriage is for all believers—every man, woman, and child; married or single. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus proclaims, "I tell you the truth, if you've ever even looked at a woman with lust in your heart, you've committed adultery.” Lustful thoughts, lustful actions, sex outside of marriage is adultery.  Plain and simple. The Christian is called to live a life of purity, chastity.  Luther’s explanation of the 6^th Commandment explains it so well, “We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.” 

But it’s even more serious than that. Not only is this a sin against the 6^th Commandment, but adultery equals idolatry.  Putting yourself and your lusts in the place of God.  By looking for the loopholes in God’s law, by willing and knowingly committing sin, we all are adulators deserving nothing else than a divorce from God Himself. Many have been the times that God would have had every reason to file for divorce, to claim that this marriage could never work.  How did Christ react to His bride, the Church, us, when we acted in those ways?  Did He claim that we were holding him back as God?  Did He shout that our incompatibility, our leaving Him alone in the house while we go out with the world, was grounds for a divorce?  Did He complain to others about us in hopes of gaining a sympathetic ear?  Did He file for divorce?  

No.  He filed for forgiveness.  God sent His one and only Son to pay the price for our sins--our sins of laughing at His blessing of marriage, our sins of disobeying His commands for marriage, our sins of unfaithfulness to our spouse, of sexual immorality, of lust, of chasing after our bodily passions--whether in thoughts or also in actions, our sins of unfaithfulness to Him. He sent Jesus to suffer the punishment for the heartache that we had caused by our lives.  He sent Jesus to once again join us together with Him.  That as a man and women are joined together by God into one flesh, we are joined together by God in Christ.

God is faithful, even when we are not. Through the waters of Baptism we are united to Christ.  Through faith in Christ our sins are forgiven, our perverted hearts cleansed, our lust purified by the blood of Jesus. Christ Jesus has atoned for all such sins, and He has perfected marriage in Himself “through suffering,” that He might bring “many sons to glory” in His resurrection (Heb. 2:8–10).

Whether you’ve been divorced, are going through divorce, or you’ve been unfaithful in your marriage God offers His grace, forgiveness, and comfort in difficult times.  Today we ought to individually consider our sins against God’s wonderful gift of marriage, and we ought to confess them in sorrow.  Repent of our unfaithfulness, of our lack of purity, of our cheating on God and one another.  But then we ought to take those sins and lay them at the foot of the cross that they may be washed away forever by the blood of Jesus.  For Jesus is the foundation of marriage, that it is only by God’s grace we make it through each day.  This is the Gospel message for us today: that forgiveness is offered and given in repentant faith for any unfaithfulness to our spouse, to our family, to our God.  Our groom will not forsake His bride, but gives His life for her; gives His life for you.  In the name of T Jesus. Amen.