Spiritual Understanding of Relationships (Proper 22 (2)

Texts: Mark 10:2-16, Hebrews 2:5-12, Psalm 26

A dear friend of mine, lived a life that could best be described as "mildly chaotic." Let’s call him Bob. Bob wasn’t the type to meditate or attend spiritual retreats—he was more of a "forget-your-keys-in-the-fridge" kind of guy. Every morning, Bob would wake up with the intention of living a peaceful, spiritually aligned day, but by 9 a.m., he'd already spilled coffee on his shirt, lost his phone, and accidentally sent a gibberish text to his boss.

One day, after a particularly embarrassing series of events (involving a misplaced grocery cart and someone else's dog…a story that Bob will share at a later date!), Bob had an epiphany. He figured that maybe, just maybe, life wasn’t meant to be so complicated. Maybe the universe was trying to teach him something by throwing these ridiculous situations his way.

So, Bob decided to let go. Instead of stressing over the coffee stains, the lost items, and his endless awkward encounters, he embraced them with a laugh. He started treating every mishap as if it were part of some cosmic comedy routine, with himself as the star. Bob realized that purity of heart didn’t come from perfection, but from a childlike openness, a willingness to laugh at life’s absurdities and trust that everything was somehow okay.

Soon, people noticed that Bob seemed...different. His friends started nicknaming happy peaceful events as having a “heart like Bob. He'd walk around with an air of peace, even when he had mismatched socks or when his car wouldn’t start. Bob had found a kind of purity—not because he became some saintly figure, but because he stopped taking himself too seriously. He laughed more, worried less, and realized that purity of heart meant embracing life as it came, coffee stains and all.

In today’s message, we will explore Scripture not only as a historical account but also as a reflection of deeper spiritual truths that are alive within each of us. The Bible often speaks symbolically to the conditions of our inner lives, and the passage from Mark 10:2-16 offers a wonderful insight into our spiritual relationships and the purity required to experience divine union. In Mark 10, we encounter two key themes: the question of divorce posed by the Pharisees, and Jesus’ teaching on receiving the Kingdom of God like a child. At first glance, these may seem like separate ideas, but together they point toward the importance of inner wholeness and the purity of heart necessary to enter into a divine state of being. Just like Bob, we too can feel the purity of hear, embracing life as it comes.

Mark 10:2–5 “Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” The Pharisees represent the part of us that seeks to live by the letter of the law, relying on intellectual arguments and rigid structures. This is the tendency within each of us to reduce spirituality to a set of rules, missing the deeper spiritual connection.

In this passage, lets look at the symbolism of divorce. Divorce is symbolic of an inner separation—one between our heart and mind, or between our spiritual intuition and material concerns. The "hardness of heart" that Jesus mentions points to a resistance to divine wisdom, an unwillingness to embrace love and unity. Think about the ways in which we separate from our own divine nature. Perhaps it's through pride, intellectual arrogance, or ego-driven arguments. We might try to reason our way through spiritual matters, ignoring the wisdom that comes from a soft heart and a spirit open to God. When we allow such inner division, we lose the wholeness that is available to us through divine union.

In Psalm 26, we hear David’s plea for integrity and purity:

Psalm 26:1 “ Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.” David’s desire to walk in truth and innocence reflects the call to align ourselves with divine wisdom, rather than the narrow rationalism of the Pharisees.

Mark 10:6–9 “ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”” Here, Jesus speaks of the union between man and woman as a reflection of divine wholeness. This speaks not only to marriage but also to the union of complementary spiritual qualities within us—reason and intuition, intellect and heart, the active and the receptive. When Jesus says, "the two shall become one flesh," He points to the deep spiritual truth that within each of us, there is a call to unity. This unity is the divine marriage between our higher self and our lower self, between the material and the spiritual, between faith and understanding. Ask yourself, where have you allowed inner division to block the flow of divine grace? Are there aspects of your life—your thoughts, emotions, or behaviors—that remain unintegrated, separated from the wholeness God calls you to? When these aspects of our being are harmonized, we experience the divine union that brings peace and clarity.

Hebrews 2:5–12 “ It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed…” Paul’s words remind us that humanity is called to share in God’s glory through Christ.

Mark 10:13–16 “ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” As we move into the second part of this passage, Jesus teaches about the necessity of receiving the Kingdom of God with childlike innocence. Children, in this context, represent purity, openness, and a lack of ego. They approach the world with wonder, trust, and humility, free from the intellectual complexities and doubts that often hinder adults. To receive the Kingdom of God like a child means to release our need for control and our reliance on intellectual understanding. It means to approach God with openness, trust, and a heart that is willing to receive without reservation. Where in your life are you still holding on to the need for control? What attitudes or beliefs prevent you from receiving the fullness of God’s presence?

Psalm 26 also echoes the theme of innocence when David says, "I have trusted in the Lord without wavering." The childlike trust we are called to cultivate is not naive, but rather a profound faith in the divine order and love that guides our lives.

Today’s passage challenges us to heal the inner divisions that keep us from experiencing divine union. Whether it is the rationalism of the Pharisees or the pride of the intellect, we are called to let go of these barriers and embrace the deeper spiritual unity that God offers.

Through the metaphor of marriage, we are reminded of the need for balance and harmony within ourselves, integrating heart and mind, spirit and ego. And through the example of children, we see the importance of innocence, humility, and trust in our relationship with God.

The Kingdom of God is not a distant place but a state of consciousness, one that we can enter here and now when we are aligned with our divine nature. Let us become like children, trusting in the unfolding of God’s Kingdom within, and living in alignment with the divine union we are called to embody.

Psalm 6:1 NIV

1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.