18th Sunday after Pentecost

Mark 10:2-16

We live in a world
less than it should be,
with division, hatred and war.
The reality of this is harsh,
is brokenness
and pain
and from time to time
we try,
try to look past the pain
into the law
and justify
for ourselves and all the others
who are trying to handle the pain
by ourselves,
a way to handle in our own way
the reality of pain in our lives
making it
we think
less painful.
And sometimes we succeed.
Until
some breeze of fresh air clears the clouds
and we see.
See
the reality for what it is
despite all our attempts to understand
--and rationalize
----and explain
------and study
--------and even glorify
our pain,
which still remains.
The children know,
their eyesight is keener than ours
they have not been tainted by the years
and hurts
--and “realities” of life.
They know,
the children are the ones who look
and see
the emperor standing naked
and wonder
why we like his clothes so much.
They see the pain of divorce
and wonder
how we understand it so well.
They feel the pain
and are driven to the cross
with the God who knows our pain,
and standing there
with Jesus for comfort
in their pain
and wonder
why
we don’t see