Hold on Tight!

HOLD ON TIGHT!

And he [Jesus] took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:16 ESV) We all need a hug, maybe somedays more than others. Today at International Lutheran Church, Jesus’ action to embrace the children and bless them is exactly what we need to hear at a time when our relationships are becoming socially distant. Jesus reminds His disciples and us just why He needed to come and even more importantly how our brokenness is restored in Him!

Three years ago, some of us may remember how we were beginning to feel a little burdened by the seemingly endless restrictions or mandates around Covid – especially the social distancing rules. I got to relive some of those feelings this week after coming down with the virus again. I hope I don’t sound like I am complaining. In fact, I do appreciate the things we learned in living through the pandemic and the greater sense of awareness that this has instilled in us about keeping not only ourselves safe but also our neighbor through simply controlling our interactions. There isn’t a higher or more important thing that we could do for our neighbor or ourselves. But maybe like you, I am remembering our need to give each other a bit of slack in our lives. Sometimes a little slack and allowances can go a long way in making us, well, happier and maybe a little more willing to go along with the ups and downs of everyday life.

But slack isn’t always helpful. Growing up in Iowa, our family loved the weekend trip to the lake. Many a beautiful summer evening was spent skiing on the smooth water. My sisters and I all learned to ski and taught many other people to ski as well. The hardest part, though, was to make sure there was no slack in the tow rope that trailed behind the boat. If there was any slack, even the smallest amount, it would invariably snap the moment the boat would start to power up and take off. The rope would then rip right out of the person’s hands and mean that the boat would need to circle around and set up all over again. It could take many tries with an inexperienced or first-time skier. My dad was patient though and always accommodated us or our friends even when we didn’t understand all the things to keep straight while we floated in the water. Slack was definitely not something that was helpful.

I don't know if the Pharisees were feeling they personally needed a bit of slack when they asked Jesus about whether it was right for a man and woman who had been joined together as husband and wife to divorce at the beginning of Mark 10. Mark does tell us that they were trying to test Jesus, so maybe they already knew or thought they knew what the correct answer was. Jesus doesn’t miss the opportunity to show them or us the true nature and design of God from the beginning and how He had planned to bless us and His creation in giving the man and woman to each other to become one with Him in His care for all. In this case Jesus sees the slack we think might help as actually becoming a danger to us and something that would rip us apart from one another and from Him.

If we didn’t get the point, the events of what happened next surely help. While the Pharisees were testing Jesus, the crowds were bringing the little children to be blessed by Jesus and the disciples weren’t going to cut anyone any slack. Jesus was indignant! He came to hold those children in His arms and hold them tight! His embrace is a blessing. Marriage is meant to be a blessing. Children are a blessing from the Lord. I know many of us struggle and have already been hurt by the brokenness of our fallen world and our own sinfulness, but this is why Jesus came. As the writer to the Hebrews said, “He [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17) This is why He was cut no slack and was ripped from the heart of God on the cross so that we would “come out of the water” in the power of His Spirit to be pulled by His grace through life, sharing His loving embrace with all!

While we may feel we need a bit of slack, Jesus is here to hold you and me tight to Himself. Our broken relationships, our unrealized dreams, and our failures to care for our neighbor, our spouse, even our children cannot rip us from His grip. We are covered and forgiven by what He has done for you and me. In Him we can hold on tight to one another and share His love with all in a mixed up and crazy time.

Hold on tight! Jesus has come to embrace you and will never let you go!

Pastor Carl