Scripture: Mark 12:28-34
What is the most important thing? When I was in school my classmates and I would often ask questions of our teachers trying to learn what the minimum requirements of the class were. Many times we would spend more energy trying to figure this out than actually doing the assignments, and if we would have just done the work we would have been fine. The economy of the classroom is often that way. At times the questions were to gain clarity but all too often it was to get out of doing what we knew we should do. Our teachers knew what we were up to, probably because they had done the same when they were students. I observed something as I progressed through my education, usually I did better on my papers if I just did the work without trying to negotiate the requirements. When I would just did my work my own way the professors usually gave higher marks because of the creativity factor. On one of my assignments my professor actually wrote on the paper, “I do not know what to do with this papers because I have never had one written in such a way, but since you fulfilled the requirements you get an A.” I guess most people do not write theology papers in a narrative format.
Teachers are around to pass on knowledge. Part of our human nature is to be curious. We want to know things so we study, investigate, question, and observe. Teachers are around to assist parents with those constant questions of our youth, as we grow teachers continue to pass on knowledge even though they may not have the same titles. Jesus was one of these teachers. Many called Him a rabbi, meaning teacher, but he did not officially hold that title. He traveled from town to town teaching, preaching, showing people how to life a life devoted to God. Although He did not have the credentials of the various scribes, they all recognized that He taught with authority, just prior to this exchange of ideas there was another discussion between the teachers, like many discussions they build and grow. They observed that Jesus had some very good things to say. This discussion that we did not read today was over the deep theological debate over the resurrection.
The laws of what Christians call the Old Testament stated that if a man dies without a child his wife is to marry his brother and the first child from that union would be considered the child of the first husband. It’s quite a confusing ordeal. The questions that was being discussed was not if this law was acceptable in the contemporary time frame, but over whose wife this woman would be during the resurrection. This was a debatable issue because the issue of resurrection of the dead was debatable. Some of the teachers of the law believed that the first husband would be the primary husband and so she would be bound to him. Other teachers did not believe in resurrection at all so they did not see the point of debating the issue. Jesus was brought into this discussion and was asked what He thought, and his response was that people would not marry or be given in marriage. He did not say that there was not a resurrection of the dead, but that marriage was not part of it. This answer did not take either side of the issue totally, but was different. They recognized the uniqueness of this answer. In their debating they did not even consider that the things just might be totally different in the life to come.
After hearing this discussion an eager scribe thought that this man might be able to answer some of his questions. In essences he asks, “What is the most important thing?” This man is a teacher of the law, and he devoted his entire life to learning and following the law. Through all of his studies he had learned many things, there were laws, interoperations of the laws, and a life to build around each. These teachers and lawyers would determine how best to pursue this life and teach it to those around them. These teachings were often called the yoke of the rabbi, used in this way because it was a burden to bear. There were expectations that needed to be met, so people would constantly be asking how best to live.
He asks this question both to test Jesus’ commitment to His faith as well as to answer his own personal desires. To live a disciplined life takes hard work. It truly is a burden. What must I do? It is a question that many of the scribes and several others have asked. By his question he was asking a multitude of things, firstly he wanted to know how his teaching compared to the teachings of Jesus. The answer Jesus gave was, “’Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe was excited to hear these words being uttered from the mouth of this teacher. He answers back by saying that Jesus had answered wisely and that these were things more desirable than all the sacrifices and offerings.
There is no other commandment greater than these. The wording of that sentence is a bit odd. Jesus gave two sets of commandments yet he says there is no other commandment greater than these. There is a singularity in the plurality. The two parts cannot be separated. In another gospel Jesus says that the second part is like the first. I have often wondered about this wording, not that I do not agree with what is being said but how it is worded. To love God is to love your neighbor and to love your neighbor is to love God.
You can attend meetings for worship everyday, you can give more half your income to the church as an offering, you could even go to the farthest reaches of the globe to show your love and devotion to God, but if you do not love your neighbor He does not even see it. You could also feed thousands, house the homeless, educate those without the ability to pay for an education, and show the greater love for your neighbor than anyone else but if you do not do it out of love for God then it is nothing more than empty hope. Jesus taught about these things several times. The rich young ruler went away from him because Jesus said that to inherit eternal life he would have to sell all he had and give it to the poor. For that man, he showed the greatest devotion to God, he kept the commandments to the letter but he did not love God with everything he had, because he loved his money just as much as God if not more. When it was said that to have eternal life all he would have to do is give it all away, he could not make that sacrifice and instead turned his back on Christ. Jesus also taught about people that came before him claiming to have healed many and spoken prophetic words in his name, showing grace and mercy to their neighbor, yet he also turned these people away saying, “I have never known you.” They loved their neighbor but did not love God.
James the brother of Jesus in his letter spoke of faith and works. James challenged those that listened to him to show him their faith without works, and he would show them his with. Our faith, our love for God is shown by what we do for others. Our love for others also should be done with praises to God that we have the opportunity to share the blessings He has given us.
Love is greater than all the offerings and sacrifices we can give. Love is a choice and an action; it is not an emotion, although it can stir emotions within us. To share what we have with others stirs within us a strong emotion of thanksgiving and grace. To receive a gift from others also stirs emotions of inadequacy and grace. Each aspect starts with a choice and an action. To give, to receive the emotions of thanksgiving we first choice to share our blessings with someone else and then we follow through with that choice. A gift and a meal must also be accompanied with an equally intentional choice of accepting the generosity and receiving the gift. This is why so many of our strongest memories are around holidays where we give and share gifts and food with our relatives and our friends, like we will do next Sunday evening here at Willow Creek, and like we will do in a few weeks with our relatives.
Jesus looked at this scribe and said something that he rarely said to the religious leaders around him. “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” I often wonder who this scribe was, could it have been Nicodemus who came at night to ask questions of Jesus, could it have been Gamaliel who was not part of the group but did not wish to persecute the followers of Jesus? We do not know for sure who this scribe was but we do know that he knew something of the light. He knew through his studies of the law and of the prophets that God was more concerned with living the intent behind the law instead of performance and keeping up appearances. He knew that the relationships with God and those people around you are more important than the religious activities one can perform.
We live in a time of change, an era in history where we are at a crossroad. Many believe that we just might be in the end of days, which we very may be in, but I do know for sure that we are nearing an end of an age. We look around us and we see the lowest average church attendance in generations, we see higher crime rates than we ever remember, we see poverty hitting not only “those” people but also our own family members. And we ask why? Just the other day on the radio I listened to a commentator ask what age group was the least religious and his answer was 18-29 year olds, but this same age group is seeking spirituality in a greater way than many generations prior to them. They are seeking hope because just like all of us they see the darkness and they are just as scared. What attracts those people to a church? What are they looking for?
They are looking for people that Love God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength. They do not just want religious devotion but a reality that they can experience. They are also looking for people that love their neighbor as themselves. They are looking for people that are actually believe and live according to their beliefs. They want to see people that serve in the community more than just attend worship meetings. They want to be part of a community that trusts God more than statistics. They want to be a member of a community that actually participates in miracles like the feeding of the 5000, instead of just reading about them. The people that we are so worried about the ones we are afraid will be the undoing of our society, want to love Jesus. They know what He taught and they love his message, but they do not like what His messengers have become. They love Christ but they do not trust His Church. They do not trust us because so often those in the church only live half the Gospel. We either love God or we Love our neighbor, but rarely do we love both.
I mentioned a paper that I wrote for a theology class that my professor did not know how to grade. The paper was not a technical paper; to be honest I did not know how to put the words on paper in a scholarly way so instead of trying to do that I decided to write a story. I wrote a story of a person that was facing incredible stress and as a last resort they decided to go to the church to speak to the pastor, but the pastor was busy talking to someone else. This broken person just sat in the hallway lost not knowing which direction to take, and the church janitor came by and began to talk to them. The conversation continued as the janitor continued to perform his tasks, and the person continued to speak. This simple janitor was able to pass on to this struggling person the truth of the gospel in a way that they could understand. The janitor did not have a degree in theology; he did not have a career that would make people jealous, because he was just the person that cleaned the church. But he loved the church, he loved God, he took the job because he could pray when he took a break and he could read the books of the library over lunch. And he could talk to people as they came in, he loved to greet them and wish them the blessings of God. In my story this janitor walked with this person who was unable to see through the darkness, and was able to shine some light back into their life. In the story the person never did speak with the pastor, they never received the words of wisdom from the great teacher, instead they found hope through the words of the person scrubbing the toilets. The great teacher may not have time, or they may not even have words, but the community can love.
“Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We are called to love above all things, to love with everything that we have, and everything that we are. We are called to share that love with the person sitting next to us, across the street from us, and even the person downtown. As we enter this time of holy expectancy my hope and prayer is that the Spirit of the Living God will teach us, show us, and urge us to fulfill that command here in our community.
Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
Power and Influence, this sounds like a headline out of every newspaper across the nation. It actually sounds like the topic of every chapter in every history book. Of course I am exaggerating, but the quest for power and influence is often the topic of the writers of history. It is what makes news. We know about the Jewish wars in the first century because of the quest for power and influence. The results of this quest changed the course of history. Did you know that the fact that our nation mainly speaks English instead of a form of Latin or Gaelic, could trace its roots to this war. This quest for power is really what the entire New Testament is about. We have the nation set apart to be a light among nations against a world dominating empire. It is a battle that has been fought as long as history has been recorded.
Of course like every quest for power and influence there are several different aspects to it. Many who live in the United States would be surprised that the majority of colonists did not desire the revolution. To be honest it was a small minority that actually set this quest for power into play. And most people living in the colonies were actually very pleased with their lifestyle, to be honest the in comparison to most people in the British empire the Americans were rather wealthy. Most did not want independence but influence. You see even in our own history there is a difference in the quest, or the understanding of the term kingdom, is it land or independence; or is it influence or representation within the present nation.
In the ancient Jewish culture of the first century there were several camps, some wanted independence while others just wanted to insure influence in the areas important to them. Power and influence, independence and representation this is usually where the lines of the battle are drawn. In the minds of the Disciples of Christ they were somewhere between these extremes. At the beginning of this passage we see an interaction between Jesus and a couple of very bold passionate members of this group. James and John are called the sons of thunder; this is one of the reasons why. They were right in the middle of an argument, often times hedging their cards to be on the winning side. Here they ask a question that upsets the other ten men in the following. “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Bold, is the term I use to describe these two men. We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. This is one of the boldest of all questions to ask of anyone. Have you been asked one of these questions? To most of us this question is attached to something we do not particularly want to agree to. Do you trust me, is a similar question. Usually the answer to this question is, “I did, but now I’m beginning to reconsider it.” You probably understand the position that these two guys put Jesus in. They were making a demand of Jesus. Of course we ourselves would never be like these two saintly sinners, because we have learned from their mistakes.
“What is it you want me to do for you?” This is really the only response Jesus could give in the context of his ministry. Jesus always seems to be open to the needs and requests around him. It empowers the person posing the question. They have the attention of their closest friend and whom they believe is the messiah. They ask that Jesus grant them the premier seats in a physical kingdom. This speaks of what they believe is going on in the current quest for power and influence. They envisioned and imagined that this man Jesus was going to bring into existence a separate and independent nation, that he would be the king. They wanted power and influence over people; they wanted control, honor, wealth, and success. In their minds everything they were doing going around the territory of Palestine gathering support was for a military conquest, and they wanted to be the second in command, the chiefs of staff or aides de camp.
Jesus looks at them and states something seemingly simple. “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” These men have lived with Jesus for a couple of years now. In their mind they have been living this. They were most likely disciples of John the Baptist before they began following Jesus, they witnessed when John dunked Jesus under the waters of the Jordan. They too were probably dunked beneath the waters that separated the land of the wilderness and the land of promise. They left their careers, and families to follow this man saturating every waking moment to his ministry and teachings. They ate what he ate, walked where he walked. They eagerly said yes we would do this.
They truly did not know what they were asking. Most of us do not fully understand either. The first statement or question Jesus presents is to drink the cup that He drinks. For many of us when Jesus says these words our minds immediately get transported to a room in Jerusalem, where the followers of Jesus are sharing a meal celebrating the Passover. But that meal has not yet been shared. The baptism that most of us imagine is the one that occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, I mentioned it already. So we have one item that is yet to occur and one that is already past. Jesus does not talk about these as past or future, but as present. The drink I drink, the baptism that I am baptized with. I drink. I am baptized with. Both are currently happening. He is actively drinking and being saturated with whatever He is talking about.
If these are things that are current in the life of Jesus it brings a totally different meaning to the sacraments of the Eucharist and Baptism than what many of us imagine. But Jesus does not give them much time to really consider what the deeper meanings of these are. He goes on to tell James and John that they will experience these things, but position and power are not things that Jesus can grant. By this time the others have heard enough of the conversation and are beginning to express their own opinions. If this is a position available for the taking it is only natural to want to know if they were qualified. They were submitting their resumes to be vetted, but Jesus then begins to teach about leadership.
He says, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
This teaching goes deep into the history of Israel. They began as a one man being called out to become a light to nations, but soon they became slaves, then they were brought into the land. After some time they wanted a king because everyone else had kings, eventually they did not like their king so some of the tribes broke away dividing the kingdom. Then the kingdoms grew further apart from each other and further away from their God. Eventually they were consumed or conquered by other nations. After a while they return to their home but they are not the same, they have a short time where they are again an independent nation but soon they are again subject to others.
They have a history of influence, power, slavery, wandering, power, influence, and again as subjects to others. The cycle continues but one thing remains through it all, God. Through the history of Israel God was unchanging, but the attitudes of the people did. As they drew closer to God they gained power and influence but only through and after suffering. Abraham the father of the nation, left his home to wander, he suffered because of this. He left all he knew for something that was unsure and risky. For a century he lived the life of a nomad with the promise that he would be the father of a great nation only to add years but no children. He did eventually have a son Isaac, and Isaac had two sons, and one of those sons, Jacob, had twelve sons. Then these twelve sons eventually moved to Egypt where they lived as guest and eventually lost favor and were made into servants. Again suffering. They did gain influence and power even through the suffering. It is a cycle of suffering and influence. But in it all there is one message. The Lord is their God and they are His people.
There is a difference in other nations. Who are people we remember in history? Genghis Kahn, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Ivan the Terrible, Nero, Washington, and Lincoln; nearly every great leader in history is seen as both a liberator to some and possibly a tyrant to others. They were military and political leaders. On one side of the story people loved them on the other people hated them. Some we remember fondly, while others we wish history would forget. Power and influence in the world is often gained through force or manipulation. Sure people that loved them put some into power, others took that power. Where the people of God received their power and influence was not through military campaign or politics. Israel was the strongest and had the most influence when they were out of power. I know it sounds crazy. They had the ears of emperors when they lived in slavery. Daniel was one of the most influential people in the world, yet he was basically a slave living in exile under the rule of Babylon and Persia.
This brings us back to the drink and the baptism. These are terms of suffering; they allude to sacrifices not in campaign. The drink offering is an offering of wine, perfectly good wine just dumped out on the altar. Paul said that his life was a drink offering poured out before God, Jesus at the last supper said that the wine was his blood shed for the world. It is about losing yourself, losing everything that might possibly buy influence over people. Dumping yourself out, and being saturated in something else.
Israel was influential when they lived in communion with God. When they were walking with God, being lead by God, not worrying about them as a nation but fully focused on God. When they were pouring their own lives out as a nation not out of their own benefit but for others. Daniel was powerful when he focused on God and served where he was. Abraham was powerful when he followed God and poured his life into the relationships he built along the way. We will have influence and power over the world around us not by trying to legislate morality or standing for our rights but if we live following God and pouring all that we have into the people around us, suffering for them. That is the true drink and baptism symbolized in the sacraments practiced throughout Christianity. As Friends we do not practice the ceremony for a reason, we recognize that all the ceremonies in the world would not matter if we were not living the reality behind it.
James and John did suffer in life. They live a life fully saturated in the life with God. Every moment of their lives was lived 100% for God after they realized what their teacher and Lord was saying. Saturated and filled. Devoted not to their ambitions but to serve those around them. For James this lead to death, for John exile, both lost everything yet they gained even more, they lost their lives but God gave them a new life. They suffered they poured their lives out before God and man. They did not seek honor or wealth, when they realized what the truth behind the word of their Lord meant they embraced it, and encouraged others to do the same.
What is it we desire? What are we living our lives for? Are we boldly going to God through Christ asking him to give us whatever we ask or are we willing to take up the drink and baptism he drinks and is baptized with? We ask for things but we do not ask correctly, we do not ask in the mind of God yet we wonder why things are not going the way we want. It is not about us, it is about God and the people that He love, the people that He sent His son to live with and for, to sacrifice His life for and to give eternal hope to when He rose from the grave. God wants us to live saturated and fully for Him, pouring out our lives so that those around us will give praise and honor to Him. I began today speaking of power and influence and how most colonist in America did not seek independence but influence in their own government. What do we live for? Power will morph into tyranny, unless we willingly submit to God and live lives devoted to building relationships and pour love into others. As we enter this time of open worship let us consider if we are truly willing to drink the drink of Christ or to be baptized in His baptism.
Scripture: Mark 10:17-31
What must I do? What must I do? Have you ever caught yourself asking that question? If you are human, which I am pretty sure each of us is we have asked that question a few times. We ask it after or during an argument. We ask it when we are trying to figure out life in general. What must I do?
It does not matter who you are, what your salary is, where you were born, or where you live each one of us has an idea in our heads of cause and effect. If I do it then a specific result will happen. In most cases it is the truth. If you steal at Wal-Mart you run the risk of getting arrested. If you fall in love a relationship will follow. Cause and effect, what must I do to obtain what I want?
The young man in this story not that much different from most of us. He is a good man, rising up in his community. By every indication he is just the type of person we would want to teach our children or to be a chairman of a committee. This man by every indication pursued God with a religious fervor that would turn the eyes of everyone around.
Jesus was leaving the area, taking the gospel to yet another community and this man has thought that he might have missed his chance. He came running to Jesus. When he arrived he fell to the ground in front of Jesus and asked, “What must I do?” This activity speaks volumes. We have all seen passionate people. There are people that will take up arms in support of a cause. We have seen this over the past 10 years. We see people passionate about a cause standing along the streets with signs protesting for multiple causes. Passion is good but even with all that passion we are left asking, “What must I do?” There are always causes to become passionate about, but passion can only take us so far. Passion leaves us running, constantly running, and seeking what to do next.
What must I do good teacher? Jesus looks at this young man full of passion; he knows the desire that this man has to do good works. He loves the man’s passion, but He is also aware that passions can be misplaced. His first response is one that is odd if you ask me. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” It is odd theologically more than anything, which is why it catches my eyes. Imagine the scene for a moment, there is a young man looking up at Jesus in a state of supplication and worship. He is kneeling before Jesus, longingly asking Him to give him direction and purpose. His cause is to be the essence of goodness; he wants to be seen as being a good, respectable member of the community. But Jesus asks why are you coming to me seeking goodness, only God is good. Then Jesus rattles off a list of good things to do: don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or defraud, and honor your parents.
This is a list of good things to do. I can imagine this man shaking his head up and down in agreement, making mental notes about how good he is. The smile on his face is growing because he knows that even Jesus thinks of him as being a good man, a moral and upright man. Jesus gazes down at this man with great love; he knows the passion that has driven this man. It is a passion that drives most people, to live a good life so that they can benefit. Jesus looks at him in love but also with sadness because through all his passion this man has missed the point. “One thing you lack,” says Jesus, “go sell all you own and give the money to the poor…then come follow me.”
He is given the opportunity of a lifetime! Right here before our eyes we may actually be witnessing the calling of the thirteenth apostle. What an incredible story to see flashing across the bottom of our TV screens as we watch the news. “Young millionaire sells all he owns, giving it all to the poor and follows Jesus.” Jesus knew this man; his passion was focused on himself. It was not that he was opposed in helping the poor, I’m sure he was very diligent in providing funds for benevolent purposes, but it was to gain honor for himself. Jesus is not asking him to give money to the Salvation Army at Christmas, which is a great thing to do. What Jesus is saying is take your life in the community and hit the delete button, take everything get rid of it now, and walk away not turning back.
The man’s smile instantly leaves his face. Scripture says that he is grieved because he had many possessions, but it goes deeper than that. Jesus ultimately rejected everything this man lived for, he was saying that that passion you have to be good, to do good, to make your own way to God, is pointless. He says to this man, your ways are not mine. What you are living for has absolutely no place in the kingdom of God. You call me good, but you do not even know what good is.
Harsh. You may be thinking that I am putting words in the mouth of our loving savior, but at times truth does come with a cost. It is not that Jesus is rejecting the man, what he is trying to reveal to this man is that God does not care about our actions unless our faith is in the right place. In the same breath he does not honor our faith if our actions are not reflecting the same intent. This man is focused on the cult of personality, he wants to be associated with people that will bring more honor to himself. This man is taking part in an activity that is very common in our culture. It is often stated that it is not what you know but who you know. Networking, is a part of our culture, it is how we in today’s world get ahead, get promoted, and stay employed. Many of the most successful people in areas of wealth, have achieved their status through a good idea and a lot of help from others. Networking in itself is not a bad thing, as long as it is honest. Pride is what drives this young man, he is seeking honor for himself and he realizes that his selfish ambition, is in opposition to the ways of Christ.
Before you get too comfortable Jesus continues to say, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” This is a statement of extremes. I have heard commentators say that Jesus was talking about a small gate where camels would have to get down on their knees to crawl through before entering the city. The eye of the needle would be a defense mechanism to keep out the undesirables, but all in those willing to struggle through. That is a great picture and I agree it probably would not be easy for a camel to do this, but that does not fit with the context of the passage. The initial question was “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” A crawling camel can do something to get inside, yet the man went away in grief, turned away from the kingdom. This is along the lines of a beam sticking out of your eye. It cannot happen literally, it is stating something beyond the realm of possibility. Jesus is saying that a rich person is like a camel trying to get through the tiny eye of a needle.
Jesus’ disciples are beginning to question their own eternal security at this point. I hope that we are all questioning our eternal security. We each have many possessions. Some of us more than others, but in the larger view we are all wealthy. In our nation people considered to be impoverished live better than most of the world. I say this not to guilt us, or to minimize the plight of our nations poor. They really are poor, they really do live with the constant threat of losing everything they have in an instant, and people in America really do go to bed hungry. I realize that we cannot simply say that we are all rich either, because most things require the same amount of work to obtain. To attend a movie in the United States and in Ukraine working in similar jobs, would both require one hour of work per person, just for entry.
Jesus is speaking not about how much money we have but what we treasure, what we find important. The wealthy often idolize and treasure their wealth and are proud of their ability to create wealth. This is easy to do because if you can afford what you want, you can depend on yourself more easily than trusting in God. But there are other types of idolizations that are just as dangerous spiritually. Many nations have economic safety nets, which are great and I am glad that we have them, but a safety net is not a place to stay. It is there to prevent total loss and to encourage us to get back on our feet, but we can place too much trust in our nation as well.
Both situations put someone or some organization above God. It is not to say that the activities are not good, or even done with goodness at heart. But where is God? Where is our place and where is faith? To God wealth or poverty does not matter, He wants us to devote all of our mind, all of our heart, and all of our strength t