On the Way to Wonder

Mark 10:41-44

⁴³ But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

The disciples think James and John have made a power play by going to Jesus and asking for positions of authority in this new kingdom Jesus is ushering in.  None of them understand “the plan.”  For sure their hero is not going to die.  Not only is there misunderstanding but there is a certain competitiveness among the followers.  It seems to be highlighted frequently that Peter, James, and John seem to be Jesus’ inner council and somehow closer than the rest.  Perhaps that is only realized in retrospect but knowing human nature, “favorites” is always an issues among siblings, among friends, and in politics.  Jealousy is always tapping on our hearts.

Jesus steps in and teaches.  True leadership is humble.  We have coined the phrase today, “servant leadership.”  For those of us who have “slavery” as an ugly reality in our family heritage, Jesus’ teaching that leaders are servants and slaves is very loaded language.  Cultural sins of slavery are to be confessed and forgiveness sought.  Slavery is a horrible part of our heritage and yet Jesus uses that image to challenge his followers.

So when you think of slavery, what do you think about?  Perhaps you remember the servants helping the hero in “The Robe.”  Others see images from “Amistad” of chains and death and cruelty as part of our past and realities of slavery.   Oh my.  Lord forgive us our cruelty, our prejudices, and our ignorance. It is Lent.  Let us not jump over the ugliness of these words to patting ourselves about our humility.  Let us spend time asking the Holy Spirit to shine his flash light on my soul to reveal any ways that I act more like a slave owner than a slave.  Lord, forgive me any arrogance or pride I secretly harbor and help me serve others.  

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ ³⁶ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ 

Mark 10: 35-36

Jesus has just told the followers for the third time that they are headed to Jerusalem where he will be condemned to death, mocked, spit on and killed but will rise on the third day.  His words seem to go in one ear and out the other.  The followers don’t understand.  We know that feeling when the whole world seems against us and we are just not sure which way to turn.  Isolation, abandonment, and betrayal are terrible feelings and Jesus must have been discouraged.  To add insult to injury, James and John, two of the disciples Jesus was closest to, along with Peter, come to him and ask him to grant them their wish.

“We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  My kids all tried this line on me.  Sometimes it meant they had asked their father and gotten a “no.”  Other times they know the answer is “no” but just to hedge their beg they preceded the request by trying to draw a promise from me.  Sighhhhhhh.  Jesus responds, “What is it you want me to do for you?”

There is our reflection for today.  How do I come to God in my prayers?  Perhaps I share a verse with God that makes my request seem doable.  I remind him that he has told me I can ask anything.  I admit my faith is as small as a mustard seed but I do believe…kinda.  I might even profess it with a phrase that the request is not for me but for my friend who is struggling. Talking with the God of the universe is intimidating and at its best, humbling.

Jesus asks James and John what they want.  Jesus asks us today what we want.  As I chatted with my friends, they turned the question to me – what would I ask for?  I thought of my children and the ones who are struggling or job hunting.  Then I thought of Solomon at the Temple praying for wisdom to govern God’s people.  Perhaps I would ask for a quality to handle life in a godly way.  I have often prayed for a quiet and gentle spirit that is precious in the eyes of the Lord. God is open to hearing all those requests.  

James and John ask for seats of honor and power.  Jesus  points out the necessary qualifications but says, ultimately that is not his to grant.  Not all prayers get a yes but Jesus invited the followers to voice their wants.  So what would you ask Jesus for today as he stands before you?  Blessings and humility to receive his answer.

As an older person, I am aware that my salt and pepper hair tells the truth about my age and indicates an aging person.  Have you ever had the experience of someone telling you something and as you sit there processing the news, the other thinks you couldn’t hear and so they say their piece again only louder and slower?  You heard, but the news did not make sense.  Jesus is walking with disciples and followers to Jerusalem.  He knows he is headed to the cross but they think he is headed to usher in the new kingdom.  He is going to be king with “power” and he can heal, multiply fish and loaves, and walk on water.  They are ready to cheer but they are not understanding.  Jesus tells them a third time that he is headed to the cross only this time he adds details.

Mark 10: 32-34

³² They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³ saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; ³⁴ they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’

What is different and what does he want me to hear?  He uses his title, “Son of Man,” and does not self-identify as “Son of God.”  He is talking about his identification with humanity and suffering.  He adds details about the event — mocking, spitting, flogging.  He closes with a specific promise specifying his resurrection will occur after three days.  We know this is how the days will unroll but the followers do not.

As I ponder this scenario in the context of Lent, reflecting on the implications for my life, I wonder how many things God tells us about how life might unfold but it doesn’t seem real.  Returning love for hate just is counter intuitive.  Generosity when I have not reached the end of the month and suspect I will be short, makes no sense.  For sure the death of a loved one is always too soon, too ugly and unwelcome even as a diagnosis with disease is.  Like the followers we are amazed and or scared.

Jesus does not sugar coat his predictions like our candidates who make promises we doubt will come true.  He is not seeking our votes.  He is not raising funds for his campaign.  He is telling us the truth.  Today he spoke as “Son of Man,” but we can read in John 3:16 as Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about inheriting the kingdom of God, “God so loved the world that he gave his Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  That’s next Sunday’s text but maybe I need to hear it more than three times.  God loves you as you face your challenges today.

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17

1God spoke all these words:

 2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3you shall have no other gods before me.

 4You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

 8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

 12Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

 13You shall not murder.

 14You shall not commit adultery.

 15You shall not steal.

 16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Psalm: Psalm 19

The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes. (Ps. 19:8)

 1The heavens declare the glory of God,

  and the sky proclaims its maker’s handiwork.

 2One day tells its tale to another,

  and one night imparts knowledge to another.

 3Although they have no words or language,

  and their voices are not heard,

 4their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world,

  where God has pitched a tent for the sun.

 5It comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;

  it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

 6It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again;

  nothing is hidden from its burning heat. 

 7The teaching of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul;

  the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the simple.

 8The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart;

  the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.

 9The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever;

  the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

 10More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold,

  sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb. 

 11By them also is your servant enlightened,

  and in keeping them there is great reward.

 12Who can detect one’s own offenses?

  Cleanse me from my secret faults.

 13Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me;

  then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.

 14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,

  O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. 

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

18The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,

 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

  and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Gospel: John 2:13-22

13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  The Tortoise and the Ducks

Aesop shared a fable about a tortoise. Jupiter doomed the tortoise to carry its house on its back as punishment for not coming to Jupiter’s wedding and for being so lazy.  The tortoise bemoaned its plight in life.  Crawling around on short stubby legs with a house on its back was a cruel punishment.  Two ducks came by and offered a solution.  If the tortoise would hold on tightly to a stick, they would fly with him and show him the world.  The tortoise believed and bit the stick.  The ducks picked up the stick and carried the tortoise high into the sky.  A passing crow exclaimed, “This must be the king of tortoises!”  The tortoise was so pleased, it answered, “Why certainly…” but as it spoke, it let go of the stick and fell to its death.

Let us pray:  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, my Rock and my Redeemer!

SERMON

Have you noticed that this Lent our Old Testament readings are reminding us of different “covenants” or promises God has made with his creation?  These signs help us remember who we are and to whom we belong.  Today we read about the Ten Commandments that are known as the Mosaic Covenant.  If we follow these rules or guidelines, we will be blessed.  Three weeks ago our text told us that God  placed the rainbow in the sky for Noah and promised never to destroy his creation again by water. Remember God is committed to life.  Last week we read God’s promise to Abraham that God’s intention was to bless all the nations through Abraham’s offspring.  God loves all people.  This week we stand in the shadow of the Ten Commandments.  God offers us sticks to hold on to so we can fly. The Temple was like one of the sticks God offered.  The Temple was a central place of worship people could come to and hear the Scriptures read but they could also come and bring sacrifices to make themselves right with God.  Blessings flow when they can live the Ten Commandments.  The Temple system, though, had become corrupted by sin. Jesus speaks to that today.  Are we listening as Jesus speaks to us also?  Perhaps there are ways our worship has been compromised.

Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 

How does the Temple or our church become like a marketplace?  Our first reading today is the giving of the Mosaic Covenant, the Ten Commandments.  We call it “the Law.”  The Ten Commandments are God’s guidelines given to Moses and us to explain how life works best.  These parameters protect our relationship with God and with our neighbor – the same way a speed limit in a school zone protects the children.  Through the ages, though, the leaders had expanded the original commandments into a whole system of “laws” that governed people’s lives and demanded sacrifices.  Indeed when we live life with murder, stealing, jealousy and slander we get ourselves tied in knots.  Something has to give. 

Repentance is the answer, not hate.  People came from all over the world to the Temple to offer their sacrifices and make peace with God.   The problem was that not only did the religious leaders create laws from the original Ten Commandments but a whole system of sacrificial exchanges had developed.  Foreigners had to exchange their money to buy the sacrifices of repentance that they could not transport from their homes.  Those money changers charged extra so they got their cut.  People then had to buy their sacrifices and those sellers got their cut.  A whole system of marketplace selling had evolved and people seeking to find forgiveness were taken advantage of.  We would say, what a rip off!  Jesus is not happy that faith relationships have become a marketplace of transactions that creates profit for some and harms others.  God did not intend that the original Tabernacle be a burden but designed it to be a place to meet with him.

 Our Gospel is taking us on a journey from the Temple, a building that had become a marketplace, to the human heart, a mobile faith temple.  We do not want to become like that tortoise in our fable,  bemoaning our worship space, the shell designed to protect us, must not become a burden.  The tortoise wanted to fly high with the ducks and see the world. God too wants our relationship with him to be a blessing and not a burden we carry on our back.  

We have seen the compassionate face of God in Jesus but today we see that our God is also a just God. God is love and God is just.  It is shocking to think of Jesus getting angry.  Lest we make the mistake of this scenario only belonging to the past and a different culture, let us stop for a moment.  Are there ways we make our relationship with God like a marketplace and anger him?

”Marketplace” is actually a word that has come into vogue but goes back to antiquity.  It is a place where people come together to buy and sell goods, or animals, or food.  We have farmer’s markets, our affordable health plans are called a Marketplace, and Amazon and Walmart have official marketplaces I discovered.  Marketplaces are places where we trade, bargain, and sell or buy something we need.  I do not think Jesus was objecting to marketplaces as such.  The sacrificial system supported the priesthood and their families.  I would not want to be guilty of accusing God of making a mistake by giving the tortoise its shell.  I think the problem goes deeper.

It is possible to develop a marketplace mentality in my faith journey.  When I begin to think that I have done enough good deeds and so deserve good rewards from God or begin to think I am better than another because of my good deeds, then I am in danger.  When I cruise the Internet looking for the “best” service or the most entertaining pastor or a church that offers miracles, I may be in danger of exchanging relationship with God and his people for the benefits I get from going to church.  When I feel I cannot attend church because of clothes or sins or gossip then I am playing with church as marketplace.  There can be many rabbit holes I can fall into as I think about going to church rather than thinking about my relationship with God.  When Luke relates the scene in chapter 19 of his gospel, he adds the quote, 

“My house shall be a house of prayer”;

    but you have made it a den of robbers.’

A “house of prayer” is a place where people gather and talk.  Perhaps it is just a discussion.  Sometimes it is bringing needs.  Often it might be a matter of clarification, of support, and of guidance.  May our church never be a place where some are ripped off or humiliated or turned away!  So take a moment and reflect on why you came to church today. What would you like to happen in your meeting with God today?

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 

Wait!  Where are the security guards?  If someone came into our space and created chaos as Jesus did, the police would be called immediately.  The person might be hauled off and imprisoned.  Some form of destruction would occur.  But Jesus, here, was questioned by the Jews. They questioned Jesus by what authority he had acted.  Just like our security people, they want to see credentials, something like a passport, a driver’s license, or something like a birth certificate.  A driver races his car down a road disobeying all the speed limits and is pulled over by the police.  The driver pulls out a higher badge or perhaps explains he is taking his wife to the hospital. The car driver suddenly has an escort because his authority or his need is so great.  The Jews do not seem to object to Jesus’ claim that the Temple has become a marketplace but they are concerned about his authority. 

 What is the sign of Jesus’ authority?  What gives Jesus the authority to upset all the marketplaces of our lives?  Noah’s sign was the rainbow.  Abraham’s sign was circumcision.  Moses’ sign was the Ten Commandments.  Jesus now says the words that will be held against him at his trial.  “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  Jesus signals that the Temple that was the place that was meant to be the place of relationship was shifting from a building to a body, Jesus himself was the authority.  This Christian paradox, we believe and confess. It is the empty cross.

From our historical perspective, we understand that Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection.  The leaders, though, do not have our advantage and think he is talking about the Temple, the outer courts where the marketplace is happening.  But, as usual, Jesus is digging deeper.  He is talking about upturning a marketplace system, a sacrificial system, to the establishment of a new relationship system, relationship with God and neighbor.  Jesus himself is to become the Temple for all nations, not just the Jews. Faith in Jesus who will satisfy the sacrificial system and who has walked with us, will be the next covenant.  We do not need to bring sacrifices because Jesus will take care of that.  We need only believe.

Jesus knows the Temple will be destroyed in 90 AD by the Romans.  The building can be destroyed as it was in the past captivities of the Jews by foreign powers.  But faith survived.  Jesus pointed to the past and to the future and prophesied what was about to unfold.  Ultimately Jesus has authority because he is God who incarnated as True Man, fulfilling the condemnation of death for sin, and as True God, fulfilling the promise of love that cannot be separated from us by death or anything. The empty cross is our sign.

21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 

Jesus has shifted the conversation from marketplace works.  Jesus has pointed to his death and resurrection, the cross, as his authority. The disciples later realize that Jesus was voicing an astounding fact about the temple.  That focus on temple as building is about to change.  “He was speaking of the temple of his body.”   Jesus predicts the shift that is going to happen as faith moves from faith in a place, the Temple, to faith in Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice for sin, is a new kind of temple, “the body of Christ,” the church.  In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul asks us “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?”   We believe that Jesus’ body and ours is the real Temple that can go anywhere, that will be transformed for eternal life, and that testifies to the truth of God’s love that is stronger than religious rules and laws, stronger than death, and always is as close to us as our own heart.

The Noah Covenant was God’s promise to not destroy us by water and is demonstrated in the rainbow.  The Abrahamic Covenant was God’s promise to form a nation of people that will bless all nations.  The Church universal is made up of all nations and blesses all.  The Mosaic Covenant found in the Ten Commandments was a covenant of a universal set of guidelines and principles available to all people and that protects our relationship to God and our neighbor.   Jesus’ life and death, his incarnation, show us what the kingdom of God will look like.  New laws will not be voted in with each leader and each congress.  God’s favor will not depend on the sacrifices we can afford to offer nor the good deeds of our life.  God’s favor will be a gift available to all languages and people. God’s love is available to you, today.  Jesus satisfies death and his temple will be found in his body, the church.  The tortoise can fly!

The tortoise was wrong.  He was not cursed with carrying his house but was blessed that wherever he went he was home.  Even so is the Christian who carries the Holy Spirit in his heart.  The tortoise was wrong to think he might be the king and not to acknowledge that he was carried by holding on tight to the stick, the Ten Commandments. The Law drives us to God and it  carries us to new heights.  The ducks or the “goose” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit who carries us to see the world. Lord, let us hold on tight to that stick and not forget it is your love that carries us.

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

by Isaac Watts

This week we have spent time pondering scenes surrounding a rich man who came to Jesus as a “Good Teacher” seeking to know how to inherit eternal life.  Jesus  directed our thinking this Lent to pondering how our blessings can deceive us into thinking we are wonderful rather than drawing us to God.  When Jesus challenged the man to sell his wealth, he went away sad.  We like our toys and for some the goal is to get more.  Blessings can lead to a feeling of entitlement and superiority.  Yuch.

         Isaac Watts (1674-1748) is one of the great hymn writers of old.  Legend has it that as a youth he complained to his father about the boring church music.  Supposedly his father challenged him, “I’d like to see you write something better!”  Watts went to his room and several hours later had written this hymn.  He actually wrote over 600 hymns and is dubbed by some as “the father of hymnology.”  This hymn is considered his best and is still sung today.  It is  believed to be  based on Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

         Tomorrow we will look at the cross as Jesus’s badge of authority that gave him the right to disrupt all the money changers and to disrupt our lives by asking us if our wealth is not distracting us from the cross.  Please enjoy.

²⁶ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’   ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. (Mark 10:26-31)

Jesus is having a serious discussion with his followers.  After a man asked what more he must do to inherit heaven, Jesus tells him to divest himself of his wealth and follow Jesus. The man was rich. Jesus has told his followers that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.  They stand “astonished.”  Many would join these men, mouths on the floor, because we believe just a little bit more wealth will certainly solve our problems.  “Just one more dollar, please.”

Our friend Peter pointing out that if it is not wealth then will the followers be blessed for all their sacrifices, their works.  Sadly, during Lent, we too stand with them and the realization that wealth, good works, nor anything else will get us into heaven.  Eternal life is a gift received by faith.  True eternal happiness or peace or love or anything of value  is a gift we cannot create for ourselves.  It is a gift of God.  Love, friendship, or even peace cannot be demanded.  It is a gift that is available to the rich and the poor.  I have seen great love and generosity in a famine relief camp with people who lived in cardboard covered frames.  We laughed and cried together.  We shared life together.  They taught me much.

So what is our challenge for Lent?  I think the word in vogue right now is “entitlement.”  Lord, show me if there are areas and attitudes in my life that reek of entitlement.  Help me humble myself in your light.  Blessings.

²³ Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for  those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ ²⁴ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to the kingdom of God! ²⁵ 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.’

Mark 10: 23-25

Jesus has just told the man who asked him how. he, the man, could inherit heaven that he must sell his wealth, give to the poor and follow Jesus.  He leaves sad because he was wealthy.  Jesus now turns to his disciples who have watched this interchange and tells them it is hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.  This is a shocking, conversation stopping comment.  It was commonly believed that the rich are also the blessed because blessings come from God.  We have a paradox.  In fact, Jesus says a second time, in case the disciples did not hear, that  it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.  Anything worth Jesus repeating twice is worth pondering. 

I can think of two reasons off hand.  Wealth comes from God and can deceive us into thinking we are in God’s favor and then we begin to take our relationship with God for granted.  The second would be that wealth implies many responsibilities that crowd out time with God and so the relationship cools.

There are many ways that we can be wealthy, not just riches.  Certainly just looking at FaceBook we can see the many who have singing talents, photography talents, wood carving talents and the list is long.  Take a moment and ponder how you have been blessed.  Loving family? Good friends?  Education of a good mind?  Take time to thank God for his gifts and ponder how they draw you closer to God or are they might be distracting you from that primary relationship with God.  Blessings.

Mark 10: 21

²¹ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 

A man has come to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life.  He approached Jesus as , “Good teacher.”  Jesus corrected him and points out that only God is good.  Was the man looking for God or for a teacher?  Are we looking for God or for a manual to make our lives work better?  Good question for Lent.

Jesus points to the Ten Commandments that were generally accepted as the rules for the “good life and good person.”  The man thinks he has lived a “good” life, obeying the law.  Mark then says that Jesus looks at this man and loves him.  I would like to think Jesus recognized a person who was truly trying hard to do life right and seeking to please God. So what is wrong?

Perhaps the answer lies in reflecting on the greatest commandment as found in Matthew 22:37-39,

³⁷ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 37-39)

Jesus sees that the man is truly trying to love God but realizes he has a blind spot.  Jesus tells the man to sell his goods, give the money to the poor and follow Jesus.  There are two sides to the coins of life.  We are in relationship to God and we are in relationship to our “neighbor.”  Lent is a time when we reflect on both sides of the coins of life.  I do not think Jesus was saying we all need to give away our wealth to inherit heaven but he does challenge us reflect on our priorities and our true love.  If Jesus were to look at us today through loving eyes, what might he encourage us to evaluate?  Lord help me to be honest with myself about my priorities.

Mark 10: 17-19

 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

I always stop and ponder this transition in Mark.  Jesus is again in motion to Jerusalem and the cross when a man stops him with a question.  We have been looking at questions addressed to Jesus on his journey to the cross and this is the next one.  The man wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life.  This question is interesting in and of itself.  “Inheriting eternal life” does not fit out lingo today.  We are prone to talk about being “saved,” or “being born again.”  Inheritance is a word implying gifting perhaps because of family position.  This man must not have been a first son.  Inheritance might come from being a favorite son.  We might even stretch it to mean the man wanted to win a lottery, one of the predetermined positions that will be allotted in the resurrection.  Jesus does not respond to any of these concerns that might be hidden in the man’s heart.  Instead Jesus notes that the man addresses him as “good teacher.”

Jesus goes to the heart of the question.  Only God is good.  Inheritance of eternal life does not depend upon being a good son, a good friend, a good gambler or a good person at all.  Inheritance implies relationship with the father, not merit.  We will follow the discussion tomorrow but today I note that this man feels he has been good, that he has fulfilled the law and been “good,” – like God.

It is so easy to think we are good compared to the people in politics, the people in the news, the other ethnicity, because of this or that action.  The truth that Jesus would have us hear today is that only God is good.  Let me repeat Jesus’ words.  Only God is good.  It is not what we do but who we are related to.  I find the “amen” of agreement sticking in my throat.  Part of the Lenten journey may be asking the Holy Spirit to shine its light on my heart and reveal any areas of pride in my heart.  Perhaps there are things I feel good about and have forgotten to give God the credit for the moment.  Lord, open my eyes to your work and gifts in my life and help me give you the credit.

Mark 10: 14-15

¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’‘

The followers of Jesus have been asking about the coming kingdom they think Jesus is going to usher in when he gets to Jerusalem.  Jesus has been asked questions about the greatest and least, belonging to the right group or belonging to the wrong group, and what about big sinners like divorce or small sinners.  Today we find families coming to hear Jesus.  Often there is worship protocol, men are leaders, children in the nursery and women back then stood behind a wall so they would not disturb.  Churches today debate over some of the same issues.  We have feelings about men and women in leadership.  We put children in nurseries and Sunday schools where they learn at their level.  I suspect gatherings back then were very “intergenerational.”  A boy with two fish and five loaves was recruited to share to help feed the many.  Jesus was moved by the death of the son of the widow of Nain.  On this day “people”, possibly not just mothers, were bringing their children to Jesus for him to bless them.  The followers were doing control of the masses and so the children were being refused.  Jesus was “indignant.”  That’s a strong word.  Jesus welcomes the children but again tells us to be childlike.  Last week we did our acrostic on welcoming so this week lets think about childlikeness.  C is for ______ H is for _____, I is for _____, L is for _____, D is for  _____, L is for _____, I is for _____, K is for _____, and E is for _____.