Mark 10: 32-45, Weakness and Strength; The cross...more than a symbol!

            I have to confess that I added three verses in to this Gospel reading for today. Typically, we would only be reading verses 34-45. I added the first three (32-34) for a very important reason. If we don’t hear those first three verses, then we cannot get to the cross. Meaning, these first three verses place Jesus and his disciples in a very important location on their journey.

            They are on the road to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is South of where most of Jesus ministry takes place. Jerusalem is the place of the temple. It is the place where the pilgrimage is made to the temple to worship God; AND it is the place where Jesus will be arrested. And on this road, Jesus tells them the story that we and they have heard before. “The Son of man will be handed over…” We have heard the story before. He told the disciples this two other times.

            But there is something more to this story than the other two. Jesus is a little more graphic when he proclaims his impending death and resurrection. Jesus says, He will be condemned to death, he will be mocked, spit upon, flogged, killed, and then be raised,” on the third day. It is more graphic then the other times. It raises the question as to why this is so important that Jesus needs to be so graphic.

            There is a good reason for Jesus being so graphic. After telling the disciples the first time Mark 8:31), Peter tries to rebuke Jesus…doesn’t want to hear it. The second time he tells the story (Mark 9:31), the disciples are arguing about who is the greater disciple. So now we are at the third time. I could imagine Jesus is a little exhausted of them not getting it, but his third telling is telling the disciples and us just how big a deal, how important this really is. Jesus is saying that this is not something to just glance over, but he is telling us all to “take it seriously!”

            It is often said among teachers that in order for a student to comprehend something, they have to be told several times…the same message several times; in the hopes that it finally sinks in and the student is able to grasp the information. We know here that it does not necessarily work. We know that because, now, James and John want seats of privilege. They want to sit by Jesus side, “one on the left and one on the right.” It seems like these disciples just don’t get it!

            There is a reason that they don’t get it. They are products of their world and their culture. Let’s look at what it is like in their time. First, they are occupied by the Romans. The Jewish people are not a free people. In fact,,, they are located in the geographic center of the known world. They are, literally, in between two massive empires. They are always being conquered by a group from the North then a group from the south. This particular time it is the Romans. They are not free to live by their own rules.

            They are under the thumb of the Romans who wield the power. Power…an interesting word. Last week, I spoke that having stuff meant power, wealth meant voice, and these things were not used for the good of all people. Power was used over people. It was used to oppress people. It was a way for some to get what they wanted while others suffered. Wealth, voice and power were strength. If you did not have any of those, you were nobody; you weren’t worthy of the time of day; let alone being treated fairly.

            So the disciples and the people of that culture may not have expected Jesus to say what he said. With the understanding of how power worked and how it was used, it would take a mighty powerful person, a king…a Messiah to come in with all the power and force needed to overcome this occupier. They would be right in visioning a “Lord” who would use opposite and overwhelming power to come in and just obliterate the Romans. It would seem to make sense!

            This Messiah Jesus does not fit any of that vision. Jesus tells them that he…the Son of Man, will undergo this degrading death. Jesus will not bring an army, but will be handed over. Jesus will undergo mocking (who does that to a King?). He will undergo flogging (that is not fitting for a King), and be beaten, spit on, and killed. Jesus will become a victim of this oppression, power lorded over and be killed. What is the point to all of this?

            Jesus is telling the disciples that the culture that they are used to is not God’s culture. He is teaching them that the power does not rely on how much one can be oppressed. Power is not about who has more wealth or stuff than the other person. It is not about how small we can make people feel because they don’t fit the standards of the culture; Jesus is teaching us all that the worldly culture is not God’s culture.

            Through his teaching, Jesus shows us that God’s culture is caring about our fellow brothers and sisters. It is not about who gets to sit where so that they can wield power; but it is in the service to others where God and God’s culture is truly experienced. When the Israelites were freed from captivity, God did not send an army to obliterate Pharoah’s people. God did put up barriers so that the Israelites could get away free from that bondage of captivity. In times when it looked like they would be consumed by war, God served God’s chosen people by protecting them.

            Jesus, God’s son continues God’s culture of serving. HE does this through teaching about God’s love, he shares meals with people who are considered unclean and outcasts. He heals the sick, raises the dead showing God’s compassion to all of God’s children and creation. Jesus shows that this life of service in God’s name, does not allow the power that they “think” they want; because service to God’s children and God’s creation goes against the very foundations of the earthly kingdoms.

            SO, what is the point to all of this? First, it is to show that God calls us all in service to one another. Serving in God’s name is not easy because it means that all who serve in God’s name will go against what the world thinks is the show of power; or the use of power. It means that God’s call is one where we may encounter the harsh words or actions of the community and the world.

            Secondly, we are shown that the cross means strength. While Jesus must and will go through this suffering and then be nailed to a cross, it is for God’s good reason. It is the reason of a ransom. We have heard this word before. In television shows we know the ransom that is to be paid in order for someone to be released. We tend to look at the ransom as the “price” that is to be paid. However, in this text, the ransom is the actual freeing. Through Jesus shameful death on the cross we can find strength in that Jesus’ death on the cross is actually our being released…our being redeemed so that we do not have to give in to the perceived cultures of the day. SO that we know that God’s power is in releasing us from the bondage to sin. It is God’s way of showing us the grace and love of God. It is God’s showing us that God’s power in this cross (this degrading way of death) and the flogging, mocking, and killing of Jesus is humbling knowing that it was done for us; but also strengthening in knowing that God went to this extreme to show us how loved we really are.

            There is strength in knowing that God will not and does not let this be the end of the story; for in this death comes the promise of everlasting life. In this action is God’s strength showing us that death does not have the last word; but that it is God who has the last word: AMEN!

Mark 10: 17-31 What is lacking? a tough question to ask.

            Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. You know what time of year it is. It is that one time of year when budgets are being prepared, the finance committee is doing its work, the council is getting ready for the annual meeting; so, let’s talk about the dreaded “M” word: that’s right, I am talking about Motivation!

            This is typically a reading that can be used when we talk about planning for the upcoming year. It is the story of this person who asks Jesus “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Up to this point we don’t know anything else about him, other than his question is a serious one. We know that his question is serious because Jesus does not challenge him on the question. Jesus does challenge him on the title of “Good” teacher. That can send us in a whole different direction, but for now, let’s concentrate on this man asking the question.

            What we know about him is that through a major part of this story, he is keeping all the laws. He is keeping the commandments; honoring his parents, not stealing, not committing adultery, not “defrauding”… he is doing all the good things and by his own admission, “I have kept these laws since my youth,” he says. Again, Jesus does not challenge this man’s righteousness. He truly wants to know what it is that he has to do to “inherit eternal life.” This is a serious person with a legitimate question!

            So what does he have to do? “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven,” Jesus says. You lack one thing…have you noticed which commandments that Jesus rattled off in his question to this man? Jesus asked him about commandments four through ten. The first three, which are about our relationship with God, were never mentioned. This man’s relationship with God never entered the conversation.

            I would suggest that the focus of the conversation is entirely on this man and what he has or has not done. It seems pretty simple. I have kept these seven commandments, I have done my part, and so what do I have to do next to make sure that I can have eternal life! We know, after Jesus’ response that this man has built up wealth. “He had many possessions,” scripture says. Having stuff and wealth was big in those days; if you had stuff you had position and you were noticed. IF you had wealth, you were sought out and you had a voice. It meant that you had status and status defined who you were.

            Jesus is not making it easy for this rich man. He is not making it easy, because amid this wealth, status, and voice; Jesus is telling him to go, sell, and give to the poor! That is not so easy to do. Just give all this up! All this that I have worked so hard for… “You want me to give up everything I worked so hard to keep?” All that focus on maintaining his stuff and acquiring his wealth…his identity…all that is supposed to be sold and given away! That goes against what the world and what society still holds to be true. Money and stuff does mean status, voice, power, and identity! We know it and we see it. We also see how hard people work to keep their stuff…we work hard to keep our stuff because we earned it, worked hard for it, and dag gone it is ours.

            So what is this one thing that the rich man lacked? The first three commandments were never mentioned. “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other Gods. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your Lord God. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” What this man is lacking is a relationship with God. This man’s motivation was on keeping the things he had; to the point where his relationship with God had suffered. His motivation for status, wealth, and identity put up a barrier that blocked him from his relationship with the God who created him.

            We have something very much in common with this rich man. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We can relate to this man in the things that we have worked for. We have things in our life that become barriers to our relationship with God: our status, our position (or keeping our position at work), employment concerns and making sure we can provide for ourselves and/or families, broken relationships…we know all the kinds of things that can keep us from experiencing a full and faith-filled relationship with God as individuals, and as the church. 

            In the church we experience declines in attendance. We live in a world that in many cases wants to deny the existence of God. Many churches have building issues, struggling ministries, and so many other things that can distract us from our relationship with God. We, as church, can become so motivated about the preservation of the institution of church that we may not see that the community is changing, the needs of the community are changing, and we find ourselves lacking that “one thing.” This is not uncommon, but it is also not something to take lightly.

            We need to remember that in order to inherit eternal life, someone still has to die. Jesus Christ went to the cross; that alone, is not a place of wealth or status. Crucifixion was a cruel way to die. I was considered degrading and a place of example. Meaning, if you step out of line, this will happen to you and you will be shamed! Jesus went to that cross so that we will be inherit eternal life. For it is through the death AND resurrection of Jesus Christ that God’s promise of eternal life is given to us.

            It does not mean that we are to rely on that alone. For instance, it does not mean that we run around and expect that because of this then anything goes, “and God already gave it to me, so I am good to go.” That is what Dietrich Boenhoeffer defines as “cheap grace.” God’s grace was not cheap. It was at the expense of God’s only son, Jesus. And it was for you and me.

            It can be a “motivational factor” in how we live out our lives as individuals, as children of God, and as the church. It is not an easy question to ask ourselves, “What do I lack?” It is not an easy question for the church to ask of itself. It is not easy because it causes us to go into some history, which might be great and make us want to go back to that point. It may also mean we re-visit some struggles; but the point is not to dwell in them, but learn from them!

            The point is that we stay motivated on the cross and our relationship with God. We remain in communication with God in our prayer life and in our asking, God what do you call us to do? Help lead us and guide us in those times when our motivation is lacking, when our faith is struggling…when we get caught up in our own stuff that takes our focus off of God’s calling for us in the world. We motivate each other in our faith lives together to help each other through the tough times and celebrate the Good times. AMEN!

            

Genesis 2:18-24 "It is not good for man to be alone..." "ish" (man) and "Isha" (Woman)

            I want to point out to you something that is glaringly different in this story of the creation of Adam and Eve or as it is called in the Hebrew the Story of “Ish (man) and Ishah (woman).” In the very beginning of Genesis, there was the creation story. All the things that God created and the verse would end with the phrase and God saw that it was (finish the phrase for me). That’s right “Good.” All this creating and it ends with “and God saw that it was “Good.” Now we get to the second chapter and something that God created ended up being “not Good!” That sounds kind of weird that all the sudden, God would say it is “not good,”

            To be clear, God is not saying that man or “Ish”is not good. God is saying that it is not good for man to be alone. God wants to give man a helper a partner. When we hear the word “helper” we might tend to think of the helper as a personal assistant; maybe someone to do the things we don’t want to do. We might think of a partner as in something a little less than ourselves; a partner in name but I make all the decisions. Well, I have got some bad news if you do think that way. The term “helper” holds a lot more weight and means a lot more than what we would think. Because in the other books of the Old Testament, God is referred to as “helper.” Later in Genesis, God is helper, 1 Samuel, Isaiah, and in so many other places throughout

Scripture; So, “helper” carries some divine weight and so this helper or partner is not just some assistant.

            So God determines that God will create the partner for man. He begins creating out of the dust. He creates this one creature, low to the ground, big giant paws, and with a big fury mane…man says, he is dressed like a king- king of the forest…Lion. He gets to the next animal and this one is higher, long legs, little bit of a mane, and with a long tail...it says Nay!...man says, horse. Next one comes along and it is big and round, black and white, mooooves pretty slow…man says “T-bone, dinner, and man says…cow. He gets to this pink big and round one, low to the ground and looks like it will eat anything and man says…breakfast! God keeps creating and none of these seem to be able to be the partner that God or man has in mind. Each creature is able to do some things but just not what was needed in that special partner.

            God caused this man to fall asleep. Our scripture says that God took a rib from the man and created and brought this creature to man. I think one of the things that highlights the importance of this rib is that the Hebrew word for rib is “rashi.” This word has been used to describe a rib, but it can also be used for the word “side.” Would it change the story if we used the word side, instead of rib? Either way it is a part coming out of the man’s body, but using the word side can drive home a deeper meaning of what is being created by God. A side of man, coming out of that man to create this woman or “or ISHAH.”

            Adam knew what was happening and knew the importance of what God did. “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” This man found that helper that would help him get through the world and be in the world together. It was as if man said to God, “That’s what I’m talking about!” Ish or man knew that being alone and working in God’s creation was not going to be easy and he would need some help. She will be able to work with me and do some of the things that need to be done. She is a person that I can relate to and talk with, reason with, share my joys and challenges with, and this person will understand and we will work together to figure all this out!

            This points to two things that God is showing us in this Genesis story. First it shows us about relationships. IN the first chapter of Genesis, we see earth related to sea and air, day related to night, sun and moon. They were all in relationship together! They are not dependent upon each other but taken together and in relationship to one another they are good. But when this man is created and there is no one else that creates lonliness and that is not good. It is not good because it deprives “Ish” from being able to share experiences. He cannot talk to the animals, they cannot reason with him, speak in a language that he understands, or help him with difficult questions or tasks. They might be able to help in some ways, but not in all ways.

            The introduction of ISHAH makes this possible. Because man now has woman, they are now in a community together. They are now able to share, talk, work, reason, question, rejoice, mourn, and live and grow in relationship together. This is not necessarily about a marriage, it can be, but is largely about forming a community together.

            The second thing that God shows us in Genesis chapter two is that we are different in our gifts. As I said earlier that the word “Rashi” is used for rib and side. This means that out of man came a side that even the man may not have known he had. There were gifts that he was unaware that he possessed and it is through woman that those gifts are now present and revealed. For instance, my wife is really good at some things in our family and I am good at others. I take care of the tech stuff in our household and she takes care of the family schedule (with kids and grandkids).

            It is not unlike the church community. Each and every one of us possesses different gifts and talents; some are better at construction, some teach, some govern, some work in the tech field and some work in the fields. Just like that man and woman, we are a community…together! While we have different gifts and talents, we share them with our brothers and sisters in our congregation, social ministry, property, and all other aspects of the church in proclaiming the Goodness of God. It is who we are called to be so that no one is left alone; because God says that being alone is not good!

            Today is the day we acknowledge that we are not alone and we welcome all who come in the doors as well as reaching out to the community outside the doors. It is the day we say that we are here for one another to pray, help in need, laugh, cry, so that no one is alone. It is the day that we celebrate our community, our differences, our gifts, and our praise for the God who created us AND the God who redeemed us through Jesus Christ, God’s Son on the cross. It is through Jesus Christ that we experience God’s love and God’s message that we are all valuable and loved in God’s sight. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, there is forgiveness, not just for ourselves, but for all of God’s children. Through that sacrifice, we remain God’s community and in relationship with one another.

            May we celebrate our differences, may we reach out to our brothers and sisters in the local community and the global community. It is GOOD for us to be here together. Thanks be to God: Amen!