Reflection on Romans 3:19-28

 

What if I told you that the words you just heard have the power to heal the broken and save the un-savable?  What if I told you that the power of faith from the past and the promise of faith of the future just passed by your ears?  What if I told you that the words that have the power to change broken lives were just uttered in these walls? 

Would you want to know what they are?  Would you want to hear them again?  Do you yearn to allow them to penetrate your soul?

Alright, I will not torture you any longer before I share with you these life-saving words.  I will not make you wait until the end of the big show in order to get to the final reveal.  I will not prolong the anticipation with senseless words that continue, on and on, and on, and on. 

Alright, here they are: “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Life changing words, right?

Well, they could be if they were maybe a little more understandable.  Let me take a crack at them: “Since every single person on the face of this earth can be a real jerk sometimes, and can make some pretty epic mistakes, especially when compared to the goodness of God; we are made right and holy and acceptable in God’s eyes, not because we did something to deserve God to look on us with love, but because God simply wants it that way, and God made it happen through the cross of Jesus Christ.”

Do you want an even shorter way to say it?  “You are saved, and loved, and accepted by God anyway.” 

Did you say or do something horrible to someone you love that you regret even to this very day?  Did it ruin everything?  Do you feel like you are worth no more than the dust on the bottom of your shoe?  “You are saved, and loved, and accepted by God anyway.” 

Did two paths separate in the woods, and you took the one less taken, and you wish over and over again that you could redo that choice because it actually was the wrong choice?  Like the day that you said to yourself, “You know, I bet my stomach will do just fine eating Taco Bell with ‘Fire’ sauce.” Like that day, but even worse!  Do you lay there at night with a gut ache over your terrible decision, and there is nothing you can do to fix it?  “You are saved, and loved, and accepted by God anyway.” 

And, that is precisely the good news that is needed in our world today.  We live in a world that tells us every day that if we just worked hard enough, and owned enough really awesome makeup, and put it on right, we would be the desire of everyone.  I have tried it.  For some reason, I was not the desire of everyone.

We live in a world that tells us every day that if we just lose some weight, or wear better clothes, or live in a nicer house, or clean up our act, or get the best grades, we can save ourselves from the worst that life has to offer.  If we just try harder, and be better, and be more than better, and chew the right gum, then everything will be great and people will swoon over you and you will be an influencer!  I have tried it.  No one swoons when I chew gum.  In fact, I was once told by my aunt that I looked like a cow.

We try though.  We have been sold the lie that if we try hard enough we can save ourselves.  More than that, some people actually deceive themselves into thinking that they have even accomplished it.  They are so full of themselves that they cannot see that the very fact that they are full of themselves means that they have failed at this thing that we call life and love. 

Paul makes the claim quite clearly that “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,” and he is right.  Sin, is this force – this power - that seeks to rob people of abundant life.  And, it is a condition in which we are trapped.  It is a state in which we are continually anxious that we are not safe, not sufficient, and not worthy of love and respect.  It is a state of constant insecurity.

When Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, they sin.  But, even before they eat the fruit, there were already underlying insecurities.  The serpent slithers his way through these insecurities, making Adam and Eve feel as if they lack.  The serpent makes Adam and Eve feel as if God is holding back from them.  Why does not God want them to eat of the fruit of knowledge?  Adam and Eve feel as if they are not loved by God as they should.  In other words, they are insecure.  They are in a state of sin. 

When we confess that we are “captive to sin, and cannot free ourselves,” we are confessing that we are insecure, and we would try to save ourselves if we could.

Why do certain people seek drugs or alcohol, or seek to gamble and get more money, or seek to work constantly, or seek to be away from those who love them, or seek only bodily satisfaction, or seek to eat and eat and eat, or seek to exercise until they hurt themselves, or seek more clothes and more stuff, or seek a more perfect grade when they have already received a perfect score, or seek the attention of more and more people, or seek any number of addictions and behaviors that demand that they be something different than who God created them to be?  Insecurity.  Sin.  We are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.  We are insecure.

We are bound to sin.  It is in our skin.  It is in our souls.

Because of this, our attempts to free ourselves fail.  No matter how much wealth I have, I cannot buy love. No matter how many hours I work or awards I garner, I have no guarantee that they will give me meaning and purpose. No matter how much power I accumulate, power does not equal acceptance and love.

How do we fix our sin?  Do we try harder and do better?  Or is that just another symptom of our insecurity and sin? 

This is what drove Martin Luther crazy in his little cell in the monastery.  He would pace back and forth, searching for a way to escape this sin, this insecurity, and be pure and holy before the Lord.  But, he failed again and again, crumpling to the floor when he failed to find goodness and righteousness in himself.  He was broken. 

We are broken.

And then one day Luther read the promise from Romans, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified (made right) by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” 

We are not accepted because of what we do.  We are not loved because of all that we have accomplished.  Our identity is not some hard earned award but rather a sheer gift of grace. And our destiny is secured not by our own achievements, but rather is secured and guaranteed by the one who died on a cross and was raised again, proving once and for all that God’s love is more powerful than our insecurity.

To put it simply and bluntly, God knows us and loves us.  Period.  God knows our insecurities and loves us anyway.  God knows our sins, and forgives us anyway.  God knows our struggles, and loves us anyway.  God loves us, accepting and loving the insecure, wayward persons we are. Not the person we have tried to be or promised to be, but the person we really are.  You are a child of God, as you are, right now.  You have been saved by God through Jesus Christ, because God wanted to, not because you figured out how to become a complete, secure soul.

You want to know what faith looks like?  Faith is the man who looks at his gut and says, “Sure it does not look healthy, but while I have it, maybe God can use it as a pillow for a child.”  Faith is the woman who looks at her tattered life and says, “Yes, I’m a mess, but at least I am God’s mess.  Lord, show me how to use this mess.”  Faith looks like Marin Luther, who whenever in affliction or stress, shouted out, “I am baptized!  I am baptized.”  Why?  Because, we are not our insecurities.  Our insecurities are not what define our lives.  Yes, we may be broken children, but we are God’s broken children, by grace.  And, no one can take that away from us.

And, that message of hope and salvation is precisely what this broken world needs to hear.  God’s attitude of loving first is the balm that heals the broken soul.  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for those who are not worthy is the message of love that will heal the world.  That word to the broken is the gift that God has charged us to bring to the world. 

When we give money and time to the church, we are not doing it to support a really nice social club; we are doing it as an act of faith that trusts that the money and time devoted to this saving word of grace will be able to save a wretch like me, and you, and our neighbor. 

May the entire world hear the good news of Jesus Christ, that through the power of the cross “you are saved, and loved, and accepted by God, anyway.” 

Reflection on Mark 10:46-52

Before I start talking about blind Bartimaeus, I want to talk about these tears that we see in Jeremiah 31:9.  After telling us that the Lord is going to gather the blind, the lame, and the pregnant, alongside everyone else into the Promised Land, the Bible says, “With weeping they shall come…” 

I have seen this weeping before.  I saw it the day that a girl with only one leg was invited to play basketball with everyone else on the playground for the first time.  She leapt onto the court, weeping. 

I have seen it when a deaf mother had her cochlear implant turned on for the first time, and she heard the voice of her own beautiful baby girl.  She had never heard it.  She hugged her baby, weeping. 

I have seen it when the quiet, socially awkward girl stood on the stage and rocked the audience with her amazing voice…a voice no one knew that she had.  She stared out at her classmates, weeping, as they stood and cheered.

It is hard to understate the importance that acceptance and love shown those who have some sort of disability truly can be.  And, in the church, we do not really talk about the disabilities that people have anymore, rather than calling people “disabled,” we say that people are differently-abled.  And, this is not some sort politically correct jargon going on here, when it comes to the church anyway.  You see, letting someone be known by their gifts rather than their weaknesses is something that is very Biblical. 

It was a fact that Moses could not speak well in front of a crowd, but God knew that Moses had the gifts needed to be a leader.  God knew Moses was the right choice to lead God’s people.  Though Moses tried to define himself by his weakness, saying that he was not the right guy for the job because of his inability to speak well, God refused to define him that way.  God does not define us by our weaknesses; rather God thinks of us in terms of the gifts that God has given each and every one of us.  You are not defined by your weaknesses; you are defined by your gifts.

And, that is precisely where all the weeping comes from.  The weeping bursts forth whenever a person who expects to be treated poorly, made fun of, or excluded for being different is instead given the gift of acceptance, and love, and healing.  How can you not weep tears of joy when you are finally invited to gather close?

What if one of our holy callings in life as disciples of Jesus Christ is to be a person who clears paths and pulls stumbling blocks out of the way of others, so that the Lord is able to shine through that person?  What if someone’s beautiful voice cannot be heard because the church door is too narrow for their wheelchair?  Then, I guess our calling is to find a carpenter.  What if someone’s wisdom cannot be gleaned because people refuse to take the time to listen carefully to their uncertain and quiet voice?  Then, I guess our calling is to be the one who will take the time to listen and share their wisdom.  What if a blind man is forgotten because he is unable to reach his destination by himself?  Then I guess our calling is to remember that blind man and help him on his way.

You see, when stumbling blocks are removed and the Lord’s gifts are allowed to shine through, songs of joyous weeping simply burst forth.  Not only that, but that acceptance, that social healing, allows even the most unlikely of people to follow Jesus on the way.

In Mark 10 we see that even a blind beggar is given the chance to follow Jesus along the way.  Unfortunately, we will see that this blind man’s story looks awfully familiar.  The blind man’s joyous turn of events is not without its stumbling blocks.

Bartimaeus, the beggar who earns his living along the road near Jericho, and who happens to be blind, hears a commotion.  Through the noise of the crowd, he learns that Jesus is about to pass.  Desiring the Lord’s mercy…desiring healing, Bartimaeus calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

“Have mercy on me.”  The cries from his lips are not pious religious words.  They are vocal hands reaching out for help in desperation.  They are words that stretch forth when nothing else can be done.  

We still cry out to the Lord with Bartimaeus’ words in worship whenever we sing, “Lord, have mercy!”  These words do not have to be a cry to Jesus for forgiveness, though they could be, rather, they are a cry from the side of the road that begs Jesus to take notice of us and to take action on our behalf.  When all else has failed, we cry out, “Lord, have mercy.”

The man’s cries almost go unheard.  The Bible says that, “Many sternly ordered him to be quiet.”  This still happens today.  Why are people who cry out for mercy from the streets told to be quiet?  Why is it assumed that the voices of people who are different do not matter?  Why were you told to be quiet?  Why were you told that you do not matter?

In an act of sheer defiance against the orders of the crowd, Bartimaeus cries out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus describes this act of defiance as “faith.”  Sometimes, shrinking away from the conflict is not the right answer. 

Sometimes, standing up for yourself is the right answer.  Sometimes, you need to love yourself as much as you love your neighbor.  Sometimes, standing up against those who would hold you down is an act of pure faith.  After-all, if you are allowed to be kicked to the side of the road, the gifts that God has given you are also kicked into the ditch, like pieces of trash.  And, God does not create trash. 

Calling to the side of the road, Jesus seeks the man. 

Maybe, the blind man’s voice is worth hearing.  Maybe, the blind beggar is worth something.  Maybe, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, is worth something to Jesus. 

And, it is at this point that Bartimaeus does what so many have not been able to do before.  When Jesus calls, Bartimaeus throws off his cloak. 

“Why is that a big deal, Pastor Jira?  It is just a cloak.” 

No.  In the ancient, desert world you do not just throw away your cloak.  Your cloak is essential.  Your cloak protects you from the weather.  It protects you against the sand storms.  It keeps you warm during the frigid nights.  You do not throw away your cloak, especially if you are a poor, blind beggar.  It is the only wealth you have.  You do not throw away your wealth; just as the rich man from a couple of stories ago could not just throw away his wealth and follow Jesus.  That guy goes away grieving rather than following Jesus.  But, Bartimaeus throws his most precious possession away without even hesitating.

Free now to move about, Bartimaeus jumps up immediately, and comes to Jesus.  Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” 

What does Bartimaeus want Jesus to do?  What is holding him back in life?  What is holding him back from being the person that God has created him to be?  What is holding him back from following Jesus?  What is keeping him stranded on the side of the road; unable to follow the way of Jesus?

What do you want Jesus to do?  What is holding you back?  What is holding you back from being the person that God has created you to be?  What is holding you back from following Jesus?  What is keeping you stranded on the side of the road; unable to follow the way of Jesus?

“My teacher, let me see again.”

“Go; your faith has made you well.”

Reflection on Mark 10:35-45

 

I am going to give James and John the benefit of the doubt here.  When they ask Jesus to grant them to sit at his right and his left hand in his glory, I am going to assume that they are not necessarily seeking power and glory for themselves, even though the other disciple’s red-faced anger reveals that they are certain James and John are trying to do exactly that.  I am simply going to assume that James and John are like our kids, fighting to sit next to the adult of their choice at the Chinese restaurant.  They are not trying to keep another child away from the choice adult (who in full disclosure is never me), they just want to be close to the adult they love.  I assume that James and John just want to be close with Jesus.

I get that.  I also want to be close with Jesus.  I have wanted to be close for a long time.  During my college years, I had sort of a mystical understanding about this getting close to God business.  I reasoned, if Christ was the source of all life, and still is making all things new right as we speak, then if I just stay still, I will be able to feel his life and his love.  If I stay still enough I will be at one with him.

As a disciple of Christ, my main go-to activity therefore was meditation.  I tried to still my soul enough to feel Christ and feel that eternal peace that comes only when you rest completely in Christ’s arms.  Though meditation is very good for quieting the mind, I am not sure I ever pulled it off.  Mostly I would come out of my meditations with a back ache.  I probably was doing it wrong.  But, James and John, I hear you.  You want to be near Christ always?  Well, I think we all want that.

Years later I had a friend also wanted to be close to God.  We worked together scraping rust off of an old Corp of Engineers steamboat.  While we scraped he talked about his desire to get closer to God.  “If I can get closer to God,” he would say, “then God will reward me and I can get out of this rust hole.”  That was not a metaphor.  We were literally back to back, scraping rust down a hole.  “I know that God wants the best for me.  I know that God want me to be successful in life, and rich.  Can you help me know God more?”

It was at this point that I made the mistake of telling my coworkers that I was training to be a pastor.  You know how if you once change the oil in the car for a friend, how they will come back again and again?  Well, this is the pastor version of that. 

He would talk about this over and over again, how God wanted him to be successful.  It never ended.  Our rust hole started to feel pretty small and cramped.  Why could we not just talk about sports like everyone else?  But, he was confident that I was going to teach him the secrets of God and being rich…I mean blessed.  Because, obviously, working in a rust hole meant that I was very blessed.  Still he had faith in me.

But, I knew this story of James and John too well.  I knew the story of the rich man who questions Jesus too well.  I knew that he wanted glory and reward, not sacrifice and cross bearing.  And, the church I went to had a huge cross right in the middle of it. 

“How about you check out that church on the edge of town, you know, the one where the pastor pulls up every Sunday morning in a Ferrari.”  Needless to say, my pastor did not own a Ferrari.

Yeah, I know, it is easy to judge the guy, but how is his desire to know God more and get the benefit of nice things in life any different than my desire to know God more and get the benefit of peace in life.  We both want something from God.  We both come with hands open, expecting them to be filled properly.

“Teacher, we want you to do for you whatever we ask of you,” James and John ask, hands open…waiting to be filled.  Just a quick aside, notice that Jesus first asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”   My conversations tend to go like this:

Someone asks: “Can you do something for me?”

“Sure, what do I need to do?”

“Great, I want you to steal just a little bit of cash for me.”

You see what happened there?  Do not do that.  Follow Jesus’ lead and never agree to do anything without asking what is wanted first.  That is a free practical tip for you this morning, right from the mouth of Jesus.

“What do you want?” Jesus wisely asks. 

What did they want?  They wanted to be a part of God's glory.  They wanted to sit at the right and to the left of Jesus on his throne.  They wanted to be near God. 

They did not know what they were asking though.  They just did not understand that they may want to go to the charlatan on the edge of town who drives a Ferrari because ahead of Jesus is a Great, Big Cross.  Christ's throne of glory is a cross.  And, the seats to the right and to the left?  James and John cannot have them because they have already been taken by two criminals who will die with Jesus.

The last will be first, and the first will be last.

Greatness, being one with God, is not defined by power and glory or even eternal peace.  Rather, it is defined by serving.  To be great is to serve those whom God cares about.  Serving the hungry.  Healing the physically and mentally ill.  Caring for the children.  Loving the total mess up.  Forgiving the sinner.  Getting down and dirty with those whom most people in polite company would simply push away.  Dying to save those same lowly people on a cross; that is glory.

Do you want to be close to Jesus?  Then go find him hanging out with those he cares about the most: those who are the lowest of the low. 

Come to think of it, that is where Jesus usually finds me anyway.  It seems, over and over again in life, when the words of Jesus come to rescue and heal me the most are always when I am at my lowest.  Maybe, I am more receptive at those times.  Or, maybe, it is because when I am low, I am precisely the person who Jesus loves to serve. 

Again and again in the scriptures we see that Jesus takes the time to serve the last and the least.

Time.  Have you ever thought of time as a blessing from God?  If really is. 

Sure, you have been encouraged to think about your money as a blessing and have been encouraged to give at least ten percent of it toward the ministry of Jesus Christ. 

And, certainly, you have been encouraged to think about your things and how beneficial they may be if given to someone who Jesus loves, and who could use them, rather than your things continuing to collect dust in the closet. 

You have even been encouraged to think about your talents as gifts from God (your baking, or your singing, or your financial savvy) to be used for the glory of God. 

But, have you ever thought of time as a blessing from God?

God created time after-all.  God intentionally placed you within it.  And, God decided to enter into it, sending his Son Jesus to be the savior who acts within time. 

And, Jesus draws the disciples into this notion that how your time is spent is important.  If you want to be truly close to Jesus, and we do, then we will allow Jesus to draw us away from notions of glory and riches, and peaceful afternoons reclining and eating grapes, and we will let Jesus drive us towards the best and most life giving use of our time: using our time for another person’s sake.

How much time do we waste on our phones, and on our Televisions, and anywhere but where Jesus is begging us to follow?  We have been given this gift of time, and Jesus uses this gift fully to love and serve the lost, the least, and the last.

What if we tithed ten percent of our time each day to loving and serving with Jesus? 

Would we start to see what the throne of Jesus really looks like?  Would we start to understand the love of the cross?

Jesus 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 of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Do you want to be near Jesus, to sit at his right and his left?  Then you need to know this one truth: Jesus, in his glory, is not found by looking way up on seats of power, but rather, by looking way down.  Jesus is found where there is suffering.  Jesus’ is seated on the throne of the cross. 

No Ferraris for Jesus. 

But, who needs a Ferraris when you have an eternal love that never forgets the lost, the least, and the last.  How glorious it is to serve the broken…right next to Jesus.

Reflection on Mark 10:17-31

 

All I hear in Peter’s words are exacerbation and exhaustion after Jesus instructs the man, Peter, and all of us to give up everything we own, give the money to the poor, and then follow Jesus.  “Look, we have left everything and followed you,” Peter says.  People usually hear Peter’s words here as words of boasting, but since the disciples have already moaned, “Then who can be saved,” it seems clear that Peter is continuing this sense of exacerbation.  “What more do you want from us?” Peter seems to be saying.  “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

“What more do you want from us?” 

I have been hearing this more and more as the weeks, months, and years go by.  As good faithful people try and try to make a dent within their communities and, dare I say, see some new faces in the pews, but it does not seem to be happening I hear the lament to God, “What more do you want from us?”

As adult sons and daughters take care of their ageing and failing parents, and then they need to take care of their grandchildren, and then they need to start taking care of their own ailing health they cry out to God, “What more do you want from us?”

As the struggles of this world continue to blare from our television sets and from our phones, and we try to do our part, but doing our part to make this world a better place doesn’t seem to make a single bit of difference, all while new concerns and struggles pop up all the time, desiring our attention, and consuming our sleep, we cry out to God, “What more do you want from us?”

You know what?  I do not think you are a failure or that you lack some sort of moral character if it is all just a little bit too much right now.  Sometimes, life is just a little bit too much, and it is OK to say, “That is just reality.”

I am having a hard enough time keeping off the measly ten pounds that I have lost.  If I cannot get a handle on my own health, I am pretty sure I am not quite up to the task of changing our entire culture to be more healthy, loving, and forgiving.  Do you know why it is hard?  Things like crispy crème donuts exist!  And, in the same way, daily struggles and hard-headed people all exist, right?

If only donuts were all I had to worry about.  If only donuts were all any of us had to worry about.  Sometimes my complete lack of God-like power and control over this world really, really comes into sharp focus.  There is obviously something lacking in life that would make it all better.

Maybe that is why I identify with this guy (who incidentally has lots of stuff) who comes up to Jesus.  I, incidentally, have lots of stuff too.  There is too much stuff is in our house.  In fact, one could say that I am pretty stuffed out.  But, it is not just the stuff that captures my attention with this guy; it is the sort of question he asks.  “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

Of course, the good, educated protestant within me immediately answers, “There’s nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life.  That is why we trust Jesus to save us.”  See, I learning something in Sunday School.  It was not all just flannel graphs and eating crayons.  Haha, remember flannel graphs?  Just take a little cut out Jesus and stick him on the blue board!  Walla!  He is instantly walking on water.  The miracle of the flannel graph!

I am getting distracted here.  I know why.  It is because I know that the man’s question goes much deeper than just asking how to get to heaven.  It touches on those deeper struggles of life.  What he is asking is more like, “Good teacher, what do I need to do to make this life better; with less struggle; to more holy, and to be fuller of life, and love, and laughter. 

In response, Jesus, the ever caring healer, starts with the basics.  Like a doctor trying to make sure that the low hanging fruit are not the cause of the problem: smoking, lack of exercise, forgetting to take your medicine; Jesus asks the man about the commandments.  “Do you murder?  Do you cheat on your spouse?  Do you steal?  Do you lie about your neighbors?  Do you forget to take care of your parents?”

“No, no, and no again” the man answers.  “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”

But, that still is not good enough, is it?  We all know that being good does not guarantee a good life.  Sure, congratulations, you are not going to jail for murdering someone!  But, ask a caregiver of someone whose health is ailing if they ever feel free.  I could give you more examples, but you get the point.  Heck, you probably live the point.  Being a really, really good person does not guarantee that you will get that “better” life; with less struggle; that feels more holy, and is more full of life, and love, and laughter.  And that “lack” of life and vitality is what gets us asking those questions that we asked at the beginning of the sermon.  “What more do you want from us Jesus?”  “What more do we need to do?”

As the man waits for an answer, Jesus gives him some of the most wonderful words of scripture.  You see, rarely, do we ever get to hear what God feels about something.  We infer it from what God does and how God reacts.  But, in a rare break in God’s façade, we get to hear how Jesus feels when he looks at us, tired and yearning souls.  The scriptures say, “Jesus, looking at [the man], loved him.”

Can we just sit with that for a second?  When Jesus looks at us tired and struggling people, as frustrating as we must be…as blockheaded and backwards as we must act sometimes….as confused and wandering and unable to hear the words of Jesus as we are…as childlike as we act sometimes, Jesus still looks at us with nothing but love.

You are loved.  In all your struggles, you are loved.  In all the deep breaths that stem from overwhelmed souls, you are loved.  In all the wayward acts and wrong approaches that you have taken in life, thinking that they would be good, but turn out to be destructive, you are loved.  Jesus looks us, and loves us.

And, with love in those eyes, Jesus finally gives us his treatment plan: give up the need to control it all, and follow me.  To the young man with many possessions he says, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  In other words, “give up the need to control it all, and follow me.” 

And, when the disciples are astounded by Jesus’ teachings that those people in the world who appear the most blessed by God with lots of wealth are no more likely to crawl their way into eternal life than a camel going through the eye of a needle, they ask, “Then who can be saved?”  And, Jesus gives the same answer to them as he did the man with many things, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”  In other words, “give up the need to control it all, and follow me.” 

You want to know what I hear from Jesus’ words here?  He is saying, “It is OK if you are not enough, because I am enough.”  Have these past weeks and months been impossible?  Are you at the end of caring…you are just cared out?  Jesus says to you, “It is OK if you are not enough, because I am enough.”  “For God all things are possible.”

And, maybe, when you grieve enough, as the man starts to grieve as he walks away from Jesus, you will be able to let go: you will be able to let the stuff go, or you will be able to let the controlling person go, or you will be able to let your own need to control every situation in life go, and when you do, when you grieve it all, you will finally be able to turn around and head in a new direction.  You will finally be able to follow Jesus…to truly follow him and trust him.  And, when that happens, you will finally be able to see the living God who loves to overcome the impossible. 

You will see the living God who opens the eyes of the stubbornly blind.  You will see the living God who feeds the entire crowd from a small amount of food.  You will see the living God who overcomes all the scorn, all the struggle, and all the death.  You will see the living God who is able to overcome death on a cross.  You will finally be able to see the living God who is able to put a camel through the eye of a needle.  You will finally be able to see the living God who loves to overcome the impossible, and that sight…seeing the living God, and following the living God…makes all the difference.

Reflection on Mark 10:2-16 (Repost)

 

If you have been through a divorce yourself, or have experienced one as a child, or as a friend or family member, there is one thing that I do not need to do for you today.  I do not need to go on and on about the pain that occurs when the one flesh is ripped back into two.  You all know the pain of divorce, way too well.  No one sitting here needs to hear yet another sermon about the sinful nature of divorce, or the destruction that divorce causes.  No one sitting here needs me to add to the pain by being self-righteous and preachy.  I have no desire to add to your pain this morning.  You already know…you already know.

It is easy to hurt people while talking about divorce because religious discussions about divorce tend to be very abstract.  “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  And, then we can discuss, as if it were theoretical, whether or not Moses allows it, and in what circumstances it is allowed.  Can you divorce your wife for not cooking well?  Maybe, you can only divorce if she is unfaithful?  Maybe divorce is fine and the real problem is remarriage.  You can divorce, you just cannot remarry. 

But, in all of the theoretical, heady, banter back and forth we forget one important thing: real people in really complicated situations are involved in divorce.  There is nothing worse than a theoretical discussion that forgets about the people.

The people.  Did you know that the majority of the working poor in our nation are single mothers with children, just trying to get by after a divorce?  I don’t think it is right to cast dispersions on the vulnerable.  Did you know that most divorces are not mutually agreed upon?  Rather, one of the two people is left feeling like their spouse has just died…trying their hardest to hold together something that is falling apart everywhere like a handful of wet noodles.  Again, I don’t think it is right to cast dispersions on the vulnerable.  Then, there is the cheating and the drinking and the…well, you know…you know.  There will be no rocks thrown this morning.  Divorce leaves a person quite vulnerable as it is.

The vulnerable.

Do you know who is vulnerable?  Children.  Children are vulnerable.  They have no power in any adult decisions.  They cannot sign legal contracts.  They cannot enter unless invited.  They are told not to speak unless spoken to.  Children have no say if their world in turned up-side-down.  They have to go where they are led, even if it is into a deep, dark pit.  Children are truly vulnerable. 

And no, I am not going where you think I am.  You already know the effect that divorce has on children.  You already know.  I’m not here to pile on even more guilt.  I wasn’t going there. 

What I did want to mention is that Jesus welcomes the children.  In a world where they have no power and they are shooed away by the disciples as unimportant, Jesus rebukes the disciples and welcomes the children.  Jesus draws them near.  He takes them into his arms and holds them close.  Jesus snuggles the vulnerable.  The kingdom of God is for the vulnerable.

And, that is what I want you to hear today.  To those single parents who have struggled, counting pennies because of their divorce I have one thing to say to you, the kingdom of God is for you, the vulnerable.  To those who yearn to have things the way they were back at the beginning of the relationship…when you truly felt as if the two had become one flesh…to those grieving that loss, I have one thing to say to you, the kingdom of God is for you, the vulnerable. 

The entire reason that Jesus is against the one flesh becoming two again in the first place, is because it brings harm to the vulnerable.  Women and children in the ancient world were abandoned, without support, when divorced.  But, the image of Jesus on the cross is at the same time one of complete vulnerability…identifying with the vulnerable, and arms wide open embracing all.  Jesus is about drawing all of creation together, not tearing it apart.  Jesus is about protecting the vulnerable, not creating more.

I know of a Christian man named Christian ironically, who filed for divorce.  He and his wife hadn’t been happy for years, and the kids knew it.  He was a working dad and she was a stay at home mom, and over the years they simply drifted apart, until they were two quite different people than they were from the start.  Christian thought to himself that it clearly wasn’t fair to keep his wife trapped in a loveless marriage, but he just could not imagine a good future for his wife and kids alone. 

Then, one night, while tossing and turning on the couch in the office, the idea came to him.  The next day, he went into his shop, grabbed some tools, took his Saws-All, and started cutting a door into the side of his house, right into the office.  The office, which was practically already his bedroom anyway, would become his apartment.  He could still pay for the house and food and be there for his kids, but he didn’t have to remain married to his wife.  He and his wife could both have their own lives, but in this way, he would protect her and the kids from being abandoned and vulnerable.  And, the idea worked.  The two were no longer one flesh, but no one was left vulnerable.

Of course, I do not intend for this example to cause guilt either.  I know that in many circumstances such a solution would have been impossible.  Don’t worry.  The kingdom belongs to the vulnerable.  The only reason I tell Christian’s story is because his primary concern lined up so well with that of Jesus.  He cared enough for his wife and children that they might not become sad statistics of divorce.  He cared about the vulnerable, and he did something about it.

I know of one other guy who cared about the vulnerable, and then did something about it.  Seeing the pain that happens when people are ripped apart from sin and strife, he went to the cross, was stripped of his clothes, was abandoned and alone.  He joined in the pain of the sinful and vulnerable and spread wide his arms for all.  Drawing the world back together through forgiveness and new life, Jesus took care of the vulnerable. 

“Let the little children come to me.”  And, that includes the vulnerable who have suffered from divorce.