Twentieth Sunday after Trinity Mark 10:17-31 Hebrews 4:12-endYou may be an expert at sewing – that is, in making clothes – or you may never have done any, except sew on a button, perhaps, as one of the basic sewing skills. But whatever your level of skill and experience, you may appreciate that it is not always easy to thread a needle. It’s a bit fiddly at the best of times, with a thin but very flexible thread and the eye of a fine needle not a lot bigger. How ridiculous it would be, then, to try and get a camel through the eye of a needle! You might as well try to put the ocean into a milk bottle, or the whole desert into a thimble! So, when Jesus is saying that 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, does he really mean to be so dismissive of the rich to the point of making a ridiculous statement? If the rich can’t enter the Kingdom, then who can? This is indeed what the disciples ask, saying ‘Then who can be saved?’ And then comes the next statement of Jesus as he looks at them and says: ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’ It doesn’t seem to help much, as Peter then reminds Jesus of what they have all left behind to follow him. But even here, Jesus is positive about the possibilities for God, when he says that whoever has indeed left ‘house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for [Jesus’] sake and for the sake of the Good News, will receive a hundredfold.’ Actually, he says more and if we left it there and missed the rest of his words, we could be misled into thinking along the same line as many have done, namely, that wealth is a sign of God’s favour – which it isn’t. So we do well to mark the rest of Jesus’ statement, which says: ‘who will receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’ It is not that the rich cannot enter the Kingdom of God by definition. So the problem is not wealth itself but our attitude. The rich young man who came to Jesus and asked the question in the first place, what he must do to inherit eternal life, might have thought that his wealth would be an asset to increase his chances. That he had gained his wealth by being good and keeping the Commandments. But Jesus, when he looked at him, and loved him, as it says – so the young man’s riches did not put Jesus off – sees what his problem is: he is so attached to his wealth, so tied to his possessions, that it is those who are holding him back from enjoying true freedom and God’s Kingdom. There is a reason for the saying that a shroud has no pockets. Riches, material possessions, cannot go into the Kingdom of God; they cannot go into the ‘age to come’ any more than a camel can pass through a needle. Jesus is stating it like this in a deliberate over-the-top way, to emphasise the point, and to make it clear that it is our attitude to wealth that is the problem. He also teaches what the Kingdom of God – and the age to come – is about. It is, surprisingly, upside-down and inside-out. The first will be last, and the last will be first. All things are possible for God. Wealth is not the reason why we are called as members of God’s family, our faith is. And yes, there may be very difficult times, when we suffer loss, for instance, all in the course of our obedience and living as followers of Jesus. But we will also gain, many times more, in terms of fellowship within a new family: ‘brothers and sisters and mothers’ in Christ, who offer welcome. Jesus did not just make strange statements that challenge our sewing skills. He lived, taught, healed, died and rose again, to give us life. And our response to his ‘Come, follow me’, is what matters. Amen.
Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Mark 10:2-16 and Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12Who is welcome in God’s place? And where is God’s place, we may also then ask. Psalm 26 says, ‘O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.’ (v8). We are used to calling a church God’s house, and in essence that is of course true. But we also know the Church to be the whole body of believers, wherever they are and gather. In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, we find Jesus being asked a trick question about divorce. Some Pharisees trying to let him say something that might trip him up, against the backdrop of king Herod’s irregular way of marrying his brother’s wife, and John the Baptist’s sad demise because of his criticism of Herod. In response to the Pharisees’ question, Jesus refers them back to God’s initial purpose for marriage from the beginning of creation in bringing husband and wife together as one. His words ‘Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate’, are still used in marriage ceremonies in church today. After this conversation, Mark continues with the account of people bringing little children to Jesus to bless them. The disciples, possibly concerned that Jesus might be ‘overrun’ with little ones who distract him from his mission, turned them away. But Jesus won’t have any of that. Instead, he is indignant and says 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.’ And his final word about this, is rather sharp: ‘Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ How do we interpret this? Well, we can see what a child is: small in stature and in status (especially in those days), vulnerable, trusting, reliant on the care of others. There are also other characteristics that we can often observe: an awareness of the spiritual side of life, and an ability to absorb knowledge and skills. So, when Jesus is saying that we need to ‘receive the kingdom of God as a little child’, I think he is referring to those particular characteristics of children and that are necessary in order to enter God’s kingdom. For we cannot enter without humility, without a proper understanding of our own vulnerability and our need for God’s love, mercy and care. In the letter to the Hebrews, the author wonders about God’s care for human beings, quoting from Psalm 8, saying: ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honour.’ We know that, what with all the things that we have done wrong, we cannot find a reason why God should regard us with any favour at all. But he does, through his Son Jesus Christ, who has made us God’s children. Therefore, as children, we are loved and treasured, and have access to the throne of grace – even though we are unworthy of his attention. Hebrews continues: ‘It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer (Jesus) of their salvation perfect through sufferings. […] For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.’ So, who is welcome in God’s place? All who, like children, accept his Son, Jesus Christ. So that they can gain entrance into God’s kingdom, which is already here and not yet; which is today and still to come; which is wherever people live and gather in His name. As the Bible says, ‘Jesus Christ, who lives in our hearts through faith.’ That is where God’s kingdom has begun. Amen.
Harvest Festival John 1:47-end James 5:13-endHarvest Festival is a joyful celebration: the crops have come in and we thank our God and provider, for giving us the produce from the earth. To sustain us, to strengthen our hearts. We feel blessed with the provision of his grace. We’ve been celebrating Harvest for centuries, on the basis of biblical teaching, that tells us to share resources with those in need. The foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, in short, the poor, have a special place in God’s heart and a share in his will for his people. There is special provision for the weak in society mentioned in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy but also the book of Ruth talks about the principle of gleaning as an important means for God to develop his plan, even using it in bringing about a new marriage; one that brought forth an ancestor of Jesus…Leviticus 19:9-10 says: ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’ Deuteronomy 24:19 adds something else: ‘When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. … Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.’ So many of us have bountiful provisions – and, sadly, there still is much need. The poor are always with you, says Jesus in another context; but he is quite right – they are. When God created the world and everything in it, he shaped it all just so, that there would be enough to share. God speaks quite strongly against greed – grasping every last ear of corn is only a picture of a much more basic problem that people struggle with all the time: the problem of pride.Today, with all the advanced technology on combine harvesters, every part of the field is successfully harvested – there is nothing left! Producing higher and higher yields. I may have told some of you before, but when we visited the USA, we went to the mid-west, Iowa. We had an outing to a modern farm and when I say, modern, it doesn’t even begin to describe how advanced it was in technological terms.. The combine harvester that we stood next to, would not have fitted in an average church – the small wheels were so high I couldn’t touch the top. You needed a ladder to get in. And inside, there was a cabin with computer and television screens, climatised, and we were told that at the moment of sowing the seeds, the computer would calculate and forecast a roughly accurate harvest on the basis of the weather conditions etc. AND: the harvest would be sold to Kellogg’s the next day… So, Harvest, then, at a time when the world is struggling with extreme weather conditions – lots of floods in many places are a case in point – and armed conflicts that seem to be increasing and making the things we take for granted, like a harvest, look next to impossible in several places. At such a time, we may even wonder, what is ‘our’ harvest? What is the metaphorical ‘harvest’ – or the outcome if you like – of our lives? Jesus is complimentary to Nathanael, whom he spotted under a fig tree, and called ‘an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ And James in his letter, speaks about the prayer of the righteous which is powerful and effective. Referring to the prophet Elijah, he recalls that he was ‘human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.’ How are we, then, growing in righteousness, and producing a harvest that is pleasing to God? How do we share the good gifts that God has placed in our hands, not just for our own enjoyment, but for the benefit of others too. Care for ‘the orphan, the widow and the stranger’ is about personal contact, by giving time, showing compassion, and listening. There is work for the Church to do. What are our assets, so that we can meet the current need? How can we provide a space for people who are hurting and are looking for comfort and peace? May we enjoy an abundant harvest, of righteousness, love and joy. Amen.
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Mark 9:30-37 James 3:13 – 4:3; 7-8aI don’t know exactly when the game of football was invented, and I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes by getting it wrong anyway; in several different forms perhaps. But it was probably not around at the time of Jesus. But if it had been part of life in those days, this part of Mark’s account in chapter 9 might have sounded to the disciples as kicking the ball in your own goal. ‘What are you talking about, Jesus?’, they might have asked, ‘And what’s the point?’ Even now, after all the things that Jesus has said and done before, it is still so cryptic and puzzling. And the thing is, in this passage, Jesus is not even using a parable – a story with a hidden meaning – he is speaking plainly, no riddles, no imagery at all. It says that he is teaching the disciples, as straight forward as possible, and although they heard, they did not understand but were afraid to ask him. What was Jesus saying? It was this: ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ Well, that is as straight forward as can be. So why didn’t the disciples understand it? Maybe it was because until then, Jesus had been teaching in parables, when they had to look for the hidden meaning. But if there was a hidden meaning in his recent statement, they couldn’t find it. It escaped them. So, they did something else: they changed the subject as they were on the way and began to argue with one another who was the greatest. A most opportune and satisfying pastime no doubt… Jesus sees it as another moment to teach them something important, with relevance to his own mission and ministry. He says: ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he takes a little child and puts it among them; and taking it in his arms, he says: ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ It’s about the rule of life in the upside-down Kingdom of God in which we are called to seek to serve, not to seek to be served. In those days, a child was the person in the household with the lowest status; it had no voice. So welcoming a child was not often done. We may find that incomprehensible nowadays and it is. But what about others we consider of low status today? I’m not giving an answer to that but it may serve as an illustration of what Jesus means. We find a complementary statement in James’ letter, chapter 3: ‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. […] God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ We may want to sympathise with the disciples, that they find it so difficult to grasp that the road to true greatness is not through selfish ambition but through self-giving service. It is not always easy to work along those principles but it is the best way in God’s Kingdom. In today’s world, such a thought may still sound like ‘kicking the ball in one’s own goal’, for want of a better metaphor. Maybe the thing for us to do is to really listen. The Word of God is still living and active, and of great importance. Even if we are not totally open to it, we may miss the point completely if we block up our ears, change the subject and look for what is in it for us. So let us look for true wisdom, where the last will be first and the first will be last. Amen.
