Great Hope and Great Trust ("Keep On Askin'")

Mark 10:46-52

Hurricane Sandy is gong to make landfall this evening. We can and should pray for those who will be affected. Will our prayers avert the storm? No they wont. There will be people out of power, there will be damage to property and there may even be loss of life. Does that mean that we give up on prayer? Do we give up on asking God for protection? Do we quit praying for healing? Do we stop praying for restoration?

No! You keep on askin'!

There is one who is in chronic pain. Pain that just wont go away. Pain that is nagging, torturing all consuming in one moment then annoying background noise the next. Always there. Doctors cannot make it go away. There is no therapy that has been able to cure it. So prayers are lifted. Requests are made to God in Jesus name...the pain persists. More prayer. Daily prayer. Dedication to Jesus way of self-sacrifice and service. Study of Holy scripture. Obedience to medical advise. Exploration of alternative healing. Prayer and more prayer. Still the pain lingers.

“What do I do Pastor?” was the question.

Keep on askin'!

You can question your own faith when it is put to the test. You start to ask questions. “Why aren't my prayers being answered?” “Am I being punished?” “Is this a test?”

...Keep on askin'!

Then there are those blessed moments when you fell the presence of God. Through the pain, through the doubt, you know that you are being held in the palm of God's loving hand. I cannot describe to you the feeling I have when I sense the presence of God. I can tell you that its a safe, warm, inviting, peaceful feeling. But that is like describing Lake Michigan as a very large pool of water to someone who has never seen a lake. It just doesn't cover it.

Jesus hears the faithful. Remember the story of the persistent widow and the just Judge? She wanted justice and the judge wouldn't hear her. Kept on askin! She wore that judge out until he gave her justice. Jesus said if even that judge will give justice wont the God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” but then he adds “never the less, when the son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Justice, God's justice, whatever that looks like will be granted. Our task is to have faith. When we rely on our own strength and power there can never be true justice or true healing. Its when we boast in our weakness and lean on God's strength, the presence of God is made known in the world.

How do we do that?

We keep on askin'!

We keep on askin' for God's healing and guidance. We ask for God's wisdom and strength. We praise God for being God and we thank God for all things at all times. In our weakness and in our reliance on God, God transforms us. God begins to mold us into God's image. God begins to use us. God begins to put us in positions where we can be responsive to his will.

When we are responsive to God's will we become part of an interconnected part of God's community where we all find healing, justice and restoration.

When we keep on askin', I find that we start asking on behalf of others more than for ourselves. When that happens the right people come into our lives. The right resources become available. Life on earth gets better.

Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. Was on the side of the road in Jericho. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem. The crowds were gathered. Bartimaeus the social outcast forced to make a living by asking people for money or food.

Can you just hear the people around him? “Oh, that's Timeaus' son” I gave him some food once but he just keeps on asking for it. Some people even give him money but you never can tell what he will spend it on.” That's how we talk isn't it? We are reluctant to give ongoing assistance to people. We don't want people to be dependent on the government, yet we don't want to provide for them either. Bartimaeus kept on asking and yet he remained a beggar until one day he had the opportunity to ask the right person.

Jesus was in town. Bartimaeus said “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Now we know that Jesus was not the son of David but the Son of God. Even if we are talking about Jesus earthly fatherly figure it was Joseph not Mary. The term Son of David was a term used to describe the Messiah, the anointed one of God who would save God's people. God had promised that one of the descendants of David would be on the throne forever. Jesus was indeed a descendant of David through Mary's lineage and by adoption through Josephs lineage. So Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the conquering king of Israel. And he cried out to him. This social outcast. This blind beggar. Dared to cry out to the one he believe do be his king. A very bold move. Others in the crowd thought so too. They told him to be quiet. But shouted all the more. He wasn't getting justice from his neighbors so he had no choice to appeal to a higher power.

He kept on askin'!

Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to his own death, stopped and said, “call him.”

so they called him. “Oh, man this your lucky day. He is calling you.”

I heard an interview recently of a reporter that had the opportunity to travel with the president for 6 months to observe and to interview and to get a first hand view of the life of the president of the united states. The reporter said that they were traveling abroad and when they got to their destination, the president went to play basketball at a nearby gym. The reporter said that it didn't even occur to the president that these people had built this gym in anticipation of his arrival. When we have power, and get accustomed to wielding that power, in our human weakness we can lose perspective.

Jesus on the other hand heard the plea of the least of these in the crowd and paid him special attention.

Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me do do for you?” Remember this is the same question he asked James and John from last Sunday's scripture when they approached him about being appointed to Jesus right and left had when he came into his glory. The blind man said, “Rabbi, let me see again.”

Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.

Jesus granted this request but denied the request of his two most trusted Apostles his inner circle. Bartimaeus gained more than his sight. He followed Jesus and became his disciple. James and John did not get what they asked for but they were changed. They were set right. They were corrected. That's what a relationship with Jesus does.

When we pray. When we keep on askin' we will be blessed. We will receive exactly what we need.

So, how is it with you today? We can approach the King with confidence even though we are blind beggars. We can speak our needs and we can have utter confidence that if we keep on askin' we will be blessed. Take heart! This is your lucky day! Jesus is calling you to follow him; to trust in his strength; to follow him in his way.   

Life on Kinney Down

This a new feature that will be a regular part of this blog.  This is where I will add family pics and updates.  I call it Kinney Down because we live on Kinney Road and the word "down" is just a nicer way of saying we live on a hill. 

Eli has attached to every member of the family.
We can scarcely remember what
life was like before he came

Pass the Cup

Mark 10:35-45

Today is a beautiful day to be alive in Christ.  Celebrate!

We are fully into the the Fall season. This is definitely not summer anymore. This is my favorite season of the year. I love the mild temperatures. I love the changing colors. I even prefer wearing long pants. There is one more thing I appreciate about the passing of summer: the reduced likelihood of potato salad. I don't like the stuff. It's cold potatoes and mayonnaise. What's to like? When there is no potato salad there is no question: “What? You don't want any Potato salad?” as I pass the bowl at the dinner table from the person on my right to the person on my left with out taking any. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just pass on other things in life that we find unpleasant? I'll pass on sickness and disease. I'll pass on war and violence. I'll pass on suffering and greed.

We face what is before us. The cup that we are given is the experiences that lie before us. Some of us actively try to shape our lives while others are more passive about what our course of life.

I would really have liked to meet the Apostles James and John. The were bold; they were full of zeal; they weren't afraid of taking a risk; they were willing to try at the risk of being wrong. In this scripture they approached Jesus and asked him to grant them whatever they requested...

Say what now?

These two brothers have it in their minds that they are going to have some sort of high position in Jesus' glory that is to come, so they tell Jesus that he ought to get on board with the idea.

Can you imagine? I mean what would your reaction be? Imagine if you had a small group of people that you loved and cared for, that you were trying to teach, that you were trying to equip. Imagine that you knew that this small group of people was going to face difficulties that they could not yet fathom, then suddenly two of them come and make this demand. “Do for us what ever we ask of you.”

Now, I am glad that the job of savior of the world has been taken by Jesus because if I were in this situation I would have told James and John to go sit down and, “You better watch how you talk to me!” But Jesus isn't like that. Jesus asks the obvious question, “What is it that you want me to do for you?”

“Grant that, in your glory, we may sit at your left and right hand.” Bold! Bold, bold, bold. I love it! -reminds me of the first days when I came to faith as an adult and joined a church. I wrote a letter to the pastor saying that I was willing to serve in whatever way I was needed. Give me the word and I will and I'll do it!

I anticipated the answer. I waited for a reply. Nothing came. Weren't they just pining away to employ everything I had to offer? Weren't they deficient in some way that I could ride in and add my presence and make the church all that it could be?...The answer and the response to the my letter never came. Instead I got a call from Mr. Campbell, a humble man that was a very long-time member of the church. Mr. Campbell invited me to Saturday morning men's bible study that he led. In that group of men the next youngest was 30 years my senior. In that group of men I learned how to pray. In that group I learned how to listen. In that group I learned what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to James and John, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink and are you able to be baptized with with my baptism?” He is asking them if they realize what he is facing. It is his purpose to reconcile humanity to a right relationship with God. To do that he will suffer and die. The prophet Isaiah said “Wake up! Wake up! Get up, O Jerusalem! You drank from the cup the lord passed to you, which was full of his anger! You drained dry the goblet full of intoxicating wine.” but a little later he writes, “This is what your sovereign master, the Lord your God, says: “Look, I have removed from your and the cup of intoxicating wine, the goblet full of my anger. You will no longer have to drink it.

He will give everything for those he loves. Jesus is asking James and John if they understand that is what it means to be his disciple. They claimed that they understood. Jesus affirmed that they would indeed suffer and sacrifice, but that doesn't mean that Jesus wanted it that way.

Remember Jesus prayerful words in the garden the night before his execution. He was facing his own death and he prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, let your will be done.” Jesus didn't want to suffer and die but that was the path that was before him and he walked it in faith.

The cup that we are given is the set of life experience that lie before us. It is not some script that is predetermined it is a set of choices. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, when we live by faith, when we finally trust in the power of God, what ever our cup is we can drink of it deeply because it will be filled with God's blessings.

I'm not saying everything in the life of a disciple of Christ is easy. There are certainty difficulties that come with being a follower of Christ. God expects us to be good stewards of what we are entrusted with. We are expected to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and visit the sick. We are supposed to trust in God even when the world is crashing down around us. We are supposed to be witness for Christ in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile and increasingly intolerant of people of faith.

God does not make people hungry, but God gives us the ability to feed them.

God does not does not give us cancer but God does give us and intellect, the desire and a wisdom to fight it.

The world may be hostile to the message of Christ but that is nothing new! They crucified the author and originator of this message.

We are not called to let the cup pass from us. We are called to know Christ and to make Christ known. We are called to actively step into a life of discipleship and to drink deeply of the cup that God lies before us.

All those difficulties that impede us. All those “Red Lights” along our faith journey are opportunities to sharpen our faith. They are opportunities to hone our understanding of God's will for us.

So, how is it with you today? You may be facing a very significant challenge. You may not be in the place you want to be. You may not have achieved all the things you wanted to achieve to this point in your life but God is calling you to be present in your life right now, to drink the cup of discipleship. To follow his way. Don't let the cup pass you by.   

Wanted: Adventurers

Mark 10: 17.

My two oldest children made this swing.
Life is pretty easy here in Ludington, Michigan. 

Imagine you are living in the first century in Palestine. Whatever prosperity might be there is sopped up by the Roman occupation. Imagine trying to survive. Some are are fishermen, some are builders. While the desperate have resorted to tax collection and prostitution. It must have been a harsh environment. It still is a harsh environment. 

Now imagine if Jesus put an ad in the local paper, looking for disciples. It might read something like this. seeking adventurers. Wanted: individuals who are willing to work for little to no material reward. Where the possibility of rejection is high and success is uncertain. You will at times feel powerless and walked upon. You will face very real dangers including bodily injury and even death. However you will become an heir of the King. You will inherit the promises of God. You will find the meaning of life and you will discover the specific purpose for your life. Requirements include, loving God first in your life, letting go of your own notions of power and control, trusting in Jesus as Lord and loving your neighbor.

Who would answer the ad? Who did accept the invitation? It was the laborers, the tax collectors, the outcasts and the powerless.

There were followers of Jesus who had some power and wealth. Joseph who provided the tomb for Jesus' body after the crucifixion, Nicodemus the Pharisee who asked all those questions in the dark of night. There was a Roman officer who demonstrated faith who may have carried the message of Jesus to others. They all were praised by Jesus for coming close to the truth. But these aren't the people that Jesus lifts up as examples. Jesus lifts up the one that feeds the hungry, gives water to the thirsty, cloths the naked and visits the sick.. Jesus says the greatest man born of a woman was John the Baptist because he told people to turn away from sin and turn toward God.

There is a funny thing about we humans. Like other creatures of the earth we are afraid to die. But unlike other creatures our fear moves beyond and instinct to preserve our own life. We think about it. We ponder it. We avoid it while we prepare for it.

We make sure we are in a position to prolong our lives as long as possible. We go to the doctor, we make sure we have food and shelter. To make sure we have food shelter and medical care we get jobs and make money and save money. We build retirement accounts and pensions. We invest in real estate and business. We do all this to have what we need and want. We do this ultimately to avoid death.

But Jesus has a different perspective. Jesus in the Gospel according to John say, “I am the door. If anyone enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” This tells me that, like pasture animals, God will provide for us. God will protect and guide us.

I cannot wait for the election to come. Not that I am overly excited about it but because I am so tired of the political ads. I don't even mind political ads per se. But when they are obviously lying about their opponents or misleading about various proposals it leads me to believe that they don't have my best interest at heart. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” Jesus says, “I have come so that they may have life, and my have it abundantly.”

Jesus wants the best for you. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. To know that we are loved, protected and cared for. Jesus wants us to know and love God. Jesus want us to know our purpose it this life and he wants us to participate in the life to come.

The problem is that we are often like the young man that approached him in today's scripture. He ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “good teacher, what must I do do to inherit eternal life?” This seems good right. Wouldn't we love that kind of enthusiasm? Wouldn't we appreciate a new believer in Jesus to be that open to following the Lord? But Jesus brings him back down a bit. Jesus says to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

Enthusiasm is good but not ignorant enthusiasm. Jesus never took on a disciple that didn't know the cost of following him. Jesus was always clear about what it meant to be his follower. It isn't easy. There will be suffering involved. You will surely be ridiculed perhaps even rejected. Some may even give their lives for their faith.

I don't regret my service in the Army Reserves and Michigan Army National guard. But I can see that I had an enthusiasm when I enlisted that I would not be able to muster now. After all these years I am more able to count the cost. The adventure enticed me. The ideals of patriotism and service called me. But I didn't fully count the cost.

The rich young man was not ready for what Jesus was offering. He knew there was more and he wanted more but he couldn't see clearly just what Jesus was offering. He only saw an unreasonable demand.

When we follow Jesus we must count the cost. The rich young man came to Jesus claiming that he had followed all the commandments since his youth. This young man has done things his life according to his own power. He had wealth to make his life comfortable. He exerted his will to follow the Law of Moses. He was the one in control of his life. He was the one in a position of power over his own destiny. He was fully relying on himself for his own salvation and Jesus recognized it. The young man new he was missing something. He must have sensed an emptiness in his life. He must have had an awareness of his life being incomplete. The Holy Spirit must have directed him toward Jesus as the source of life. So he sought Jesus out. He asked the question, “what must I do.” in the question itself reveals his own delusion. What must I Do? What action should I take? In what way can I exert my power to attain the prize?

So Jesus cuts to the quick as he so masterfully does goes right to the source of this young man's power. His stuff. His earthly abundance. His life insurance policy. Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. In the young man's eyes Jesus was taking away his power. Jesus was taking away his ability to save himself. In reality Jesus was offering a way to be freed from the illusion of false power. Selling your stuff and giving away the money to the poor is not a requirement to get into heaven, but relinquishing control over your life to God is. This was the only way that this young man would be able to do this.

How difficult it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! Or the powerful person. Come November the race to be number one in power will come to an end. But we know the first will be last and the last will be first in the Kingdom.

So How is it with you today on your journey as a disciple? We all have a certain degree of earthly power and control. Are you willing to set that power aside to let Christ rule in your hearts? The cost may seem high. The demand may seem excessive. Don't be afraid. God will take care of you.  

Healing Not Condemnation

Mark 10:1-16

Sometimes scripture says things wedon't want to hear. Sometimes scripture has a tough word that gets alittle too personal. This passage deals with divorce. I am nottelling you anything new when I say that 50% of all marriages end indivorce. That means that over 50% of you have been affected bydivorce I have never been divorced but my life has certainly beenaffected by it. I have seen the pain of failed relationships. Ihave watched people struggle with the process of ending a badmarriage. I have felt some of the consequences of divorce The actof ending a marriage is not really the problem. The act, the divorceitself, is merely a symptom of the brokenness that is the realsource of the hurt. It is the brokenness that causes all the damage.

The word love written in many languages.  These were Embroidered on a stoll which became a wedding gift at a wedding I officiated recently. 

We are broken people. We have brokenrelationships. What God intends for us us not always what we do. Wefail! We trip! We get stuck down there in the ditch in the muck andthe mud, and Jesus comes along and reaches out his hand and pulls usup out of it.

Now would you rather that our Lordwould come along and say, “Well, you're down there in yourbrokenness. You are stuck in the muck and the mud, and I want you tobe okay with it. I want you to lay there and think that the mud isokay, that you can live with it and that tripping and falling wasokay.” or does Jesus say, “You know, you tripped because youweren't paying attention. You fell because you were not holing myhand. But that's okay. I'm here now. Take my hand. Come up out of themud. Let me clean you off.”

Hear me. I am not saying that thelegal procedure of divorce is the point that fall. The divorce isthe symptom and a consequence of human brokenness.

I officiated a wedding a few yearsago. A very young couple. The man was an idealistic dreamer. Thewoman was a recovering heroine addict. There was a lot of brokennessto start with. I didn't help as the officiating pastor. I didn'tcouncil were I could see real problems down the road. I didn't findfor them the support they would need. I, as their pastor failed inmany ways. My brokenness, the communities brokenness played a partin the eventual divorce of this young couple.

We can't change what happened in thepast. We can't fix that. But from here on we can refocus and recommitour lives to Jesus. We can do better. We continue to let Jesus livein us and we continue to find life in Him.

The Pharisees were not interested inhelping anyone who was broken to come up out of the mud. They wereinterested in making sure that everyone followed the law as preciselyand as thoroughly as possible because that was their job. That wastheir understanding of their relationship to God. When everybodyfollows the law correctly then God is pleased. According to their wayof thinking. Now that wasn't God's way of thinking. God came, in theform of Jesus, to let us know that its not about following the ruleslaid down its about loving God first in your life. Its about lettingGod live in us and finding life in God.

During this teaching there were somewho were bringing their little children to be blessed by Jesus. Jesuswas right in the middle of a teaching! He was right in the middle ofhis discourse. He was expressing the will of God. He was settingpeople on the right course. So his disciples, thinking they werehelping the Lord out, said no to the people bringing their children.We are doing important things. We are learning form the Lord. ButJesus said, “Don't stop them!” “Don't prevent them coming tome. It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs to.”

We are supposed to have a child likefaith. We are supposed to Trust God completely as our Holy Parent.We are supposed to draw sustenance from our life in God. We are torest peacefully in the strength of Gods presence. We are to seekguidance by the wisdom of God through the written word and therevealed word. This is the ideal way to be a human. To be a childto our Holy God.

Did Jesus intend that day to give adiscourse on divorce? I don't think so. Should we be talking abouta doctrine of divorce in the church? No. I don't think so. Remember Jesus' purpose and promise in the Gospel of John. In thethird chapter it says “for God so loved the world that he gave hisone and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish buthave eternal life.” That is the most memorized verse in all ofChristian scripture. It all about having that childlike relationshipwith God through Jesus Christ. But remember the 17^thverse as well. For God did not send the Son into the world tocondemn the world, but to save the world through him.

These words of Jesus on divorce arenot words of condemnation. He was asked, challenged and tested. Jesus merely stated the reality of the situation. Jesus offered somepretty straightforward words on the subject. The thing that thePharisees know and that Jesus knows and that we all know. It thatdivorce, the end of a marriage, the end of a relationship is not ahappy thing. It may be a necessary thing. It may be the only choice.It may be the way things are, but no one ever is happy about thecircumstances that lead to divorce

Jesus is lifting up the ideal. Jesusis lifting up the way things 'ought to be'. I cant think of anyonethat would disagree that when two people come together before God topublicly profess their love and devotion to each other that that loveshould last forever. That's the ideal. Jesus is just stating theobvious. No one should impede that. No one should deny that. Butthere is human Brokenness. There is human weakness that comes intothe equation.

The good news is that Jesus is God. That Jesus is the God of new life and new beginnings. No matter howwe have failed, no matter how human brokenness has shaped our lives,Jesus continually invites us to find life in him.

50% of all marriages fail. That's notthe shocking news to me. The shocking part is that with thatknowledge, 100% of brides and grooms believe it wont happen to them.

In the last month I officiated twoweddings. Statistically speaking, one will make it. If I thoughtabout that long enough I might be discouraged in officiating any moremarriages. But when I think about it a little more, I think what anamazing thing it is to make that kind of commitment to another humanbeing. God gives us the ideal. God gives us the target for our lifetogether. In marriage we get to practice showing patience, lovingkindness, generosity. In love we protect, trust, hope and persevere. What a gift that is, to love another as God loves us! It is betterto take aim at this target, to try our best at the risk of missingthe mark than to never try at all.

Of course we need not be married topractice loving each other unconditionally. This is our calling asGod's children. It's just that that special relationship of marriageis a very special proving ground.

This is Wold Communion Sunday. Allaround the world today Christians of every sort are participating inthis Holy Sacrament. We enter into the Mystery of God. This breadand this juice, somehow, by the power of the Holy Spirit becomes forus the body and the blood of Jesus. We eat this meal and the HolySpirit dwells within us. We sit at God's Table and we share a HolyMeal together. What ever divisions we have made and what everdivisions we have inherited are dissolved in this meal. All areinvited and all are welcome here. No matter how any of us havefailed in the past it is forgiven. This is a day of new beginnings.

So, How is it with you today? Nomatter what came before this moment, no matter how many successes orfailures God has an unrestrained love for you. God is waiting foryou to love him back in the same way. God is inviting you to be hisChild. God is inviting you to trust in him, to lean on God'sstrength and wisdom in your life. God is inviting you to follow himin His way.