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"The
Inconvenient Kingdom" The Old Testament Lesson: Psalm
22: 25 - 31 In Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples have a terrible time understanding their role in his kingdom. They argue among themselves about which of them is the greatest. They are indignant that someone they don’t know is casting out demons in Jesus’ name. And then, as we come to our text today, we find that the disciples are trying to enforce the social standards of their day which hold that children should not be allowed to disturb the teacher and his students. Once again, the disciples show that they do not understand the point of Jesus’ ministry, which is to bring everyone, EVERYONE unto himself. Jesus affirms that the kingdom of God belongs even to children, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom like a little child will never enter it.” Children were not considered to be valuable persons in Jesus’ day. They had little value and no power. Mostly they were seen as a drain on society—until they grew up enough to make themselves useful in some way. But Jesus insists that the kingdom of God belongs even to the lowly, even to those who seem to have nothing to offer. Jesus challenges those who would be his followers to give up their old assumptions about greatness, about who can and should participate in the kingdom of God. …. “Receive the kingdom like a little child…” In Jesus’ day children were entirely dependent on their father. If the father disowned the child, then the child was cast out of the family. Children belonged to their father, and remained subject to their father’s authority even into adulthood. So Jesus lets his followers know that they, like children, are completely dependent upon God’s grace for their entrance into his kingdom. In our next encounter with Jesus, we find a wealthy man who wants to be a part of Jesus’ kingdom. He comes to Jesus in humble manner--the scripture records that he dropped to his knees before Jesus--and he asks, “Good teacher, what must I DO to inherit eternal life?” Jesus immediately redirects the focus from himself to God…, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus is not claiming any authority or power on his own, but he tells about the coming of God’s rule. And then Jesus affirms God’s order for human life by reminding the man of God’s commandments. The man confirms that he knows and has kept God’s commandments, but he waits for more explanation from Jesus, this teacher whom he respects. Here Mark notes that Jesus looked at the man and loved him. Jesus invited the man to join his circle of disciples. But to do so he must first relieve himself of the burden of his property. Jesus’ disciples took with them only their own basic items of clothing. You couldn’t follow Jesus and be concerned with the trappings of social status or the complexities of maintaining a business or a household. To follow Jesus one had to become like a child; owning nothing, having no outside responsibilities, being completely dependent on the Father for all sustenance and direction. Mark tells us that the man walked away sad, for he had many possessions. After the rich man left, Jesus turned to his disciples, “Children, how hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark records that the disciples were “perplexed” at these words of Jesus’. Despite all their time with Jesus, hearing his teaching and watching him interact with people, they still didn’t understand completely the nature of the kingdom of God. Perhaps they couldn’t let go of their hopes that discipleship might permit them to have some form of prestige or influence. Perhaps they thought that this rich man would have been a great asset to their team, and wondered why Jesus would just let him walk away. Even though they themselves had left their families and their jobs to follow Jesus, they sound astonished that Jesus would have the same expectation for this rich man. “It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus says again. Can’t you just see the disciples pursing their lips and rolling their eyes. “Well, holy cow, Jesus! If this guy isn’t good enough, WHO IS??!!!” “So, then, who CAN be saved??!!” And Jesus responds, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Here Jesus has said it clearly: it is God who does the saving. Somehow this is the story of all our lives. We desperately want to be included in God’s kingdom, but we want to be included on our own terms. There is a piece of us that wants very much to be able to bring to the bargaining table something very valuable to offer to God—something from ourselves that we imagine God needs very much. So we test the waters with God. ‘If you will fix my badly broken marriage, Lord, then I will gladly tell all my friends about you!’ Or, ‘If you’ll just help me get this wonderful promotion, Lord, then as soon as I pay off my house and my cars and my credit cards, THEN I’ll be happy to go on a medical mission to Africa.’ But the truth of the matter is simple….God doesn’t NEED anything we have to offer. God is not impressed by our feeble attempts to bargain our way into his good graces. God doesn’t need our power, our influence, our time, our words, our money, our intelligence, or anything else that we might possess. God doesn’t NEED anything we have to offer. But God does want our humble, stripped bare hearts. God’s power to save us is constrained by one thing only…our willingness to be saved, our willingness to admit that. we could never earn or deserve or purchase our way into his kingdom. It is impossible for us to get ourselves into God’s kingdom. But God can bring in anyone, and everyone. If we want to enjoy the new life that is possible in Jesus Christ, then we have got to be willing to let go of this old life. But that’s a scary thing to do. You know it’s hard to let go of the old familiar stuff, even when that old familiar stuff isn’t so great, even when you desire newness of life with your whole heart, don’t you? How many of you have ever tried, on your own, leaning on only your own capabilities, to quit smoking, or to lose weight, or stop swearing, or to learn to read, or learn to swim, or learn to dance? No matter how much you WANT that newness of life, you just can’t do it on your own. It’s annoying! It’s inconvenient! It’s frustrating! It’s the same with becoming a part of God’s kingdom. We can’t pay or work or suffer our own way into God’s kingdom. Earthly measures of power and status do not apply in the kingdom of God. Mark’s gospel is full of reversals of the normal human understanding of greatness…children will be leaders; the Son of God came not to be served, but to serve; the last will be first and the first will be last; whoever among you wants to be great must become the servant of all. It is impossible to get ourselves into God’s kingdom, but GOD can bring anyone, ANYONE in. If you have never turned your life over to Christ, never invited him into your heart, and you’d like to do that today; or if you’d like to renew your commitment to him today, then I invite you to pray with me in just a moment. After the service, if you’d like to talk to someone about your relationship with Jesus…then I’d be happy to talk with you, or you can stop by the chapel…that’s the room right across the way with the red carpet…and there will be a couple of elders who will be happy to talk with you confidentially and to pray with you if you wish. ………….Holy God, nothing in this world is sure except your power and your love and your goodness. I thank you that you sent your only Son into this world to tell about your amazing love, and to offer his life as a perfect sacrifice for our sin. Lord, I am full of sin, and I’m so tired of carrying it, so I ask for your forgiveness now. Take away all my sin, and fill my heart and mind and every inch of my being with Jesus—only Jesus. I want to follow him today, and every day of my life. I am yours, Lord. Please make me the person you want me to be. Amen. |