He Called

          Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus for mercy. The people following Jesus tried to shut him up, to make him be quiet. But he persisted in his cries for help.

          Mark writes that Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over.” Why did he stop for this one person? How was he able to hear him with all those people surrounding him?

          Jesus said, “Call him over.” And then he asked Bartimaeus, “What can I do for you?” All Bartimaeus wanted him to do for him was to heal his eyes so he could see, that’s all. He just wanted to see.

          How many Bartimaeus’ are calling out to Jesus today? How many of those calling out for mercy are being told, “Be quiet. Shut up. Stop shouting you’re bothering the Master.”  How many? Maybe you’re one of those calling out to the Master.

          What if Bartimaeus had listened to the people and did stop shouting at Jesus? What if he’d caved in to their demands to be quiet?  Would it have made any difference to the rest of the world?

          Friends, we can’t stop calling to Him! We can’t let the world dictate to us! We have to keep shouting and demanding an audience with the One who can save us, who can intercede for us before the Father. We must persist in our demand for mercy.

          Sometimes, I know, it feels like He doesn’t hear our prayers, our cries for help, our pleas for mercy. But He does. He hears every word, every breath, every cry for help. He hears because He’s been right where we are. He’s known the pain and suffering we know. 

          Friends, our prayers will stop Him in his tracks. He will hear and he will ask his angels to call us over to him.  This I believe.

           The question is, “What do we want Him to do for us?”  Maybe we just want to see…see what’s waiting for us on the other side. Friends, our hope is in the Lord and I’m sure that he will keep his promise. May God grant us his grace. Thanks be to God. Amen.                    

            The question is, “What do we want Him to do for us?”  Maybe we just want to see…see what’s waiting for us on the other side. Friends, our hope is in the Lord and I’m sure that he will keep his promise. May God grant us his grace. Thanks be to God. Amen.

What Do You Want?

          I have a question for you, all of you. What do you want from life? What are your goals? Or for those who are enjoying the autumn or winter of your life what were your goals?

          If you, like me, belong to the more senior generation what were your goals when you were 20 something; did you reach your goal(s); did they change as you experienced more of life?

          Did you have aspirations of being a leader or your own boss or did you dream of serving people in other parts of the world by enlisting in the Peace Corp, of making the world a better place to live? What did you pray for when you asked God for help in determining the path your life would take?

          James and John came to Jesus and asked if they could have the seats on his right and left when he came to glory. Jesus knew they had no idea what they were asking for and he also knew that they couldn’t even imagine where their lives were going to take them after he was gone.

          That’s why he asked them, “Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?”  It’s really no different than some of the questions we’ve heard from family or friends when we told them what we were going to do. Don’t you remember when you first heard, “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”  Or maybe it was, “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”

          Either way they didn’t exactly create an atmosphere of confidence. Just like Jesus knew James and John our families and friends knew us. They knew our minds were made up and they weren’t going to change the direction we were headed. But, still they asked. They planted the seed.

          James and John had given up their former lives of fishing to follow Jesus. They observed how he was received and treated by the religious of the day. They knew that if they continued on the same path, the same way of life, they wouldn’t be treated any better, maybe even worse.

          So, since they had sacrificed so much why not ask for the best seats in eternity? I think Jesus understood that but he also knew it wasn’t his decision to make; only the Father could do that.

          Rather than chastise them for their request he used it, again, as an opportunity to teach them…and those other disciples who knew what they’d asked for.

          As He had done so many times before he taught them His ways weren’t the same as the ways of the world. Whoever aspired to be first must be willing to be last. Whoever wanted to be first must be a slave to all.

          If they wanted a place in eternity, if they truly wanted to be like Jesus and follow his lead then they had to be willing to give up their grandiose ideas of being powerful and rich and instead live lives of service to people they viewed as lower than them; those they deemed as unworthy to enter the kingdom.

          Is that a goal anyone would want to strive for? Is that the first thing we want to think about when we wake in the morning? Whose feet will I wash today? Whose house will I clean today? Whose rent will I pay today? Whose bedside will I visit today? Whose diaper will I change today?

          What does it mean to be a servant to all? What does it mean to give away your life in exchange for the many held hostage? Who could do that?

          As I think about people I know or have read about there aren’t many who fall into this category. But, I also know I don’t know it all and that there are probably many more that are servants and have given their whole lives in service to others that I’m not even aware of. Some may be sitting here today.

          Not many want to make the sacrifice to live simply in order to be able to serve others. But thank God some have and they’ve changed the world. If those disciples who followed Jesus hadn’t made the choice to give up their former lives to be people of the Way then you and I would probably not be here worshipping God today.

          But, God had, God has, a plan. And that was that the world was to be changed, transformed, disciples were to be made and people were to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God gave the world a chance to be saved. It began with those who were willing to be servants.

          Because the disciples chosen by Jesus answered his call to follow him and dreamed of and hoped for a new Jerusalem and a new heaven they sacrificed, suffered, and died serving others, and God, as slaves and servants.

          Now the question for us today is, “What do you want?”  Who wants to be first? Is it you? Then you have to be a slave to everyone else.

          Every one of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus are being called to serve. Every one of us who are followers of the Way is called to be slaves, to be at the beck and call of others. It’s not an easy decision to make.

          And we can’t go into to this way of life believing that it will get us into the kingdom of God. That still depends upon God’s grace. But just imagine what this world would be like if there were more servants than bosses.

          Friends, it still could happen. What if instead of just dreaming and talking about it every one decided the whole focus of the rest of their lives would be serving others and telling the story of Jesus’ love to everyone they met?

          Friends, we are called, every one of us, to go out into the world as servants. What choices will you and I make, beginning today. How will we make the world a better place? What will you ask God for tonight before you close your eyes in sleep?

          I pray that God will lead each and every one of us to be better and more faithful servants and give us the courage and the strength to serve Him wherever that may be.

          Thanks be to God. He has the plan and the grace and peace for the whole world. Amen.

"Stuff"

          The rich young ruler ran up to Jesus and asked him how he could get eternal life.  Jesus told him first that he needed to keep the commandments God gave Moses. Being the good, young Jewish man he was he replied that of course he’d kept them since he was a boy.

          Mark said that Jesus looked hard at him…and loved him. He looked hard at him…and loved him.

          Have you asked the same question…and had Jesus look hard at you? Have you heard him tell you to keep the commandments and then knowing what’s in your heart instruct you to let it all go? Have you heard him tell you to have a garage sale? Have you heard him speak to you about giving the proceeds to the homeless shelter?

          Have you heard his word to you… and felt it cut through your spirit and soul? Have you known or realized that nothing is hidden from God? Everything is exposed. He is the one we’re all accountable to.

          So, why do we find it almost impossible to let go of our “stuff?”  All of us, I believe, have things we just can’t give up. It may be physical things or it may be habits we feel we need just to get through the day. We all have them. And just like Jesus told the young man he’s telling us we need to let them go.

          Why do you think we can’t let go of our stuff? God knows our hearts and souls. We know that…but even with that we can’t let go. Why?

          If we believe, if we trust in God, if we believe his Word, then why can’t we take that one step and release our hold on the “stuff” in our lives?

          Have you ever thought, “Why doesn’t He just take it all away?” Friends, maybe he does…sometimes. Look at Job. He lost everything but his life and his wife.

          He couldn’t understand why. He questioned God. He adamantly requested an audience with Him. His friends came and sat with him and counseled and questioned and kind of told him it must have been something he did that God didn’t like.

          They would never have believed that God would allow something like this to take place just as a test or proof of how good someone was.

          Deep down Job still trusted in God and his love. God’s Spirit was cutting away all that “stuff” until his word could be felt by Job’s spirit and soul.

          Do you suppose God does that to people today?  Do you think he tests us today?

          Think about this… do you we hold on tight to our “stuff?” Do you think our “stuff” gets in the way of our relationship with God, with Jesus, with the Spirit? Does our “stuff” keep us from truly knowing the kingdom of God?

          If our “stuff” is keeping us from what God would have us experience, and I believe it does, then what should we do? Jesus told the young man to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor.

          I think all of us should take an inventory of our “stuff.”  We should go home or sit here and think about what we can’t let go of and then ask ourselves why it has such a hold on us; why we believe it’s necessary for existence.

          Just so you don’t think you’re alone in this let me tell you I have “stuff.” “Stuff” I find it almost impossible to let go of.  Does it keep me from knowing the triune God? It probably does.  So, what am I doing?

          I talk with God…a lot. I think about the “stuff” I hold onto, that holds onto me, and I consider letting it go. And then I pray some more, and read the Word, and just sit and wait on God.

          At some point we have to release our hold on the “stuff” that keeps us from experiencing the joy of being continually in God’s presence.

          Friends, He understands our weaknesses. He’s there for us but it’s our decision to make. It’s up to us to leave our bag of “stuff” at the cross and then lean on Him.

          You know maybe our religious sisters and brothers like Henri Nouwen and Mother Teresa had the right idea. They joined the religious order and trusted in God to provide for their basic needs. And then they went into God’s creation to serve the helpless and the poor. And neither of them lacked anything…and they contributed to our society by serving with love and honesty and openness. Yes, they too struggled with “stuff” but they also trusted and hoped in God.

          Along with Jesus and Job and all the prophets and the Apostles they help us understand how good our God is. They demonstrate to us that it can be done. There are others too, young folks who live in communes, holding everything in common. They are trying to live as the disciples did, as Paul, Barnabas, and Silas did and focus on doing God’s work without the hindrance of any “stuff.”  Still, they struggle with getting it right.

          There is life and happiness and contentment and joy without “stuff.” And there is that promise of eternal life.

          Part of the problem could be is that we try to do all this by our own willpower. What did Jesus tell his disciples? He said there’s “no chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance if you let God do it.”  Maybe that’s what’s holding us back. We’re trying to do all by ourselves and therefore we’re failing.

          So, friends, how are we going to proceed this week? Know that whatever we let go of this week God is right beside us as we go through withdrawal from our “stuff.” He is all we need and his yoke isn’t heavy. Put your trust in him. 

Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

It's All About God

          It’s all about God, isn’t it? Every piece of scripture we have heard read this morning is about God.

          And doesn’t that same statement hold true for our lives? Aren’t our lives all about God, or at least they ought to be.

          Terrible things happened to Job. He lost his livestock; he lost his crops; he lost his sons and daughters. And then…in his suffering he learned about God.

          The psalmist thought he knew about God and he wanted God to prove it to him. Not so much different from us actually. Don’t we all want God to prove that he really exists…to us?

          The author of Hebrews is talking about the Christ, Jesus but in the end we see that it’s all about God, every bit of it. God created it all and it’s all about Him.

          And then we get to Mark who has the Pharisees trying to distract us, and everyone else, from thinking about God. Remember, friends, it’s all about God, every bit of it.

          They, the Pharisees, try to get Jesus off track by talking about divorce and marriage but Jesus won’t have any of that. He knows the word of God because he is God. The words were inspired by Him. But they didn’t believe that. He explains to them what God intended when two people come together as one. And that was that.

          All of what Jesus said confuses people. It troubled the disciples so that Jesus often times had to repeat what he’d told them earlier. And still they didn’t always understand it all. Really smart theologians and ministers and lay people are still trying to get to the bottom of what Jesus meant. None of them will truly get it until Jesus explains it all to us when we get to glory.

          The gist of it all is, it’s all about God…and his kingdom. Doesn’t that make sense? Why do we think we have to have it all figured out?

          That brings us to the end of what we heard this morning from Mark.  People, all sorts of people, were following Jesus as he traveled through the country. Of course they had to bring their children with them. Just like Linda and I have to take our two boys, the dogs, with us when we go anywhere for an extended period of time.

          So, there were children all over the place and they were noisy and probably a little obnoxious.  Therefore, the disciples were trying to keep them away from Jesus when he was teaching. 

          They didn’t realize that Jesus actually knew everything that was going on all around him. Just as God knows what we’re doing every minute of every day of our lives. 

          Again Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach the disciples about hospitality and what the kingdom of God was really like.

          Do we really think that heaven is an exclusive club where only the extremely good people will be allowed to reside? Come on!

          Unless we all accept the kingdom of God with the simplicity of a child we’re going to miss it.  Just like we all know that the church will not survive without children Jesus said that children are the very center of life in the kingdom.

          Now, I don’t know if that means that we’re all going back to our youth in the kingdom or if we’ll be taught by the children who’ve gone on ahead of us. They’ll teach us how to live in and enjoy and participate in the life of the kingdom of God.

          Whatever we find there and whatever we read in God’s word remember one thing, “It’s all about God.”

          We, you and I, are here because God wanted us here. He created this place and us because everything’s about God. We are here for God.

          And…God is here for us. He made us and he loves us. That’s evident when we read his word. But again, it’s all about God.

          So, good friends, as you go journey on this week remember that. “It’s all about God.”  Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Prayer Power

          What’s the most powerful thing in the world? Could it be a bomb or a tornado or a hurricane or an earthquake or a solar flare?

          First, I suppose we might want to determine what we think we mean by “powerful.”  How could we define power? Power is the ability to act or do something or is capable of accomplishing or doing something.  

          So, my hand has power because it can take a pencil and write words on paper but that’s probably not what we would think of as being powerful. Powerful is the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Powerful is the ability to stop a speeding locomotive or to catch a speeding bullet. Oh, wait, that’s Superman. Well, that’s a good definition of power whether he was a real person or not.  In our imaginations and in the comic books he could do all these things.

          How about being able to create things? Would that be seen as being powerful? I’ve seen ladies take apples, flour, sugar, and lard and create some awesome pies. Is that what we mean by being powerful?

          Well how about someone who build skyscrapers? I just read the other day that people are already considering building a tower 3,280 feet tall. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2018.  That’s kind of powerful.  It takes some kind of power to begin the construction of such a huge building let alone the risk involved. But is that kind of power what we’re talking about?

          A few weeks ago James in his epistle talked about the tongue being powerful, hard to control and able to cause a lot of destruction. And, today James talks about prayer and the power it is capable of unleashing.

          Did prayer even enter your minds as the most powerful thing or force in the world? It probably didn’t. I would have said something like splitting an atom or something as being the most powerful thing in the world, but prayer. Who’d have thought prayer would even make the top ten?

          A lot of folks still might not believe it. Because they’ve tried it, once or twice, and it hasn’t worked for them. Nothing happened and so they gave up on trying it anymore.

          So, what do you think? Is prayer the most powerful thing in the world? Or do you think there is a power greater than prayer?

          How can any of us prove that prayer is the most powerful force in the world? Let’s see. How many of you have prayed for rain this summer? Were your prayers answered? Okay, how many of you have prayed to win the lottery? Were your prayers answered? No. Then how can we say that prayer is the most powerful force in the world?

          Let me ask you a question. What do you do when everything else you’ve tried has failed to produce the results you were looking for? What do you do when nothing else has worked; what do you do? You pray…and why do you pray?  Because it’s the most powerful force in the universe, that’s why you pray. And when all else fails we turn to the Creator of it all and ask for help.

          Often what we pray for doesn’t happen so we don’t think prayer is too powerful. The thing is we don’t use it every day.

          What happens to our bodies if all we do is sit in the recliner and what the football games or HGTV? Our muscles and joints and everything else atrophies and we lose our strength. 

          Don’t you think the same thing could happen if we don’t use prayer more than when we have an emergency? Well, doesn’t it make sense?

          We should be praying all the time. What did James say? Is anyone sick? Then call the elders and ask them to come and pray.  Is anyone in trouble? Then they should pray? Is anyone happy? Then they should sing songs of praise, happy prayers. Has anyone sinned? Then confess the sin and pray for each other.

          What does James say then? The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  James uses Elijah as an example of the power of prayer. He prayed for it to quit raining, and it didn’t rain for 3 years, and then he prayed for rain and it came.

          So, now what’s the most powerful thing in the world? What has the most capability to effect change than anything else in the world? What’s that? Prayer you say. That’s right, prayer.

          So, what are you going to do this week? The same old thing, buy a lottery ticket and “hope” that you win. What about praying for your neighbors, the ones you don’t get along too well with? What about praying for our presidential candidates? What about praying for our school? What about praying for each other?

          What about prayer? Friends, I believe prayer is the most under utilized powerful gift God has given us. It’s free and we don’t use it everyday. We use our tooth brushes more than we use prayer. Be honest, don’t we?

          So, I ask you to this week make a commitment to pray for each other this week. You know there’s something going on in each of our lives that we’d like someone to pray for. We’re all getting older and things break down in our bodies and we “need” prayers. We lose our glasses; we lose our keys; we forget where we’ve put our flash drives. Don’t laugh, I couldn’t remember where I put mine yesterday.

          How many of you use computers? They need to be prayed over every minute. I talk to mine more than I talk to Linda some days.

          We laugh but we need prayer and we need people who will pray. The most simple yet most powerful thing in the world and we don’t take advantage of it.

            Friends, let’s trust in God to hear and answer our prayers. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.