Sermon 28th January 2018

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Trevor Tayleur, preaches. 
The reading is from Mark 10: verses 17-31

 What’s important

After a PCC meeting, a frugal PCC member walked into his home panting and almost completely exhausted. “What happened, honey?” inquired his wife.

“It’s a great new idea I have to be a better steward of our resources,” he gasped. “I ran all the way home from the PCC meeting behind the bus and saved £1.50.”

“That wasn’t very bright,” replied his wife. “Why didn’t you run behind a taxi and save £10?”

Today we’re continuing our series on Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and acceptance. We’ve been looking at how Jesus met with people – and how he can meet with us. In the last two weeks we’ve seen how Jesus accepted people who by the standards of his time were outsiders, Matthew the hated tax collector and a Canaanite Woman – a descendant of the ancient Canaanites, the bitter biblical enemies of Israel. And in turn they accepted Jesus; indeed, Matthew became one of his 12 disciples and the writer of one of the Gospels. In contrast today’s reading is about an insider, a highly respected pillar of society, who in the end left a bitterly disappointed man.

We know from Mark’s account that the man was rich. We know from Luke’s and Matthew’s accounts that he was young and a ‘ruler’        - that means he was a leader in a local Jewish synagogue. So, this man has come to be known as the ‘rich young ruler’. Anyway, he asks Jesus a fundamental question: “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.17) Today a modern version of the question might be, “What is the meaning of life?”

Now, one thing that stands out from this passage is money; Jesus is talking about money. If we want to talk about what being a Christian means, we do need to talk about money. That’s a subject that the British tend to avoid, but today’s Gospel reading doesn’t really give us the choice!

The rich young ruler seemed to have had a blind spot about money, but he doesn’t seem to have been the only one to have had a blind spot. So, we’re going to look at three things this morning:

Firstly, what was the nature of these blind spots?

Secondly, what does Jesus say about them? And –

Thirdly, what are do about our blind spots?

So, let’s look at the blind spots our passage reveals. The rich young ruler went away bitterly disappointed, but actually the reaction of the disciples is also very interesting. The disciples were amazed at what Jesus said. The disciples were mostly working people – fishermen. But they didn’t cheer when the rich man went away empty-handed. They were amazed.

What they were thinking is something like this: If this man can’t make it into God’s kingdom, how can we? They’re probably rather worried. They’re upset and shaken. Why? Why are so amazed?

Let’s look at the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler. Jesus questions him about his lifestyle and morality. In verse 19, Jesus goes through various commandments, asking him, “Have you defrauded anybody? Have you honoured your parents?” Jesus goes through the Law. He’s quizzing the man whether he’s acted fairly in his business dealings, or whether he’s taken advantage of people. And the man replies, “Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy.” (vs.20). He’s been just, he’s been fair; he’s been a genuinely moral person.

 And Jesus seems to accept his answer at face value. Jesus was perfectly willing to denounce hypocrisy, as his dealings with the religious leaders of the time show. But Jesus doesn’t contradict the rich young ruler. The disciples don’t contradict him. Clearly the man was of good character and virtue; he was an upright person, a pillar of the community. And that bothered the disciples. “If he’s not worthy, how can we be?”, they thought. How can anyone be worthy of the Kingdom?

What the rich young ruler and the disciples thought was that morality must count for something. And I think many people feel that today. If you’re good, you should be rewarded.

The young man was obviously religious and sincere in how he lived. His problem was that he considered that that was enough. And this is the point that Jesus challenges. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But the rich young ruler wasn’t willing to do that, so he went away sad and disappointed.

The rich young ruler claimed that he had met the Law’s standard, but Jesus simply touched on the issue that proved that he didn’t measure up to God’s holiness. He was not willing to follow the Lord, if that meant he must give up his wealth. So, the man was breaking the two greatest commands; he didn’t love his neighbour as himself, and he didn’t love the Lord with all his heart. He loved himself, and his money, more.

This passage provides a clear warning of the dangers of wealth. In verse 23 Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” And he reinforces it two verses later; “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.”

Of course, it’s impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Some people have tried to get around the problem by claiming the needle Jesus was speaking about was the Needle Gate, a low and narrow after-hours entrance found in the wall surrounding Jerusalem. It was deliberately small for security reasons, and a camel could only go through it by stripping off any saddles or packs and crawling through on its knees. The problem with this theory is there is no evidence such a gate ever existed.

Jesus’ message is clear - it is impossible for anyone to be saved on their own merits. Since wealth was seen as proof of God’s approval, it was commonly taught by the rabbis that rich people were blessed by God and were, therefore, the most likely candidates for God’s kingdom. Jesus destroyed that notion, and along with it, the idea that anyone can earn salvation. And the disciples responded, “Who then can be saved?” If the wealthy and morally upright were unworthy of God’s kingdom, what hope was there for ordinary people?

Jesus replies: "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (vs 27) It is through only through the grace of God that we can be part of God’s Kingdom.

The problem with money is that it can blind us to our needs. A person who is prosperous and financially secure may think that they have all they need; they may well not see their need for a Saviour. You won’t go looking for a Saviour unless you realise that you need one.

Be careful. Wealth can blind us to our needs. But it’s not the only potential blind spot that this passage reveals. A lot of people aim to be a ‘good person’, and they may feel that’s enough to qualify them for God’s kingdom. But we can’t save ourselves by being moral.

We have our blind spots. Let’s now look, secondly, at what Jesus says about them.

Despite seemingly to have it all, the rich young ruler did approach Jesus. He was wealthy, a pillar of society, a – indeed in many ways a role model. But after all there does seem to have been something missing.  Perhaps that’s why he asked Jesus the vital question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life – to be part of God’s Kingdom?” Any self-respecting Jew back then would already have known the answer – the answer that the rich young ruler gave. “Obey the commandments.” If he already knew the answer, why is he coming to Jesus?

The key is in the question he asked: “What must I do - What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Anyone who thinks the path to eternal life is through doing things – through accomplishing things – is likely to find something missing. There’s always going to be a nagging doubt – an insecurity: Can I do something more? And for the rich young ruler there was one more thing: “One thing you lack,” [Jesus] said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus is saying to the man; “I know you’re moral. Everyone believes that you are a good person. But you only look good on the outside. So if you want eternal life, real intimacy with God, you can’t just repent of what’s on the outside; you must also repent of what’s on the inside.”

The rich young ruler had to repent of his love of money. His identity and his self-worth were rooted in his money.  If he wanted his life to change, he had to change his relationship with the so-called good things of life. Money was his blind spot. But other people can have different blind spots. These blind spots can be good things in themselves; they could be our family relationships or our careers; things we should value but, ultimately, they are not things on which our identity and self-worth should depend.

I suspect there’s a level of insecurity in each of us. The rich young ruler found his identity in money, but it wasn’t enough. Was there something more he could do? Well, he wasn’t willing to do the “something more”, to give away his wealth, and we see from verse 22 that he went way “sad”. Our translation of the Greek word as “sad” is a rather weak term. Other translations use the word “grieve”; it’s the same Greek word that the Bible uses to describe the mental agony that Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion. Jesus himself described it as follows: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Mark 14:34)

In Gethsemane it seemed that everything was falling apart for Jesus. His entire identity was disintegrating before his eyes. He was losing his sense of self. So, when this rich young ruler was called to give up his money, he was grieved, because he realised that his wealth was his centre, his identity – the essence of who he was.  If we want Jesus to be our Saviour, then we can’t have anything else as our Saviour. For the rich young ruler, wealth was his Saviour, and he wouldn’t give it up. Is there anything, or anyone, we trust above Jesus? What are our blind spots?

So, thirdly, in the light of what Jesus has said, what do we about our blind spots? Something I can’t stand in our garden is dandelions! To get rid of them, you have to go after the root. One of my favourite garden implements is our dandelion weeder, because with it you can really get out the root. And so it is with our blind spots; we need to go after the root. We get a hint on how to start through the way Jesus looked at the rich young ruler. Verse 21 tells us, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Now, of course, Jesus loves everyone, but the Gospel writer was making a point that goes beyond Jesus’ universal love. Why did Jesus love this person? Not because he was a great guy, but perhaps because Jesus saw aspects of himself in him. Whatever the reason, Jesus was the ultimate rich young ruler. There’s nobody who had more than him. Jesus was in the God-head; he had more than anyone else. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that though Jesus was rich, for our sakes he became poor. How poor? He was born as a human being – in a manger in Bethlehem.  Nobody in the world has gone from more wealth to poverty than he did.

There’s nothing that Jesus is asking of us that he hasn’t done already. There’s nothing that Jesus is asking us to give up that he hasn’t given up. He’s done all this for us, so why can’t we give up our blind spots, our idols and crutches for him? If he’s given these things up for us, why can’t we give them up for him?

When we know how much we are loved by God, we don’t need to check our bank balance for our status, we don’t need loads of friends on Facebook to have value. When we deal well with the roots of what’s enslaving us, we can become free.  Money can just be money when it’s not in our hearts. When Jesus Christ has moved into our hearts, we don’t need to define ourselves by our human status. When our root changes, our actions change.

So, what does that mean for us practically? In your service sheets you may have noticed a slip explaining how much it costs to run St Saviour’s.  A lot of people give sacrificially already, but today may a good moment to reflect on our giving, to make sure that we don’t have a blind spot when it comes to money. Quite a lot of our money we give to the Diocese; in return the Diocese will pay and house our new vicar when they arrive. Some of the money goes to poorer parishes, who couldn’t support a vicar on their own. It’s only right that richer parishes should support poorer ones.

At the very least, while we might not be called to give everything away to the poor, Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler does encourage us to think about how we use our money.

Apart from money, there may be other blind spots that are holding us back from service. Being generous also means being generous with our time, oour love and prayers for others. So, even if you’re not in a position to give financially, why don’t you think if there are any other new ways you could be serving Jesus. There are plenty of opportunities for service:

·      Helping in Children’s Church

·      Joining the Welcome Team, or

·      Joining the rota to put out chairs before services.

·      Helping in Children’s Church

·      Baking cakes for the new Drop Stop Café, or

·      Serving on the PCC.

If you want to know more about these or other possibilities, please speak to Gill or one of the leaders afterwards.

When we see Jesus’ love for us, that uproots our neediness, our lack of love and our need for crutches. And that will help us to change our lives.

Let’s pray: Father, help us to truly realise how much Jesus gave up for us, so that we can faithfully serve him and each other. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[i] 27 January 2018

Sermon 21st January 2018

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Adrian Parkhouse, preaches. The reading is from Matthew 15: 21-28

All are welcome 

“The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.  ‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’”  Mark 7:26, 27

1.              Last Sunday Simon invited us to consider the summons to Levi, the tax-collector, to follow Jesus.  He led in understanding better the visceral hatred extended to the collaborator by the Jewish community – and therefore the immense shock at Jesus’ invitation to, and then his identification with, these quislings, these “sinners” – by getting in touch with our own feelings.  You acted out the handing over of hard earned money to someone you deeply disliked.  And so we learned the lesson that the objects of our distaste, the people that we “good people” go out of our way to avoid, are the target of Jesus’ search for members of the Kingdom of God.

                  I retell last week’s message since to a very great extent it allows me to puncture any sense of drama or mystery this week by revealing at the outset that last week’s punchline provides pretty much the answer to the question in this week’s title, “Are all welcome?”.  For the avoidance of doubt (as we lawyers say) the answer is: yes, all do appear to be welcome;  certainly, it seems hard to construct any qualification which will debar anyone from the possibility of faith in Jesus.

2.              Well, with the question answered, what shall we talk about?

                  In truth, as I started to study this passage I thought I might welcome the opportunity to talk about anything else and so side-step what, on any first reading, is not an easy passage of scripture.  Look at it again: 

·       we are used to the disciples’ callous attitude towards those who crowd Jesus – “his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’”  - this much echoes their attitude to the parents who brought their children for a blessing

·       and familiar too is the misery of the mother -  ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is …  suffering terribly.’  We recognise the cries of  other desperate petitioners – among them Jairus pleading for his dying daughter and the Roman centurion in Capernaum, seeking healing of his slave

·       but it is the responses of Jesus that jar:  first to the mother – “Jesus did not answer a word”;  then to his disciples - ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’;  and then in answer to the woman’s cry for help - ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’

Noting first that Jesus’ last reported words were, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted’ , nonetheless,  given my claim that the answer to today’s question is “all are welcome to enter the Kingdom of God, our passage needs some unpacking and on the way perhaps we may learn some other things of value about the nature of faith.

3.              First some context to the passage.  The story is also told by Mark in chapter 7 of his gospel.  Where Matthew tells us only that “Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon”.  Mark’s account adds some colour to that word “withdrew”.  He says:  “He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret”.

                  Tyre and Sidon are the ancient coastal cities on the Mediterranean now in Lebanon just north of the borders of present day Israel .  Even in Jesus’ time the area was beyond the borders of the Jewish homeland.  And this event is the only occasion when Jesus left Israel.  His only trip abroad.  And it is pretty clear he was intending to find time away from public life:  until now his ministry had been a whirl of public acclamation, teaching to vast crowds, miracles and arguments with the religious leaders.  It seems that only by leaving Israel could he avoid the glare of publicity.  But even here it seems that his reputation had gone on ahead and a mother at the end of her wits, believed he had come to minister to her.

4.              Not only was Jesus outside Israel, but also the woman was a gentile;  not only a gentile (as were many including the occupying forces of the empire in Israel) but moreover one from Canaan.  The Canaanites had been the traditional enemies of the Jewish nation;  with competing claims to the very soil of Israel.  Last week’s study of the position of Matthew, the tax collector, touched on the attitude of religious Jews to people like him.  But Matthew was at a Jew – however compromised.  This woman was not only a woman, not only a foreigner but also a Canaanite.  All very good reasons why a Jew should avoid contact with her.

                  I love the fact that she was clever woman.  She had a quick and ready answer to Jesus’ objection.  It was not her cleverness, her wit, that marked her out for Jesus’ attention;  that was her faith.  But I love the way that Matthew has to record her intelligence.  Matthew famously writes his gospel to convert Jews.  Perhaps as a result he is not great at handling the female characters in the story.  For example, reading the Christmas story a few weeks ago I was struck by how, when dealing with the miraculous pregnancy of Mary, Luke devotes a considerable chunk of writing to give us the experience from Mary’s perspective;  none of that from Matthew – he gives us Joseph’s experience in a  few short verses! 

But here, even Matthew must put down her answer to Jesus defence of his mission to the lost sheep of Israel:  put it down, even though the words of a woman;  even though the words of a Canaanite.

5.              In that context what then might we understand in those surprising words of Jesus?  I offer the following two thoughts:

·       First we should not be surprised that Jesus saw his mission being aimed first at witnessing to the nation which was awaiting its Messiah, the nation whose faith and witness had been focused on God His Father for centuries.  Already, when sending out the disciples for a practice run at being missionaries, they were told:

Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.  Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. (Matthew 10.5)

                             Indeed possibly against that background, we might better gauge Jesus’ responses to the few non-Jews he met – this woman and, earlier, the Roman centurion (“I have not foun such great faith even in Israel!”) – as an even greater stronger indication of his mercy and love.  While working to a plan, their needs brought from him a natural response of love.  And we know that Jesus always planned the offer of the Kingdom of God being extended to all nations and peoples.  This was what the prophets had seen would be the case and Jesus also speaks of the day when all will be invited to the great banquet;  and final commission is to make disciples of all nations.

·       Second we may read too much into the words themselves:  I accept that is a slippery slope for Biblical interpretation but given everything else we know about the character of Jesus, I tend to the view that either the way he said the words communicated their purpose (the emphasis of his calling) in as loving a way as possible;  perhaps he was adopting a common turn of phrase.  The commentators emphasise that the language here does not refer to the common curs of the street but to pets around the house. Whatever:  certainly we can see that it allowed its hearer to hit it back with a degree of topspin.

6.             To end I want to say something about the woman’s faith.  ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’

                  Her situation, her desperation and her persistence might suggest that this is the same “faith” as attracted so much publicity this week when Tearfund reported a survey that found almost a quarter of non-believers prayed “as a last resort”.  However we might describe our faith, I am sure that all of us has at some time or another, prayed that sort of prayer to the great Insurer in the sky?

                  Certainly her faith was not – and could never be - the sort of faith which was bound up in a myriad of rules and regulations, or what was clean and unclean – the sort of faith that Jesus argued against endlessly in his debates with the Jewish authorities.

                  To attract Jesus description of “great faith” it must have been the faith of the nature for which he argued:  the sort of faith that Matthew showed when he left his tax booth and his livelihood and followed;  the sort of faith (just to look back a chapter or so from our passage) which is willing to believe God can use you to serve 5000 people from 5 loaves and 2 fish;  faith which, faced with the impossible, can step out of the boat and walk;  and faith which is free from fixation over ritual because it understands that what is important is our hearts are repentant.

                  The story of the Canaanite woman is actually a remarkable story of faith:  it shows that someone, not just outside the pale of acceptability by observers, but outside the swim of (what we might term) “the society of faith” – in other words a complete outsider – culd have faith of this nature.

                  Glad I preached on it after all!