What must I do?

Jesus is on a journey – he is ultimately headed to Jerusalem and the cross.  Last week he had traveled from Capernaum to Judea beyond the Jordan.  Now as he sets out again, a man comes running up.  He falls on his knees and says, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”  The address is over the top for a Jew.  Jesus jokes (or maybe spars) with him, “Why do you call me ‘good’?  No one is good but God.”

Next Jesus reminds him of the commandments – those dealing with our neighbors – those that deal with relationships here on earth.  The Jewish belief was that if you just followed all the right laws, then you could please God and you would have eternal life.  So his statement, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” was typical of this time and the present Jewish mindset.

But there’s a problem with this – how many of you have every received an inheritance?  What did you have to do to earn that inheritance?  Did you do something to earn the inheritance, or was it the result of a relationship you enjoyed?  

Jesus essentially tells this man, you cannot earn God’s gift – you can only accept it.  You’ve probably heard people say things like, “You just earned another star in your crown.”  I’ve said it myself, but that just perpetuates the myth.

Eternal life is a gift.  The gift of the kingdom of God is a gift of relationship.  And Jesus is in the process of redefining relationship - relationship with God and with the people around you.    

This man (Luke calls him a rich young ruler) is a good man – he is religious and has been diligent about keeping the commandments – he’s probably not much different from you and me.  He’s spent his life living as best he knew how, following in his father’s footsteps, and most likely felt blessed by God because of his prosperity.  

What he didn’t understand was that eternal life is a gift.  There is a story told about a young boy in Sweden who wanted some grapes from the king’s garden for his sick mother.  He asked the gardener if he could buy a bunch, but the gardener refused.  Standing nearby was the King’s son, and right away he put two bunches of grapes in the boy’s hand.  The boy offered to pay, but the prince said, “My father is not a merchant who sells, he is a king who gives.”  Our God is not a merchant with eternal life to sell.

I can remember a number of years ago when Sam and I lived in Austin.  We both had good jobs, two cars, two beautiful children and enough money for the things we needed.  But something was missing.  At the time we didn’t go to church except Christmas and Easter.  We were good people – not rich, but we had what we needed, and yet, something was missing.  

I would imagine that it wasn’t much different from this young man.  He knew something was missing from his life and he thought that he could buy or earn whatever it was.  And Jesus tells him what is needed.  His face falls, because he isn’t ready to give up what he has.  This young man walks away, shoulders slumped, head down, turning away from what he desperately wanted, because he wasn’t willing to pay the price.  He wasn’t willing to lay down what he had in order to pick up what Christ wanted to give him. 

Jesus turns to his disciples and says that it’s hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom – not impossible, but hard.  It is only through the grace of God that any of us can enter the kingdom of God.  

It’s hard for the rich to enter heaven because they have a tendency to rely on their wealth or their self for the things they need and want.  It’s hard for the rich to enter heaven because they sometimes develop an unhealthy attachment to their wealth.  We often hear a misquote from the Bible, “Money is the root of all evil.”  But that’s not right.  It’s not money that is the root of all evil, it is “the love of money that is the root of all evil.”  That comes from 1 Tim. 6:10.  Money itself is not the problem, it is our attachment and dependence on it that is a problem. 

But this is a new concept for the disciples.  The culture – the Jewish religion itself affirmed that affluence was the direct result of the blessing and favor of God.  Affluence meant you were a shoe-in for heaven.  But Jesus is giving them something new – getting into heaven may be impossible for us – but not for God - with God all things are possible.

There’s a story about a man who died and went to heaven and St. Peter met him at the gate and says, “We had to develop a new system to decide who gets to come into heaven.  You need a thousand points to get in now.  What have you done with your life?”  

The man says, “Well, I was a minister and preached to hundreds of people and brought them to God.  I visited prisoners and patients in hospitals.  I started a food kitchen to feel the hungry and a clothing center to help people get clothes.”  

St. Peter said, “Well, all that adds up to about 10 points.”  The man, in shock, said, “Ten point?  At that rate I’ll need the grace of God to get in.”   St. Peter said, “That’s worth 990 points.  Come on in.”

Peter speaks for the whole group – “We have left everything to follow you…”  Jesus tells the disciples;  "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold. . .  houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions.”

I don’t know about you, but for me that doesn’t sound happy – fields with persecutions?  I think it’s safe to say that when we follow Jesus, it isn’t always fun and games.  Sometimes there will be struggles and hardships.  Sometimes we are going to suffer, regardless of who we are and what we are and what we have done.  

God is asking something of us.  He’s asking for a commitment.  For some people that might take the form of a commitment of money.  For others, it might be a commitment of time.  And even others might be asked for a commitment of talent.  

I guess it’s sort of like earnest money in a contract – you are putting your money where you mouth is.  You know those bumper stickers out there that say “Honk if you love Jesus.”  Sam and I ran across one a couple of years ago that said, “If you love Jesus, tithe.  Anyone can honk.”  

Jesus is looking for relationship and one of the symbols of relationship is by supporting your local parish.  Consider it a commitment.  This is stewardship season in the Episcopal Church.  Your vestry is looking ahead to next year and planning.  One of the things they will be looking for is financial support.  The biblical commitment is the tithe – ten percent.  Even if you don’t have money, there are other things you can do.  God is calling you into relationship, so search your heart and consider where God is calling you to commit you time or talent or treasure for the coming year.

Amen.

Yada Yeshua, Knowing Jesus

Our gospel lesson speaks of Jesus as the “bread of life,” he says, “I am the living bread…”  Here we are two thousand years later and we have the picture in our mind and we know the whole story – sort of – and we know that Jesus is speaking metaphorically about the body and blood – he is referring to the bread and wine of Eucharist.  

We understand what it’s about, but two thousand years ago, they didn’t have the historical understanding we enjoy.  The Jews who disputed with Jesus were raised under very strict dietary laws.  It was very important to “keep kosher” if you were a Jew.  The first thing that we can consider is that Jews were not allowed to consume blood.  The bodies of the animals to be used for food first had to be hung up and drained of all blood before they could be cooked.  And the big one is that the human body is ‘unclean’ according to Jewish dietary law.  So they heard “eat my flesh” and all they could think was, “Not in my mama’s kitchen.”

Our gospel is not the only lessons in which we are invited to eat bread and drink wine.  Our Old Testament also invites us to do the same.   It says Wisdom has built her house, slaughtered her animals, mixed her wine and set her table.  She calls to all, “You that are simple, turn in here.  Come, eat my bread and drink my wine.  Lay aside immaturity and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Wisdom is often personified – as a woman.  “Wisdom” becomes the Old Testament counterpart – the female counterpart -- for Jesus himself.  Sometimes in Christian and semi-Christian literature you will find references to Sophia.  Sometimes you will hear Sophia being deified.  For some, Sophia is the “the goddess of wisdom,” the mother of creation, and even the “consort” of Yahweh.  

The truth is that Sophia is simply the Greek word for “wisdom.”   When the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) was translated into Greek it was called the Septuagint.  This was done two or three centuries before Jesus to meet the needs of the Greek speaking Jewish population outside Palestine.  In the Septuagint you get, “Sophia…  has built a house…”

If we were to read a little further in the 9^th chapter of Proverbs, we would find Sophia (or Wisdom) contrasted with lady Folly.  Folly is undisciplined and without knowledge.  She sits at the door of her house and also calls out to those who pass by.  Here is what she offers to those who are simple, “Stolen water is sweet, food eaten in secret is delicious.”  She offers an illicit meal, one replete with sexual implications.  She offers worldly pleasures – those partaken of in secret – those hidden away from the world.  

This would have been a place where the Prodigal Son would have spent his money and whiled away his time.  There is no return for money and time spent in this place – only emptiness – it is only a dead-end.  Wisdom invites all to leave their simple ways and walk in the way of wisdom – of understanding – and you will live.  Wisdom is sometimes defined as skill in living, but it is more than that.  It is learning to walk with God, learning to walk in the ways of God.  

The question can become, which voice are you listening to, Folly or Wisdom.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.  It’s real easy to say “God told me such-in-so.”   But always remember when we do this that - Andrea Yates thought God told her to kill her children.  And David Koresh – who they said “He loves God and he loves women.”  And he led his followers to destruction – he listened to Folly thinking she was Sophia - Wisdom.

People in the first century listened to what Jesus said and thought it was Folly.  Jesus was telling people in this 6th chapter of John:  “Eat of my flesh and drink of my blood and you will live.”  Jesus was speaking figuratively - metaphorically – but the people who were listening to him were taking it literally.  

Even years later they were still taken literally –when the Lord’s Supper was instituted as the principle (or common) form of worship – people accused the Christians of being cannibals – eating the flesh and drinking blood.  It’s not that they had a hard time understanding the concept of symbolism, but they wanted a reason to condemn this new sect.

People question the wisdom of letting little children take communion.  I remember in Huntsville one young child being questioned about what it meant to take communion.  He said, “It means I’m taking Jesus inside me.”  That is probably the best theology of Eucharist I’ve ever heard.  We are taking Jesus inside us.

And that’s exactly what Jesus is talking about – he wants us to make him so much a part of our life that we incorporate his principles, his very being into our life.  So many people only pay lip service to Jesus, to God.  It sounds great on Sunday morning, but what about the rest of the week?  Do we really try to live our lives (our secular lives) according to the foundations of our sacred lives. 

In our lesson from Ephesians we are admonished, to “be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise.“  Wise here is sophos – a form of sophia.  This is the same root that we get our word for sophomore.  You know that to be a sophomore is to think you are wise and know it all – when you really don’t.  

I don’t know if any of you have ever watched Seinfeld – I’ve seen it a few times, but never cared for it much.  It’s a great exercise in how not to live your life – but it was a popular show and one of the phrases from it caught on and became very popular with young people.  And all over you began hearing, “And he said, yada, yada, yada…”  Everything was yada, yada, yada.  And yada seemed to fill in the gaps in any conversation.  

Remember that Seinfeld is very much a Jewish name – and yada is a Jewish word – it is Hebrew for knowledge, to know to teach or to learn.  Yada appears 875 times in the Old Testament.  From Genesis we find “Adam knew (Yada)  his wife Eve and she conceived and bore a son...”. And although it can have a sexual connotation, it implies a much deeper knowledge.  From Psalm 16:11 “You show (Yada) me the path of life.” And from Psalm 100:3 “Know (Yada) that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his;”  It implies to know in a relational sense, and that’s what Jesus wants from us.   He wants us to know him in a relational way – taking him into us and being in relationship with Jesus is the point of these lessons.

They all tie together – to tell us to live wisely – live a life based on the principles of Jesus, incorporating them into our lives in such a way that we don’t leave out those who don’t know Jesus.  Our collect tells us that Jesus is an example of Godly life and that we are to follow in his footsteps daily.

In seminary, they taught us big flowery words with complicated meanings that encompassed all that Jesus did for us.  But I would rather speak a few simple words that touch the heart of all who hear.  Jesus came and he lived among us – touching the lives of simple folk in positive ways; healing the sick, feeding the poor, forgiving sinners, and giving hope to those without means.  In theological debates with learned people, what he said didn’t make much sense to them because they weren’t ready to give up the ways of the world that maintained their positions of power.   

In Ephesians, Paul tells us – I’m going to reverse the order here - to be filled with the Spirit and to make the most of our time, living as wise people.  We have to life in this world – not only to live in relationship to Christ, but also to live in relationship with the people around us – with Christ so much a part of our life, that it shines forth as a beacon to all who are in need.  

Out of a Believer’s heart

Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” ...  When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?  John 7:37-38, 40-41

When I read this scripture this morning, it was almost like a slap in the face.  My first thought was to sneer at the scoffers and then I realized that I have, on more than one occasion, allowed some little idiosyncrasy, some little flaw, some little minute detail distract me.  The most recent occasion was in viewing a ‘prophetic painting,’ and rather than looking at it with the eyes of Jesus, and seeing his presence there, I was finding some little flaw that distracted me from his message to me.  We are spiritually connected to God/Jesus, but we are also human.  And there are going to be times when that human side of us oversteps the spiritual.  My prayer today, “Lord, I am a believer.  Please let those streams of living water flow out of my heart that I might see you and worship you in spirit and in truth.  Amen.”   

Focus on Jesus

Lately I have been using “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young as my morning reading.  Today’s reading includes the following: “Many Christians are defeated by focusing mainly on less important things - the news, weather, economy, loved one’s problems, their own problems, and so on.  Granted, in this world you will have troubles, but don’t let troubles become your primary focus.  Remind yourself that I am with you and I have overcome the world. I am nearer than the air you breathe yet I am infinite God.”

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Too many things compete for our attention in this world today, and way too often we do focus on the sensationalism spewed out by our ‘news’ outlets.  It’s too easy to shake our heads and allow our blood pressure to rise at the atrocities inflicted upon one another and pronounce judgments on others for their actions or beliefs or whatever captures our imagination.  

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t be held accountable for things they do or say, but we all too often allow ‘Satan’ to draw us away from focus on God’s goodness to an evil self-righteousness that only hurts ourselves more than others.  We forget that God does not want our anger.  He wants our compassion.  Micah 6:8 says, “What does God require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”   So I offer up the following prayer for the people of God:  

Come, Lord Jesus!  Be our guide and our focus.  Help us to find your way amid the maze of false paths laid out by those who would draw us away from your loving presence.  Send your Holy Spirit as our guide and your holy angels as our protection.   Amen.