Morning Prayer Epiphany 3
Psalm 16
Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:11
Mark 10: 13-27
Last week, we saw that an important theme in St. Mark’s Gospel is that the kingdom of God is at hand. Indeed, the first words of Jesus in that Gospel are:
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
This week we will look further into the Gospel of Mark, and we’ll see that the kingdom of God and entry into it is a bit different than people expected.
In our reading this morning from Mark, chapter 10, we heard the famous episode of Jesus with the little children. The disciples were rebuking parents who were bringing their children to be touched by Jesus. They thought the Messiah had more important business than blessing children. And it is certainly understandable that they thought that.
But Jesus’ priorities were different than they expected, so different that He was indignant that the disciples were trying to herd the children away. He not only told the disciples to let the children come to him, but in addition told them that “to such belongs the kingdom of God.” And, as if that wasn’t radical enough, He said, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
And the disciples said, “What??” No, that’s not in scripture. But one can imagine they were startled by Jesus’ statement as we might be. If you don’t receive the kingdom of God as a child, you don’t enter it at all? What could Jesus mean?
We will get back to that question, but first let’s look at another time when Jesus startled his followers.
When the rich young man asked Jesus what to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus disoriented him by answering, “Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.” Then what He said after the man walked away disoriented and “amazed” his disciples. And “amazed” is St. Mark’s word, not mine. Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.”
Then, seeing how amazed his disciples were, he did not soften or water down His words but instead doubled down and said, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
The passage continues, “And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’” They were floored by what Jesus had just told them about entry into the kingdom of God. As St. Mark put it, “They were exceedingly astonished.” Why?
There was a common misconception at the time that connected wealth to righteousness. There are a number of passages in the Old Testament that state that one of the ways God may reward righteousness is with wealth. And that is true. But people in Jesus’ day commonly misinterpreted this to mean that if a wealthy man was not an obvious crook, cheat, or sinner, then probably he is wealthy because he is righteous.
Now before we think these people foolish, remember that today the heresy of Prosperity Theology is all too popular. The Prosperity Theology heretics – yes, I said it – these heretics would have you believe that if you have enough faith, you will be rich. And, of course, some of them connect faith to you making them rich with your contributions. We can laugh, but sadly people are defrauded by these heretics.
The common error of Jesus’ day was not as awful. But it was a common error to connect faith, righteousness and wealth entirely too much.
So Jesus’ famous saying -- that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” -- that saying flipped their misconceptions and “exceedingly astonished” them indeed so that they asked, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus’ answer to that question helps us make an important connection between what he said about children, what he said to the rich young man, and what he then said to his disciples. Jesus’ answer to the question “Then who can be saved?” was:
“With man, it is impossible.” Man cannot save himself. Man cannot somehow merit or earn or buy or steal entry into the Kingdom of God.
“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” God is the one who saves. God is the only one who saves, who can bring us into his kingdom. Salvation is the work of God, not of man.
Now, of course, that does not mean we are to be passive. St. Paul describes salvation as a gift from God. And as is the case with most gifts, for that gift to become ours, we must trust the giver and receive his gift. But even so, the lavish, gracious gift of salvation is God’s doing, not ours.
Allow me to make this point [Here I bring out a humorous pointer.] using a gift I got for this past Christmas. Gabriel gave me this wonderful and very useful pointer for Christmas. Now after I opened this gift, I did not think, “Aren’t I wonderful! I must have really deserved this gift!” Nor did I think myself clever and wise for receiving this gift.
No, instead, I was thankful for Gabriel and for his gift. For the credit for the gift belongs to him, not me.
The same can be said for God’s gift of salvation. Can we earn it? Well, we have sinned. And you know what “the wages of sin” are! “The wages of sin” is certainly not salvation!
Instead Jesus earned salvation for us by His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. And then he offers that salvation to us as a gift as Romans 6:23 continues:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Even our having faith to trust God and to receive his gift of salvation – even that faith is a gift. As St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it isthe gift of God…”
So salvation is something God does. When anyone enters the kingdom of God, all the credit and the glory belongs to God. When we look at the great worship scenes in the Book of Revelation, the saints are not patting themselves or each other on the back. Instead, they give all the glory to God. One such scene is at the end of Revelation 5 when the multitude is singing to Jesus the Lamb of God:
…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Note the emphasis: salvation is brought about by Jesus the Lamb of God. The worship in Heaven continues:
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
All the glory belongs to God and to the Lamb of God. All the credit for our salvation belongs to Him; for salvation is something He does by his love, by His power, and by His Precious Blood.
And thank God for that! For, again, as Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
This is an important reason Jesus said that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child. For if salvation and entry into His kingdom is not something we can do for ourselves but is something only God can do for us, then we need to trust Him and, in trust and faith, to receive that gift of salvation from Him. And what is more trusting than a small child?
Sometimes they are too trusting! Ever hold a child, and they are wriggling and moving around all over the place, and yet they are still trusting you to hold on to them? Little kids trust in you with their lives! I’ve had that experience with two or more kids in this congregation . . . and, thankfully, they are still with us.
But the trust of children is amazing and beautiful. That is how we should trust Jesus.
And I think trust was also an issue in the encounter with the Rich Young Man. Jesus perceived that the man was trusting in his riches too much and in God too little. So Jesus invited him to the radical trust of leaving aside his riches to follow Him.
We are to trust not in riches and not in ourselves. Like little children, we are to trust in Jesus with our lives.
That is so much more than intellectual consent. The story is told of a man on a tightrope across Niagara Falls. He was doing all sorts of stunts on the tightrope and just delighting the crowd who was cheering for him. Finally he got out a wheelbarrow, and he was going to take that wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on the tightrope!
But as he was about to do so, he asked the crowd, “Do you think I can take this wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls?”
And they cheered and shouted, “Yes! Go for it! You’re great! We believe in you!”
Then he asked them, “Then who wants to get in the wheelbarrow?”
It’s one thing to think Jesus is great. Most of the crowd out there thinks that. It is another thing to trust Jesus with your life. But receiving the kingdom of God involves trust like that. It involves trusting Jesus like a child. Perhaps that is what is most astonishing about the kingdom of God.
We are called to trust in Jesus with our lives. We are called to be like little children and trust in Jesus with our lives.
Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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