“One Thing” (Mark 10:17-31)

Think about a time when there was an obstacle between you and something that you wanted.  I have a friend a couple of years older than me who came up two courses short of getting his college degree.  Two courses!  This friend took the courses, but he failed them both.  He was told that he would have to take them again in order to graduate.  Like any good college student, he decided to see if anyone else at the college taught the courses.  He discovered that the original course instructor was the only one on the college faculty that taught the courses.  He refused to take the courses over under that professor.  He decided he would wait out the professor.  Unfortunately for my friend, that professor was early in his career and he outlasted my friend.  My friend never completed the courses.  He never received his degree.

 

That professor represented an obstacle between my friend and his goal of getting a college degree.  When you think about it, the course wasn’t so much the obstacle.  The real obstacle . . . actually two obstacles . . . were fear and pride.  This friend feared he would never be able to pass the courses under this professor.  The pride was in the fact that he wasn’t going to cave to this professor . . . he wasn’t going to let that professor win.  The end result is he never got that degree completed.  He never graduated college.  He never reached his goal.

 

So, did you think of a time when there was an obstacle between you and something that you wanted?  What did you do?

 

In our reading this morning, Jesus is talking about obstacles.  In particular he is talking about obstacles that keep us from fully accepting, receiving, and living in the love of God.  We know the story . . . a man runs up to Jesus, drops on his knees, and asks: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  To which Jesus responds with a list of commandments to keep.  The man responds that he does all of those things.  Yes, but . . . says Jesus to the man and tells him that he lacks one thing.  The man has great wealth.  Jesus tells him to sell it all, give it to the poor, and come follow him.

 

As I said, the man had great wealth.  This challenge did not make him happy, and he went away with great sadness. 

 

One thing!  One thing kept that man from reaching his goal.

 

In this passage Jesus is focusing on the need for us to unburden ourselves of whatever it is that might be keeping us from relying on God.  It could be material, or it could be spiritual.  This is not about salvation.  Remember, there is nothing we can do to receive salvation.  We’ve already got salvation.  Salvation comes from God’s love and grace alone . . . God’s mercy.  There is not much of anything we can do to inherit the eternal life except to rely upon God’s mercy, grace, and love for us.  As Jesus says, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”  God loves us . . . God desires us . . . wants to be in relationship with us.  Jesus wants to know whether or not we are willing to fully step into that relationship, believe, and rely upon God and God only.

 

What is that one thing that keeps us from reaching that goal?  Of being fully vested in God and God’s presence in our daily lives . . . in how we live . . . in how we relate to others . . . in how we walk the walk of Jesus?  What is that one thing that keeps us from fully realizing this gift of mercy, grace, and love?  A gift once received and embraced will bring us “treasure in heaven.”

 

When I think about my friend, I come to realize that he is not much different than the man in our story this morning.  There is a sadness in my heart that my friend could not set aside the obstacles between himself and his degree . . . that he could not move beyond his fear and pride to reach his goal.  That he could not sit down with that professor and ask the question of what he could do to pass those courses.  It was more than he was willing to give up.

 

The man in our story had it all . . . spiritual goodness and wealth.  At the same time there was a fear within him.  Maybe it was the fear that if he sold everything that he had that he would have nothing in the end . . . even though Jesus assured him he would find great treasure in heaven.  As spiritual as he was, he could not completely let go and trust God . . . trust that God would be with him no matter what.  Thus, he was holding back.  Jesus asked him to remove that “one thing” that separated him from fully receiving God.

 

I think that this story serves as a reminder for all of us to consider our own lives and whether we have fully committed ourselves to that relationship with God . . . fully trust in God . . . fully believe.  Are we living our lives fully vested in God in such a way that we are loving God . . . loving others . . . as Jesus loved?  Or is there an obstacle . . . that “one thing” . . . blocking us from reaching our goal?

 

Jesus sends the man away.  Sends him away to consider what it is that Jesus is asking . . . complete trust in the mercy, grace, and love of God for him.  In the same way he sends us out to contemplate our own relationship with God . . . to contemplate whether or not we are living one hundred percent in God’s camp.  Fully vested to being the children of God.  And, if we are not, are we willing to remove whatever obstacles stand between us and God, us and others in love?

 

God loves us.  Jesus loved the man.  One hundred percent the Holy is in our court.  In return the Holy desires us to be fully vested . . . one hundred percent in its court.  Let us not allow “one thing” to ever separate us from God or one another.  Let us not break the heart of God.  Amen.

 

“God Believes” (Job 1:1, 2:1-10)

 

The Book of Job is one of my favorite books or stories in the Bible.  It is not my favorite for how we think we remember the story but for how the story really is when we get beyond the “mythic” portions we have attributed to it.  For example, “Job is a patient person”.  Well, if you have really read the book . . . studied the book, you know that Job is not “patient person”.  No, the person we see as the story progresses is far from patient . . . he is irritated . . . angry.  Yet, we persist in telling the story of Job as one with patience.  The story has nothing to do with patience.  It is a story of faith . . . Job’s faith in God, but more importantly God’s faith in Job.

 

We know the story of Job.  He was a “blameless and upright” person.  A person who “feared God and shunned evil”.  He is a faithful person.  Life is good.  Into this tranquil picture a heavenly meeting is called.  All the angels and messengers of God come, among them is one that is known as “the satan”.  Now this figure is not exactly the devil but corresponds rather to what we would call his advocate, “the devil’s advocate” who calls everything into question and looks for the weak point.  This satan character has just returned from a trip to heaven where he has collected a lot of information. 

 

As God converses with him, God mentions Job.  God is impressed with and proud of Job.  Points out that Job is a “one of a kind”.  Yet the satan replies that he is not so sure, especially since it is not difficult to be righteous and blameless when his whole life has been a success.  The satan challenges God on his point of pride . . . is Job really that good?  Of course, what follows is an experiment or test of what we assume is Job’s faith.  A wager is made . . . the satan says Job will break, God says he won’t. 

 

The bet is on!

 

We pick up our story in the second round.  In the first round Job basically lost all of his wealth and material possessions . . . including his children.  In that round Job doesn’t break.  To which the satan character tells God that the stakes weren’t high enough . . . the ante must be raised!  It is one thing to lose wealth and material possessions, it is another when one’s own life is threatened.  The satan challenges God: “Skin for skin!  A man will give all he has for his own life.  But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  

 

Job is then afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.  It is so bad that Job sits in the town dump using a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself in hopes of finding some sort of relief.  Into the picture walks his wife . . . sort of the comic relief at this part of the story.  Think about it, all of Job’s family was taken from him and only his wife is left behind . . . left behind to complain.  And complain she does!  She confronts Job.  Tells him to knock it off . . . to give it up . . . to curse God and die. 

 

Job refuses.  He remains faithful proclaiming to his wife: “You are talking like a foolish woman.  Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  At this point I picture Job’s wife stomping off in a huff.

 

So far Job is batting a thousand.  God’s trust and belief in Job is working so far . . . but the story is far from over.

 

Early in the conversation between the satan and God, which was not a part of our reading this morning, the satan in his questioning asks God, “Does Job fear God for nothing?”  Central to the argument is that Job has no reason for losing faith in God because he is so blessed . . . but if a little calamity fell into Job’s life . . . well, then, watch out!  Take away all the good stuff and put a little hurt into Job’s life, argues the satan, and Job has no reason to be faithful.  In other words, Job only loves God for what God can do for him.  God does not believe this.  God believes in Job . . . believes in their relationship . . . believes that that relationship can survive even in those times when life is difficult. 

 

God believes.

 

God believes in Job.  God believes in us.  Job represents us . . . God’s creations . . . humanity.  Job represents the best of humanity.  He is our model of what could be.  He is our paragon . . . our exemplar.  He is what we all strive to be . . . faithful.  And God believes in Job’s faith . . . God believes in our faith.  As God wagered on Job . . . that he would not waver on his faith; God bets on us likewise.  For Job to be faithful he needs nothing but the love of God.  The love of God is enough.  That is what God is betting on us . . . that the love of God is enough.

 

But is it?

 

It is not difficult to believe in and to love . . . to be faithful . . . when life is good and filled with blessing.  It is much more difficult when life is difficult, blessings seem far away, and everything looks dark.  It is hard to be faithful, hard to believe, when life sucks.  That is what the satan is betting on.  The satan is betting that when things get tough the faithful will run . . . run away from God.  God isn’t.  God is betting on us.

 

Nowhere in the Bible does it ever say that the relationships are easy.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say the relationship between us and God is easy.  Our experience with any sort of relationship—secular or holy—would confirm that.  Relationships are tough.  We see this is the Book of Job . . . we see it between Job and his wife, his friends, and even with God. Were the people in Job’s life only in his life because of what he had . . . wealth, power, prestige?  Or were they in his life because they loved him for who he was?  From this story we come to believe that it is not Job that they loved, but what he had.  In this, the satan wins the bet.

 

As a people of faith we need to stop looking through rose-colored glasses.  We have been warned.  For those of us who are married we have declared, “for better or worse, sickness and health” . . . relationships have their good days and their bad days.  Jesus told us we had to pick up our crosses and follow.  The writers of the epistles tell us that there will be days when we are persecuted for being faithful.  Relationships are tough and Job confirms it with his story.

 

Job sticks it out.  Job sticks it out because he loves God.  He loves God for love’s sake alone . . . it is not what God can do for him . . . it is not for what God can give him.  It is for the love of God alone that Job remains faithful.  In this test God believes that that is enough.

 

God loves us . . . through thick and thin, good or bad.  God loves us for who God created us to be . . . and for God that is enough.  And God believes in us . . . believes that that is enough for us too.  You see, in the story of Job, God never abandons Job.  God is with Job through the times of plenty and through the days in the ashes.  God hears his cries of merciful prayers and his cries of rage into the night.  His ups and downs. Yet God never abandons Job because God loves Job . . . God believes in Job.

 

Job’s story is our story.

 

God believes in us.  We need to believe in God.  We are blessed . . . it’s just not in the ways that we are used to thinking.  Amen.