NEWS FROM SANCTUARY –

This coming Friday 3/14 7:30pm URBAN HYMNAL service. Y’all come! First Presbyterian Church, downtown. Information? Mark.mohrlang@gmail.com.

Good Friday @ The Upper Crust, 85^th and Greenwood, 7:00pm

Easter Sunday Worship 10:00 am 3/23

Coming: New Members Mutual Commitment Group: Information – smohrlang@sanctuarycrc.org. Summer will help you.

PRAYERS –

Lord, be with Chad from Donegal and his American family as they wrestle with his father’s grave health situation.

Christ, have mercy on all those who suffer depression and anxiety.

God, bless our leaders and help us to vote and participate well in the elections and changes to come.

Spirit, guide our world’s leaders toward peace.

God, we do pray for the economy, for those who need jobs, for those on fixed incomes.

REFLECTIONS ON – Mark 10:17-31 “Oh…and one more thing…”

Have you ever surveyed your values on the internet on one of those psychological tests? You can do it through any number of websites, including YOUR VALUES TEST @ http://www.geocities.com/Area51/1303/personality/yourvaluestest.html.

Here’s the values for life that this survey measures

                                          i.    Security

                                        ii.    Influence

                                       iii.    Recognition

                                       iv.    Helpfulness

                                        v.    Freedom

                                       vi.    New Experiences

                                      vii.    Friendship

                                    viii.    Family Life

                                       ix.    Religion

                                        x.    Orderliness

                                       xi.    Wealth

                                      xii.    Workmanship

With regard to a couple of the areas, I was not surprised….For instance, I scored very high in FRIENDSHIP. I am an insecure guy who loves people and values life time friends. No shock there. I also valued being HELPFUL. I guess that makes sense as a pastor and teacher, etc.

BUT>>>>>>>I was stunned that my repeated valuation of “to be reasonably sure about the future for myself and my family”  scored the most points and was my top value. Here I thought that my number one value was being RESPONSIBLE, ETC> ETC> ETC…but what this really TRANSLATES TO IS THE VALUE OF SECURITY. According to this survey, I potentially value SECURITY 10:1 over RELIGION/FAITH and 10:3 over FAMILY LIFE. Crud…I got to thinking more about this and was wondering if my being helpful and generous were just an insecure hunger to be loved and to buy friendship and loyalty. And, then to make it a little worse, I realized I scored low on FAITH RELGION, because I often valued another answer over “to do that  which is right according to my beliefs”

My values stink…..and I stand here today ready to read the Gospel of Jesus WEARING A THREE EGG OMLETTE ON MY FACE … think I would walk out of here right now, if I didn’t suspect that maybe I have some company.

So.. help me and help us Jesus…

Here goes: Mark 10:17-31 (ESV)

¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ 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.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

A closer look at this text. Jesus gets asked a very sensible question: What do I do to inherit eternal life. Jesus won’t even lay claim to being GOD here, he references the long-known God of Israel, His Heavenly Father, as the only good giver of VALUES that are eternal and worthy…You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’

The young man feels relieved and relishes being able to say, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

Instead of “way to go… you were religious and moral”, Jesus cared enough to point out not WHERE THE MAN’S VALUES WERE GOOD, BUT WHERE THEY WERE POTENTIALLY DEADLY…You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. … This young man was decent, upstanding, successful, honorable in many ways…but, he lacked the capacity to FOCUS ON THE HIGHEST OF VALUES even at the expense of others things that are dear.

There’s a good Biblical and Theological term for holding some values that are of relative value over the URGENT, IMPORTANT and ETERNAL values GOD teaches and JESUS demonstrates: IDOLATRY – the worship of  false God’s

Like Security, Influence, Recognition, Freedom, New Experiences, Orderliness, Wealth…and so on. In the Gospels, Jesus points out and corrects his beloved people for many different errors in the ordering of values.  He attacks judgmentalism, religiosity, discriminiation, abuse of power, self-determination…THIS PARTICULAR PASSAGE SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES ONE OF MANY VALUES THAT CAN BEOME AN IDOL – WEALTH – but, believe me, wealth is not the only thing that can destroy us…but, it is a good example. And, it is a powerful example in our culture where moods rise and fall on the stock market and real estate market. Since our “Recession” began a month or two ago, the political polls have changed and American’s now say the #1 thing that will influence their votes in November 2008 is what a candidate will do for them in regard to the economy. and yet barely flinch at news of the increasing number of people in our culture living below the poverty line, or the number of people who die of violence in our world on any given day. Just give me the Dow…and good equity on my properties.

BUT AGAIN, LET ME EMPHASIZE having your retirement covered, paying for family needs and education and owning a home are NOT INHERENTLY BAD AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE SIN OF WEALTH…But, there are values inherent in this and every culture that challenge our ability to FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST and LIVE FULLY FOR HIM…

Jesus uses an almost absurd illustration for this: Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ 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.” He could have said, this with regard to a person who must always be right or have power over others. Or, he could have said this of a person so addicted to new experiences and personal freedom that he or she lacks the capacity to LIVE FOR JESUS and OTHERS. Or…he could say that it’s easier for a camel to get through the eye of needle than it is for RANDY ROWLAND, a pastor at that, TO VALUE HIS BELIEFS OVER HIS NEED FOR FRIENDSHIP AND SECURITY.

Do you see where we’re going here? What are our values? Are we open to hearing JESUS speak to us through scripture and through the community of believers to our deepest needs…and most risky addictions to things other than GOD?

If you are open to having your values challenged…you are on your way to being a growing, self-sustaining follower of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a student…if you are open to the challenge you will learn and grow…and be transformed by the power of God.

Fist off:  No one has their values straight…some of us are minutely closer than, but no one is there – even great saints like Mother Theresa had issues of control and the need to be overly helpful.

READ JESUS DISPOSITION TOWARD THE RICH YOUNG MAN AND KNOW THAT HE VIEWS US THE SAME JESUS looks at all of us and as the texts says, LOVES US … He loves us just as we are and right where we are. and he LOVES US so MUCH, that he cannot let us stay where we are for our own eternal growth and good and happiness and for the salvation of the world. He just can’t love us and not speak up…

A friend who was killing himself in his business, and eventually lost it all….he put success and freedom and wealth ahead of values that are more Christ-Driven…and he failed miserably and took others with him. He later told of all the times he heard and ignored the voice of God and how he ruined himself and others.

Just to put a little bit of hope and a smile into this very serious subject, let us remember that sometimes the values we hold and revere so deeply actually come off as silly if we sit back and give God the time to teach and give ourselves the grace to listen and learn. Here’s a story from a recent book called “THE FOUR HOUR WORK WEEK”

 An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican of the quality of his fish.

“how long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.

“Only a little while”, the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family and give a few to my friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basked.

“but…what do you do with the rest of your time?

The Mexican looked up and smiled, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”

The American laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I’m a Harvard M.B.A and can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boar. In not time you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you will have a fleet of fishing boats.”

He continued, “instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the customers, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, or course, and move to Mexico City then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, senor, how long will this take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years. 25 tops.”But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “that’s the best part, when the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with you wife and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos…..”

Isn’t that  a dandy???

We can convince ourselves of much, but when we sit back and look at some of our pursuits in a proper perspective, we can look silly. BUT…if we learn to challenge ourselves and step up to the CALL OF JESUS for each of us…the rewards of a meaningful life, a clear conscience, a growing faith and an abundance of love and joy are INESCAPABLE…²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

And lest we forget….Jesus reminds us…³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

LORD CHALLENGE US, REMIND US, SHAPE US….Amen.

Go out and make it a Great Week!

Dr. Randy L. Rowland

2854 NW 59th Street

Seattle, WA  98107

USA

206.953.0909

www.sanctuarycrc.org