All-Age Worship Resources for October

Themes from Mark Chapter 10

from goodness...............

Verse 17-22

When a baby is born we have high hopes. We spend a lot of money on providing for their health and their development. We provide opportunities, lessons, equipment, monitor their progress, walking, talking, reading, the piano lessons or the after school tuition. We hope they will be successful, we dream of them being in good jobs and achieving something. But what happens to goodness in all of this? It is not usual to hear parents or grandparents express the principle hope that their much loved child should grow up to be a good person. It seems we crave success for our children much more than we value goodness. “Be good now!” is often said to children when they are going off on their own or with other adults. What we usually mean is don’t misbehave, don’t get in trouble. It would not normally mean “behave in an honourable and compassionate way while you are away”.

“Good Teacher” said the rich young ruler to Jesus. Maybe he was being conventionally polite “My good man!”, “Hey pal!” kind of thing, but he got a rebuff, “Why do you call me good?” This is not a reference to teaching ability, like finding a good lawyer, a good plumber or a good seat at the theatre. We feel it is a description of character, of integrity, sincerity, compassion. It comes from a man who you would usually expect to have the answers, probably a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council. He was used to having influence, making important decisions in the lives of others, but here he was on his knees in front of Jesus.

The test question was about receiving eternal life. By implication he didn’t have the answer. The thinking of the period divided time into ‘this age and the coming age’, and he wasn’t sure where he fitted. Today we make a cult of the young, the beautiful and the wealthy. Turn the pages of OK or Hello magazine, the popular press, or look at the music videos, reality TV and the Game shows, this man might have been envied and admired much like the young and the wealthy of today. Even the important difference of his religious upbringing and background did not give an answer to his spiritual quest.

It is an enormous plus when someone recognises what they are minus. He was stuck and unsatisfied. He embarked on a quest and was prepared to swallow his pride. He was not burying his problems, bluffing his way or blaming others. He was asking an open, honest question exposing his own vulnerability and emptiness. What a great way to start his spiritual adventure and what a great place to be, at the feet of Jesus.

“No one is good except God”, was Jesus’ reply, a response which seems to distance himself from God and puts every human being on the same level. “You know the rules”, said Jesus, but the rules are almost exclusively negatives, prohibitions. There is a challenge here to see goodness, not as the avoidance of doing harm but in an active and positive way. He lived a circumspect, responsible life, he was orderly, disciplined and dutiful, but he still felt empty.

Good news doesn’t sell newspapers. We are instinctively drawn to the villain of the play, to the dark and the dramatic, but we are also inspired and strengthened by goodness. We love hearing stories of great generosity, especially involving strangers. When tragically, a young woman dies running the London Marathon and within days her sponsorship fund for the Samaritans is increased from £500 to over a million pounds and growing, we are uplifted. With no recognition and no personal benefit, kind human hearts gave generously. There are stories of inspiration and courage from Sports Relief, Comic Relief, Children of Courage and many more. Most significantly most people can identify someone in their lives who was just a good person, where spirits were lifted, wounded hearts were healed and loneliness relieved through the goodness of another.

Our rich young ruler had clearly not done much of this with his wealth and maybe he was kidding himself that he had kept every Commandment, for example, loving his neighbour as he loved himself. His wealth was the dummy that stopped the milk. It was something he had to let go of in order to find fulfilment. Comfort, power and possessions, status, family heritage, these are all good things that came with his wealth. These are all good reasons for hanging on and he was very rich.

It all fits in with “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?” We may not have great wealth, but we certainly have the tendency to cling on to our symbols of security, the things that we think define us, give us identity. On another occasion Jesus said “Put down your offering, go and make peace with your brother”. Living with resentment against another person is negative and draining. Blaming our failures or struggles on our circumstances or particular individuals, takes away responsibility and frustrates change. Suppressed anger, compromised principles, distorted ideals, might all be things that we would be better to dispose of. Our perfectionism, a relentless work ethic, the need to be needed, are all things about which Jesus might say “Go and sell it all, get rid of it, you don’t need it, it’s not doing you any good”.

The potential for good was enormous, but this is one story that didn’t have a happy ending. The two great Commandments, Love God and Love people (Matthew 22: 35-40), for the Christian must be something we aspire to for ourselves and something which we would most deeply desire for our children and grandchildren. For any follower of Jesus that is what being successful really means. That defines goodness the Jesus way.

Mark 10: 35-45

......................... to greatness

Our life is a short hour in the night, a passing flood, a dream, it fades like a whisper (Psalm 90). What does it all amount to? It is a basic human need to know that we have some significance, that we matter, that we have achieved something and been recognised. Dictators build monuments, put up statues and crush opposition. It is all part of human insecurity. Alexander was called the Great. Mohammed Ali/Cassius Clay told the world “I am the greatest”. I live in a Britain that has proclaimed to the world that it is “Great”. At a more homely level every school class has a pecking order, the leader of the gang and the minions that serve, the queen bee whose opinions convey acceptance or rejection. In every family, siblings squabble often over who is biggest, brightest or best .........and of course getting attention.

Every child wants and needs attention, recognition and praise. “Mummy, watch me!” is a familiar cry. When that child grows up to be an adult it will have all the same needs, sometimes still unmet. Mark is especially open and honest about the character of Jesus and the qualities of the disciples. Here, there are unflattering stories which bring a refreshing honesty and humanity to the Gospel narratives. These disciples clearly had the same hunger for recognition and status. To begin with the request seemed innocent enough, “Can you do something for me?” We all like to be helpful so it is a good question to get attention and wanting to be next to Jesus would not only flatter their much loved teacher, but also he would be impressed by their devotion to him. This was a perfectly normal way of thinking in a society that was hierarchical, where the very heart of worship was a tiered temple with ever restricted access to levels of holiness. Theological ideas included layers of supernatural beings, angels and archangels, demons and arch demons. The rulers were military with their soldiers, centurions and officer classes, so looking for privilege and status was an entirely natural instinct in that context.

Once again, as with the rich young ruler, Jesus delivers a rebuff “You don’t know what you are asking for”. He sees such a reward as only possible after the sharing of suffering. These followers must learn the cost of discipleship. They are clearly unaware of what lies ahead for Jesus and for themselves and this is one of those passages in Mark that indicates Jesus has some limitations to his power and authority. What they request can only be given by God.

When the child eventually gets the parent’s attention or while the pupil is getting the assistance of the teacher, others may be feeling left out. This question of position and recognition starts to create waves. Again Mark gives us an open and honest description of tensions within the disciples. Many people dread being asked to give a vote of thanks, not because of what to say about the principle helpers, but because of the fear of missing somebody out who will then take umbrage. Many brides struggle in selecting their bridesmaids, or grooms, a best man, because it may cause resentment in one who is not asked. Any child growing up in a family where there is favouritism, knows how much tension, jealousy and resentment that can cause as the story of Joseph demonstrates.

Jesus did not grant any special attention, but even the request for it caused conflict. We sometimes find ourselves in situations where we wish a person had never asked us for a particular favour, to borrow a car, to be a partner at the dance, to attend a reception, to write a reference, knowing that somebody else may feel neglected or overlooked.

Jesus responds by calling them together. Each party is convinced of the rightness of their own actions and feelings, but Jesus has something to say to them both. When tensions arise at work, people will take their issues to their boss, a tenant disgruntled with their neighbour will go straight to the council, a church member in dispute with another will go to the minister/priest, when really they need to be speaking to each other. Jesus operated on the principle of getting them together, each having to face the other. That way they all know what is being said, stories are not being carried from one party to another, there can be no special claim to information, it is all clear for everyone.

He gave them a lesson, a direct instruction, to distance themselves from the way the rest of the world thinks and works. The struggle for position, privilege, status and power is not the way to live for the Christian and should be no part of relationships between followers of Jesus. Their struggling egos must have shrivelled on hearing the call to be a servant. With clear resonance from the Servant Songs of Isaiah and by setting an astonishing example of humility and service, Jesus challenged these cultural values and assumptions which are still prevalent today.

For the follower of Jesus, the greatest fulfilment lies in being of help, in making a contribution. When we are content in mind and spirit, sure of our own worth, confident in our abilities, at peace with our past, then we are not driven by the need for recognition and reward. In another place Jesus tells us to forget ourselves, but this ideal is unreasonable when inside we are struggling with emotional and spiritual issues, deeply unsure of ourselves and of God’s love. The great gift that Jesus and the love of God can bring to us, is the healing of these inner wounds, and the gift of knowing that we are loved and valued in the eyes of God. There is no need to keep trying to prove it to ourselves and to the world.

If we sincerely meant the often quoted prayer of “make us more like Jesus”, then in the eyes of society, we would happily live our lives in a way that is deemed by society to be lacking in ambition or success, but which brings God’s love to others and a peace that passes understanding. That is greatness the Jesus way.