![]() Young at Heart Message Imagine, for a moment, that you are talking to your spouse. You somewhat casually mention that in a few weeks, you’re both going to visit your mother a few towns over for the day. Your spouse dismissively says “sure, sure, sounds good honey!” A week later, you say “we’ll need to leave early the day we go to visit my mother, so let’s make sure we pack the night before.” Your spouse says, “wait, what?! We’re going to visit your mother?? You never told me that!” An argument follows in which you say “yes, I told you!” Your spouse says “no you didn’t,” and eventually one of you figures you made a mistake, and you move on. The night before the trip to your mother’s house comes, and you remind your spouse that you need to pack what you need tonight because you have to leave early tomorrow. And again, your spouse acts as though this is the first time they’ve heard that you’re going to your mother’s. In an exasperated way, you throw up your hands and say “well, I guess there’s just no use telling you anything, you don’t listen anyway!” Does this sound familiar to those of you who have been married? Sometimes, maybe it really is that your spouse wasn’t truly paying attention, didn’t hear you properly, forgot, or some other very reasonable explanation. But other times, I think it’s that we don’t really want to hear what our partner is saying because we don’t really want to admit that we don’t want to participate. In these scenarios, sometimes we also will deflect, bringing up a totally different subject to take the pressure off. Or, we might say something that sounds a bit childish. Something like “fine, if I have to go to your mother’s, then I’m not driving. You’ll have to drive, and I’ll nap. I’m not navigating either – you’re on your own!” Or perhaps we’d try to barter with our partner. We might say “fine, I’ll go to your mother’s, but then you have to go golfing with me next week!” At the very least, if we have to do something we don’t really want to do, maybe we can get something better out of the situation. Of course, the reality is that it does us no good to avoid listening to our partner because it just leads to more stress and frustration in the long run. But, in the moment, it’s something we can push out of our minds until we’re forced to think about it. It is often easier in the moment to avoid thinking too hard about things we don’t want to do, or things we would prefer weren’t going to happen at all. If we avoid it, perhaps it won’t happen. But if it does happen, at least maybe we can get something out of it for ourselves! While this might sound silly, this is the situation in which we encounter the disciples in this week’s scripture passage. The Message If I followed the lectionary suggested texts perfectly, today’s scripture reading would not have included the section in which Jesus takes the disciples aside and tells them what is going to happen to him. Luckily, you have a renegade pastor who doesn’t always follow the rules! I included that section because I think it’s important. Much like our little scenario earlier, this is the third time Jesus has foreshadowed for his disciples his own death and resurrection. The third time. And what do his disciples do? James and John ask if they can sit at his right side and his left side. It’s almost as though they didn’t hear what Jesus was saying at all. Or, perhaps, they didn’t want to hear what Jesus was saying. It was easier to think about what would happen to them than to think about the prediction of Jesus’s death in that moment. I suppose they figured that if they could get their commitment before Jesus died, they would at least be certain of their future despite the difficult news they just heard. Really, what they were trying to do, it seems, was take the easy way out. Rather than do the hard work that Jesus has been telling them over and over again that they would need to do once he died, they wanted to take the easy way out. The definition of a magnanimous person is, according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, “showing or suggesting a courageous spirit or generosity of mind.” And the definition of pusillanimous is “lacking courage and resolution.” Magnanimous people set their sights high and, in everything they do, they aspire to do what is best, even if it means sacrificing themselves to do so. Not fearing the cost of heroic ambitions, magnanimous people strive for excellence and hunger for greatness, but they do so with generosity of mind and a courageous spirit. By contrast, pusillanimous people regularly opt for whatever is easier or more quickly attainable. Thus, they deny themselves the joy and meaning and satisfaction that comes from surrounding themselves in love and care for others. It may seem, by these definitions, that James and John are pusillanimous people – looking for the easy way out. Jesus knows, however, that they are merely expressing what all of the disciples are thinking: we have done the hard work of following Jesus, and we deserve our just reward when his journey ends. Jesus turns this somewhat misguided desire for greatness on its head, though, when he tells them the true path of heroic ambition does not lead to a seat on either side of him. Rather, it goes in a shockingly different direction. Human nature, of course, is such that we desire greatness in the traditional sense: power, privilege, prestige, or wealth. Jesus challenges his disciples, and us, to imagine greatness differently. He says, “Whoever wishes to be great among you” must set out in what seems the opposite direction of greatness. In the Christian life, greatness is measured in serving; in expending ourselves in love, sacrifice and generosity to others. Moreover, honour is found not in titles or privilege or celebrity or wealth, but in goodness and humility. In the strange world of the reign of God, power is not a matter of ruling over others but of living on their behalf. Jesus reminds us, once again, that the road to glory is only by way of the cross. Even Jesus does not receive glory except through suffering and death on a cross. Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be magnanimous – to have courageous spirits and generous minds. He doesn’t want them to avoid the challenges ahead. Jesus has no intention of avoiding the difficult path that is laid before him, and he doesn’t want the disciples, or us, to avoid the challenges either. Jesus wants us to approach life with courage and generosity. He knows it would be far easier to run – he could avoid his own suffering by hiding away, leaving the area, and being a fugitive for the rest of his life. While that might not mean an easy life, it would certainly be easier than facing the prospect of his death head on. And yet, he is challenging his disciples to walk that difficult journey with him courageously, and to remain dedicated to sharing his wisdom and words after he is gone. Jesus says he doesn’t know who will be on his right or left sides. But that isn’t the point anyway. Jesus doesn’t want his disciples to avoid the hard truth that he is heading into Jerusalem to be put to death. He wants them to acknowledge it, to learn to move forward, and to continue their journey of love and care for each other and the world. It’s an important but difficult lesson that Jesus repeats over and over again. And when Jesus repeats these kinds of lessons, it is worth remembering for our own lives. So, may we heed Jesus’s words and remember that in order to be truly great, we must be “the servant of all the others. And if you want to be first, you must be everyone’s slave.” May we remember that as a Christian community, we are the servants to humanity and to all of God’s creation. May we choose magnanimity – courageous spirits and generosity of mind – and may we be servants of God and of our fellow humans in as many ways as we can be. Amen. Let us pray: God of grace, Christ comes among us not with power and dominion but in vulnerability and humble service. We do not look up to see Christ; we look down, and find our salvation there, kneeling at our feet, serving us in love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that you may fill us with your humble love, in the power of your spirit, in the presence of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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![]() Young at Heart Message Who here remembers when Beanie Babies were popular? It’s definitely something that people in my generation would remember, and perhaps many of your kids had Beanie Babies when they were growing up. We all thought they’d be worth something someday, and now I think they aren’t worth much. Anyway, I had a decent sized collection of Beanie Babies when I was probably Junior High age, give or take. I tended to be quite attached to things when I was that age.
It could sometimes feel like things I wanted were hard to come by, so when I had things, I wanted to keep them as long as I could. I can only imagine that if, at that age, I had the opportunity to ask Jesus how I could get into heaven and he told me to donate all of my Beanie Babies to the poor, I probably would have said “nah, I’m good. I’ll take my chances.” I’m being a bit facetious, of course, but it would have been hard to make me get rid of my things when I was that age. In fact, when our bedrooms got too full of things, my sister and I would store our precious items in boxes in the basement. Those boxes contained toys we no longer used, mostly, and a lot of stuffed animals. I mean, a lot of stuffed animals. Every now and then, my dad would get into a mood and would want to go through those boxes and start just tossing things, donating things, etc. And of course when he did that, my sister and I would cry and say we needed our things! It was an unjust world when my dad would choose what things he thought we didn’t need to keep anymore! I never understood his seemingly sudden interest in getting rid of all of our things. Just because we didn’t play with them regularly anymore didn’t mean we didn’t want to keep them! Maybe we’d go through those boxes and decide to play with those old toys again! There was a sense of nostalgia, at least, when we would be reunited with our things we hadn’t seen in a while. It was like Christmas all over again! The reality, though, was that we truly didn’t need any of that old stuff. Essentially, once it was out of sight, it was out of mind until Dad decided it was time to get rid of the stuff. So, like I said, if Jesus was the one telling me I needed to donate those old toys, I would not have felt much different than when my dad was the one telling me. Once the items my dad got rid of were gone, though, our little broken hearts soon forgot all about it, and we were content with the things we had and currently used and enjoyed. The heartbreak was short-lived because our attachment to those things was mostly in our heads, not our hearts. It was not an easy thing, though, to let go of the things we’d felt we’d waited so long for. And I will admit today that I have truly turned into my father’s daughter. I completely understand now his need to purge the house of the clutter and the unnecessary things. I now do the same thing, and I’m sure he’s looking down on me and saying, “I told ya so!” And, if he were still around, I would thank him for teaching me such a valuable lesson. The Message Feeling forced to give up things that were, in the moment, important to me, was difficult as a child. And, it can be incredibly difficult as an adult too. As a kid, I wasn’t the one who necessarily worked hard to get those things, unless I paid for them with my allowance. But as an adult? I work hard for the things I have! And, I imagine that the man who ran up to Jesus and asked him how he could inherit eternal life felt a similar way when Jesus told him to sell the things he owned, give the money to the poor, and follow him. I can actually picture the man’s face when Jesus says this. The passage says the man was shocked and went away grieving. I imagine his face fell as he began thinking about his possessions and how hard he worked for them. Jesus then says something that I think is quite challenging for many, if not most, Christians. He says, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” This is challenging for most of us because it is incredibly easy for people to convince themselves they are not wealthy. Most of us live into the income we make. I may have used this as an example before, but I’ll share my own life’s example again. I used to live on practically nothing. I was close enough to the poverty line that I nearly qualified for welfare at one point in my life. At that point, all I wanted was to make enough money that things would be just a little bit easier, and I wouldn’t have to worry quite as much about money. Looking back on that time in my life, I have no idea how I survived. I have no idea how I survived because I still feel like I’m barely surviving most of the time, and I make a much better income now than I did then. But that’s part of the problem, right? We almost always live within our means. The more we earn, the more we spend, the more we desire, and the more we feel like we don’t have. Because most of us do this, we live most of our lives in a perpetual circle of feeling like what we have is never enough. I am certain I thought I could never have enough Beanie Babies! And even now, I find myself longing to earn just a little bit more, so that things will be just a little easier. I’m essentially in the same mindset I was when I was actually poor. So, it’s easy for me to feel like Jesus’s words do not apply to me. It can’t possibly be hard for me to get into the kingdom of God, because I’m not wealthy! Whew! Except that Jesus doesn’t really define wealth, does he? He simply tells the man to sell all of his possessions, give his money to the poor, and follow him. If I think about it this way, then I am definitely wealthy. I have plenty of possessions I could, in theory, sell so that I could give that money to the poor. But boy, is it hard to imagine in today’s world doing something like that! Why? Well, for starters, I would be homeless. Actually, in my case, that’s not true. I would have a home, but nothing else, and I honestly wouldn’t last very long in today’s world. I couldn’t effectively do my job, I would be miserable and uncomfortable, and I would have to rely on other people to cover my basic needs. Not to mention, I’m not sure how I could truly follow Jesus in today’s world if I wasn’t properly caring for myself. So, Jesus’s words are a real challenge here. How can we extrapolate something meaningful from this passage without feeling guilty about the life we do live and the things we do own, while still living into the essence of what Jesus is saying? First of all, much like the passage just before this one that we heard last Sunday, we have to remember the context in which Jesus is living. In the first century, wealth looked quite different than poverty. And, there were societal expectations for caring for ascetics and religious practitioners – begging for alms, for example, was common practice at the time. So telling people to give up their possessions and follow Jesus – a group that likely had most of their basic needs for shelter, food, and clothing met by the generosity of strangers – was not at all the same as doing something similar today. Today, the only effective way I could see to do that would be to commit oneself to the monastic life – either becoming a monk or a nun and living in a monastery type setting. And of course, we couldn’t all realistically do that. So, does that mean the kingdom of God is inaccessible to people today? Of course not. Much like last week’s text, we cannot assume that Jesus could even imagine what the world would look like today. So, as we are thinking through today’s passage, it might be helpful to frame it differently. Certainly, I suspect Jesus would approve of my dad’s method of going through the things we owned occasionally and donating those items we no longer needed or used to people who could use them more than we could. I don’t think Jesus would in good faith suggest that the only way we could enter the kingdom of God is to sell everything we own and live on the streets. If I thought Jesus would recommend that today, I would be a hypocrite myself because I can’t conceive of doing that and still being able to serve in a ministry role, or any job for that matter. I suspect Jesus would recommend we do consider looking at the lives we lead and seeing if there are areas we could be more generous. Perhaps it’s going through the things we have and giving away the things we realistically can part with. But perhaps it’s also taking a look at where and how we spend our time, our money, or our other resources. Are we giving of ourselves in ways that honour the gifts we have been given to allow us to better serve others? Are we donating when and where we can? Do we have a plan for our resources if something were to happen to us? I think there are many people today who might struggle to give up their worldly possessions, but who are at the same time incredibly generous with their time and the gifts God has provided them. There are others who feel being generous with their time is difficult, but who are better able to part with their things. And then there are people who are generous with giving away a higher percentage of their money than others. And I think most of us are not necessarily able to give of our time, our talent, our resources, our energy, our money, and our possessions at any given time. We likely go through seasons where we can more effectively be generous in some of those ways, but most of us cannot give in all of those ways all the time. And I don’t think Jesus would say that if we can’t do it all, all the time, we aren’t good enough. Jesus ends today’s passage by saying “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Each of us, regardless of our economic position in society, can be generous in a variety of ways. Those who hoard money, possessions, time, resources, and who seem addicted to accumulating more and more without any thought for other people may be “the first” that Jesus is referring to. And those who are generous in some of those same ways may be who Jesus is referring to as the last. It is possible that even a person who has nothing hoards the few things that they do have. Likewise, it is possible for a person who has nothing to share of the very little they do have with others. I don’t think that only the economically poor are the ones considered the “last” in this scenario. The “last” are those people who give of themselves in whatever ways they are able while also caring for themselves so they can continue to serve others. So, as we all head into a long weekend celebrating the things in our lives that we are thankful for, let us also remember to think about the ways in which we give of ourselves. Most of have what we need to survive, and most, if not all, of us in this sanctuary have what we need to thrive. There is value in celebrating gratitude, and there is incredible value in celebrating generosity, as well. So as we leave here today, may we remember to be grateful for the things we have – not in comparison to anyone else, but in terms of our own personal happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. And, if there are things we can let go of that would not be a detriment to our happiness, our contentment, or our life satisfaction, then may we consider heeding Jesus’s advice and giving of those things to others so that we can spread joy, safety, and comfort to our neighbours. In gratitude for all that we have, we say “Amen.” Let us pray: Gracious God, we come before you today in deep and humble gratitude for the gifts you bring to our lives. There are times when we get caught up in our own suffering and forget to remain grateful for the things in our lives that are going well. It can be easy to get caught up in our own woes, but we are grateful for your gentle reminders that all things considered, we have more than enough. We pray today for your guidance and wisdom. Thanksgiving is a time when we remember to be grateful for all that we have, but we ask that you help us remember to be grateful throughout the year as well. With gratitude, and in your Holy name, we pray. Amen. ![]() Young at Heart Message I bet you never thought that we would be talking about sponges during a worship service, and yet, today our message is going to start off with a discussion about sponges. I have two sponges here – one is a used sponge that has done its time washing a bunch of dishes. It is already wet and has been squeezed out many times. The other is a brand new sponge – still dry from the packaging and eager to absorb water. Which of these sponges do you suppose will be able to absorb more water? I have two bowls with water in them. Should we test it out? I put the same amount of water in both bowls. Let’s see which one will hold more water. The older sponge that has already absorbed water in the past wasn’t able to absorb the water in the bowl as easily as the new sponge. The new sponge was eager to absorb water and absorbed pretty much all of the water in the bowl. It may even have room to absorb some of the water from the other bowl. What do you think the purpose of this “experiment” was? What does it teach us? Ultimately, this demonstration reminds us that as we get older and have absorbed more information and have more life experience, it is not as easy for us to absorb new things. Let me give you another real-life example. As most of you know, I was a professional dog trainer in my previous life. Part of my job was to teach training classes. The vast majority of the time, I was teaching adults who had a dog that needed training. I had a lot of tricks I used to help adult learners who had already absorbed a lot of information in the past and came with a lot of assumptions. Adults, I noticed, tended to think they were already experts on how to train dogs, and often they had a lot of previous knowledge or experience. This previous knowledge and experience was not necessarily the best knowledge or experience. Many adults came to classes needing to unlearn old habits as much as they needed to learn new habits. They were like the older sponge – already filled with knowledge and experience that wasn’t necessarily conducive to working with their current dog. They had a very hard time because they were simultaneously “wringing out” the old knowledge and experience while trying absorb the new information. Some adults were better at this than others. But, on the rare occasion when a client would ask if their child could join the class, I observed that most, if not all, of the kids were much better trainers than their parents. Why? Because they were fresh, new sponges – ready to absorb new information. And because they didn’t have prior knowledge or experience, they didn’t have to try to “wring out” any previous ideas of what dog training should be. They were eager to learn and work with their dogs, and quickly surpassed any training skills the adults had. It was fascinating to watch, and it taught me even more about the challenges of teaching adult learners. And of course, this experience translates to most anything, including scripture interpretation. As we get older, we tend to get wiser, but we also become more set in our ways. Our knowledge and experience becomes vaster, but we also become a little less capable of absorbing new information that might be different than what we were taught previously. It is, of course, the human condition. We are all sponges when it comes to learning! But, our “spongy-ness” changes over time as we are molded into adult versions of ourselves. So, where does this leave us with today’s scripture? The Message Today’s lectionary passages can be incredibly challenging passages to read, and even more challenging to preach about. Partly, the reason they are so challenging is because as soon as (adult) people hear them, they immediately start to form a “sermon” in their own mind. Most adults have already formed opinions about these passages, whether they really know it or not. Some will hear the word “divorce” and immediately assume Jesus is condemning it. This might create deep feelings of guilt or shame for those who have experienced divorce in their lives, or for those who were children of divorced parents. Some will hear “divorce” and immediately jump to conclusions about everyone who has experienced divorce. Some will hear this passage and assume Jesus is dictating “rules” about divorce or marriage that are applicable in all times and places. But no matter what, if a pastor chooses to preach on these passages, it can be difficult to simultaneously “wring out” past knowledge, experience, and assumptions, while also opening people up to being able to “absorb,” or think about different ways of hearing this text. So, let’s look at this passage a little bit closer to see what Jesus might mean here. Before we do, it is important to understand the context in which Jesus is speaking. It’s always important to understand context when we read the Bible, but it is especially important when we are reading passages that have been used in the past to place guilt and shame on people. As we know, Jesus rarely, if ever, speaks with the purpose of making people feel guilt or shame. So, it’s hard to imagine he would do that in this case, either. We have to remember that Jesus lived in the first century. The concept of divorce in his time was, first of all, that only men could divorce their wives. And, they could do so for any reason – small or large. A man could simply decide he was sick of his wife and would rather be with another woman, and he could divorce her and toss her aside. Unlike today, when women have more rights and the ability to find work and earn a living supporting themselves, women and children in the first century had very limited rights, and no recourse. The Pharisees in this passage are trying to catch Jesus off guard and are referencing the Law of Moses specifically. Deuteronomy 24:1, which is the passage being referenced, assumes marriage for most people, but it also assumes a man’s right to divorce “if she does not please him.” It says nothing about a woman being able to choose divorce. Within the context of the first century then, Jesus explaining that God made man and woman gives women a sense of agency in a time when they had none. Jesus then talks about men and women becoming one person when they choose to marry one another. Jesus is talking about a partnership, whereas the assumption in that time was that men controlled the relationship and the marriage. While this passage may seem quite strict and prescriptive of behavior in marriages, it is actually quite radical for that time period. Jesus says that both men and women who divorce are unfaithful to their spouse if they remarry. Again, this might sound harsh in today’s culture, but in this context, he is emphasizing the equality of partnership, and he’s suggesting accountability for both men and women. This is huge and unexpected in a world where women were not considered equal partners. Jesus goes on, then, to include children too. Children are so valuable that they help us enter the realm of God. Children are fresh little sponges – eager to learn and grow and change the world with each new generation! The disciples tell the children to stop bothering Jesus, but he tells them to let the children come to him. Those children had not yet absorbed the rules that their parents had. Jesus didn’t need to teach them to unlearn what they thought they knew about these matters, because they didn’t already have the norms set forth by previous knowledge and experience. This passage is not a condemnation. Rather, it is a reminder that God’s love liberates. This passage is not as much about divorce as it is about recognizing the image of God in everyone – especially those who have tended to be disempowered by society. It is not intended to be a prescriptive passage, and it definitely is not intended to make people feel a sense of guilt and shame if they have been divorced, if they are thinking about divorce, or if they are in a situation that may require divorce. I vividly remember a woman I knew who was taught, perhaps even using this passage, that divorce would mean being sentenced to hell. She had been divorced, out of necessity (her former spouse was abusive and she was not safe in that situation), and yet she believed until her dying day that she could not be absolved of her “sin” of divorce. I will never forget that because I don’t think Jesus would ever intend to place that kind of guilt or shame on someone. There is too much good news in the life and work of Jesus to lead me to believe that if Jesus sat down with that woman, he would condemn her. Jesus would not treat her or anyone else as though they were not lovingly made in God’s image. Jesus didn’t spend his entire ministry trying to teach us how to love one another, just to condemn us in a few passages. You might be wondering, then, if I believe Jesus is condoning divorce. I don’t believe Jesus is condemning or condoning divorce. It’s a reality of the world he lives in, and a reality of the world we live in. I believe he’s addressing the question the Pharisees asked him, using their assumptions and the social norms in place at the time, to demonstrate one small way that humans could open themselves up to better loving other humans. Jesus set examples for us to follow, albeit in his time and place, which is the only context he had. Jesus could not have predicted that in the year 2024, women would be treated at least in some parts of the world more as equals. So he did his best with the cultural implications he had to work with. We have no business treating anyone as though they were not created in God’s image. This text uses a first-century situation to tell us to stop participating in traditions that disempower and destroy human beings and to start living in love. If we consider the context of this situation, it becomes a bit easier to set aside our prior knowledge and experience with this text and understand that Jesus did not intend to condemn people with his words. Rather, he intended to widen the scope for people in that time period – to move the needle ever so slightly toward justice and equality. If we can open ourselves up to new and different possibilities for this text, we can hear the passage as good and hopeful news: Each of us – men, women, children – everyone – is created in God’s image. We are loved, and we belong in Christ – not to feel guilt or shame, but only to feel loved and hopeful. Amen. Let us pray: Loving and gracious God, we come before you in gratitude for the gentle reminder that we are lovingly made in your image. You remind us through your Son, Jesus Christ, that while there is always room for improvement, we are also loved just as we are in this time and place. May we each continue to feel your love and grace surround us, and may we remember this love as we receive Holy Communion in unity with our Christian siblings around the world. Amen. |
AuthorRev. Jamie Almquist is the pastor at Good Shepherd Moravian Church in Calgary. Archives
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