God of the living word, give us the faith to receive your message, the wisdom to know what it means, and the courage to put it into practice. Amen.
Good Members of Holy Comforter
Lord help us to see:
to see what is eternally good and true, and having seen, to go
on searching until we come to the joys of heaven.
Amen.
“Why do you call me
good?” Jesus slams the stranger.
We have heard Jesus’ harsh responses in the past to innocent,
curious, spiritually hungry inquirers --such as when Jesus
called the Gentile woman a “dog.”
“Good teacher,” the man asks after kneeling down before Jesus,
“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
This seems like a fair question.
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus says,
“No one is good but God alone.”
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I recall certain images
used by C.S. Lewis in his writings such as Mere Christianity
and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Those images are of a map and a compass.
John Mark, the author of this passage, seems to be laying out a
map for us. We have
Jesus. We have
curious, eternal life-seeking people, we have disciples--all of
them travelers in the life and land of the Hebrew people.
When Jesus speaks, the sojourn takes on new life: we see a
compass guiding the listener, you and me, from one place to
another. Discovery!
C.S. Lewis says, “If you want to go (further than thrills and
pious feelings in your faith) you must use the map
(implied here is the need for a compass, an instrument
for direction)…. In fact, that is just why a vague religion –
all about feeling God in nature, and so on – is so attractive.
It is all thrills and no work: like watching the waves
from the beach. But
you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that
way, and you will not get into eternal life by simply feeling
the presence of God in flowers or music.
Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without
going to sea, nor will you be safe if you go to sea without a
map (and a compass).”
“So, good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Let’s first look at the map.
In the day of Jesus, “good” implied divine, godly
characteristics.
Today we use the term “good” more loosely.
The stranger likes and trusts Jesus. The stranger senses Jesus
has the clue, the direction tool, the compass for attaining
eternal life – the Godly life, the Good life.
“No one is good but God alone.”
The map is redrawn, corrected.
“You know the commandments,” Jesus says. More map gazing:
“You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you
shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your
father and mother.”
“I have kept all these since my youth.”
Jesus looks at him.
Jesus loves him.
The map, now clearer, seems to be in place.
However, the answer to the question is still not clear.
The compass pointing the way to eternal life still wavers.
Jesus ventures further.
“You lack one thing…just one little itty, bitty, tiny
thing. My friend,
you are almost there. Your destination of a “good” eternal life
is within reach.
This is like those questionnaires we run into on our computers:
You are the winner of a 45” plasma high definition TV for free.
Merely answer the following questions….and then the next
questions….and then a few more….and just a few more….three more
questions and the TV will be yours! On it goes.
Compass! Jesus is
not trying to sell something or to sell somebody.
Jesus is guiding this stranger--and you and me--to the
heart of the Gospel. This is what the Good News is all about:
eternal life. Jesus
holds the instrument of direction as we questions our life path.
He tells us---for a person who respects and obeys the laws of
Moses, the direction should not be difficult!
The immediate map for us at Holy Comforter has Three Sundays on
our calendar – this one and the next two Sundays happen to be
our Pledge Review Sundays.
We are in the season.
Next week will be very special because Steven and
Patricia House, lay leaders of our Pledge Review, will be
co-preachers, introducing us to the parish theme of “soaring.”
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles,” Isaiah says.
A lovely letter and brochure from Pat and Steven have
already arrived in our mailboxes.
Next Sunday, the Houses will provide our compass through
the gift of their homily from pulpit and lectern.
On October 25th, the actual day of being given our
pledge cards (we shall sign and leave them at the church), we
shall hear from our own Lutheran Pastoral Associate Bob Walker
not just about the pledge review, but also about how the
strength of our church comes from a long and sometimes feisty
history – specifically the sixteenth century reform movement as
Christian Churches protested and reformed from the powerful
Roman Catholic church of that day.
We shall also see in person Martin Luther, the leader of
that “reform” movement, and a representative from the Vatican,
Dr. Johann von Eck. There promises to be heated dialogue about
the true “compass” for following Jesus.
Holy Comforter and the active, loving people of this historic
church are moving into a period of transition. A new map is
being drawn in the Anglican Communion tradition. As you begin
the search in 2010 for a new Rector, may you search deep and
wide within yourselves, first, and work together to adjust the
compass and fix the direction along the way.
Pledge Review happens to be one of our annual instruments for
direction without which we could not continue on the path
together. We take stock of our resources and our life
together--trusting in the ultimate gift of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
“You lack one thing,” Jesus says, “go, sell what you own, and
give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; then,” Jesus says, “follow me.”
“When the person hears this, he is shocked and goes away
grieving, for he has many possessions.”
He departs. He
rejects Jesus. He
was almost there – almost touching the good, eternal life.
He leaves.
The compass says, “This is the way.”
The compass says, “Follow me”.
The person leaves.
And we never hear of--or from--him again.
“Don’t call me Good,” Jesus says.
No one is good but God alone.
To rephrase a quote from Jesus,
“The Holy One says, open for me a door as big as a
needle’s eye and I shall open for you a door through which may
enter tents and camels.”
The voice, the compass, the GPS says, “Follow me.”
Amen.
