Priorities
At some point in our lives all of us
have to think about priorities. When I was young at this time of year my
priority would be to work out how many cricket matches I could play in... if
any of them meant missing time in school that was even better. Now, thinking
about playing cricket isn’t such a priority.
But we all have priorites, and sometimes those
priorities will be juggled around appropriately. It’s often quite funny when
our priorities get a little confused. There’s a story told of a couple going on holiday, standing in line
waiting to check in their bags, when the husband said to the wife, "I
wish we had brought the piano."
The wife said, "Why? We've got too many bags
already!"
The husband said, "Yes, I know-- but the tickets
are on the piano!"
But back to priorities – and our readings today challenge
us to think about our priorities in life. In the reading from Genesis (3:8-15)
we heard the account of Adam and Eve hiding in the garden because they were
naked, and they became defensive because they’d ignored God and eaten the fruit
they weren’t supposed to eat.
And their priority was to be defensive – to blame
others, in this case the serpent, but in reality what they’d done was to
prioritise their own choices above those of God.
And then we heard part of Paul’s 2nd letter
to the Corinthians (4:13-5:1). Paul had suffered badly for his faith, and
sometimes in pain it’s very easy, even natural, to focus on that pain, but Paul
didn’t do that – he focused on the promises of Jesus – the promises that said
whatever we face God faces it with us. He doesn’t leave us, but helps us
through pain... And so, instead of focusing on pain, or prioritizing the
emotion of pain, we can focus on the hope and peace of Jesus. We can focus on
news that is good.
As the psalmist wrote (Ps.130), ‘I wait for the
Lord... in his word is my hope....’
In our lives we are called to
prioritise hope – to not lose sight of the incredible riches and peace we have
in Jesus, to never lose sight of his constant companionship and care for us.
In our gospel reading Jesus himself
challenges people about their priorities. He challenges them about what God
means to them...
CS Lewis famously wrote, 'A man who
was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great
moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he
is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your
choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or
something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him
as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us
not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.' (Mere
Christianity pg. 52)
Today's gospel (Mark 3:20-35) offers
one of the first insights into Jesus being called a madman ! And it comes in
quite a remarkable way - the reasons aren't that Jesus has gone wild, he hasn't
started attacking people, he hasn't started shouting and screaming - what he
has done is not eat his food.
And this was quite a worry to his
followers - eating, as well as being an important part of good health, also had
lots of symbolic meaning and had a number of rituals associated with it.
And so Jesus wasn't eating - but rather
than any great problem it was far more likely to be due to the fact that he was
so immersed in his work that he didn't have time to eat - he was so committed
to his task that food was secondary to the primary role of teaching and healing
and proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. It’s an incredible lesson
for us in priorities – not perhaps ignoring our food, but seeking out ways of
sharing good news, and prioritising that in our lives and in our church...
Whilst Jesus’ followers and others
may have been concerned about his lack of eating, the scribes saw this as an
opportunity to attack Jesus further. They suggested he was possessed by
Beelzebul - in other words possessed by evil. Far from doing God's work, he was
doing the work of the devil.
Jesus responded with a statement that
has often been debated through the centuries - that these people were
committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - an unforgivable sin.
Ever since, some have interpreted the
sin of blasphemy as a sin which is unforgivable, but that isn't what Jesus was
saying - the unforgivable sin was to continue to reject the work of the Holy
Spirit, thereby denying the work of God.
What was, and is, unforgivable was,
and is, continuing to deny God - the God who invites all people into a
relationship with Him.
And that is where Jesus goes next -
to try and help Jesus come to his senses his family are called but when he is
told his mother and brothers are outside he responds 'who are my mother and my
brothers?'
He continues by showing that all who are sat around him are his brothers and sisters and mother.
He continues by showing that all who are sat around him are his brothers and sisters and mother.
It seems harsh - it doesn't look
good. At first sight Jesus seems to be denying his own family - perhaps his
lack of eating and this denial suggest he had gone mad as some said, but far
from doing that Jesus is setting out one of his key manifesto points - that the
gospel is open to everyone; that the gospel is indeed good news for everyone.
Perhaps the most important part of this gospel reading is that point that Jesus has come to save all people - that Jesus' message would not be directed at the already religious or the supposedly good by the standards of society - Jesus' message was for all - his family would be everyone.
I don't know if you've ever had the
experience of being away on holiday abroad and ended up talking to a British
person - it seems that being abroad breaks down barriers and we're more willing
to talk to strangers and that is surely the dream and hope of Jesus for all his
people - that His church will truly be a family united - supporting each other,
caring for one another, recognising one another and reaching out to others
sharing God's love - a love that is for everyone, everywhere.
So three lessons from our readings today about
priorities. Firstly a priority in our life must be to trust God – to listen to
him, to follow him even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to us... Secondly it
is to remember in all things that God is with us and that we can trust him to
carry us through pain and through loss and grief and illness and worry. He will
never abandon us – he’s done too much for us already to give up now...
And finally it is to remember that we are to be a family welcoming all – a family committed to serious care for those around us, whoever they may be... Jesus, in our gospel reading said that if a kingdom is divided against itself then it falls apart, and too often in the church we allow ourselves to become distracted from the priority of good news for all, and we get bogged down, and sometimes even argue and fall out over things that really don’t matter too much in the bigger scheme of things...
And so let’s make the sharing of good news for all a
priority. Let’s be a church that’s known for welcome and joy and compassion and
love. Let’s be a church that tries seriously to live out the priorities of
Jesus...
A great missionary to India, William Carey, became
deeply concerned about the attitude of his son Felix. The young man, a
professing Christian, had promised to become a missionary. But he broke his vow
when he was appointed ambassador to Burma.
Carey requested prayer for him: "Pray for Felix.
He has degenerated into an ambassador of the British government when he should
be serving the King of kings."
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