Take time to find something in your home that you hold as precious and important. It may
be a photograph, a flower or personal item.
Whatever you choose consider:
• What is it that makes it important to you?
• What memories does it hold?
• How do you feel about it and what would happen if you lost it?
Now imagine that God is holding you as precious and important:
• Loving and caring for you and your unique character
• Following your journey of faith
• Wanting never to lose you
When you feel able put down your object and pick up again these written words:
Come then to worship, knowing that whatever you offer in this moment is precious and
important. Amen.
Bible Reading: Mark 10:17-31
What does it mean to be righteous? What framework do we hold onto that indicates what it means to be of right manner, or right state. We all have a moral framework - a way of putting our values into practice, a way of guiding what we do, and sometimes a way of judging the behaviour of others.
On many things, our frameworks overlap and we agree, but no two people will have exactly the same framework. Even as people of Christian faith, we disagree about how the framework should look - even individual church organisations differ from one another and on many topics within those organisations people hold a variety of
views.
It's made even more complex by views changing over time. The creative ability God has
gifted us with has enabled us to make new discoveries that shed light on how we see
things. Our framework and moral priorities shift as we journey as God's people. We've
increasingly recognised in recent years how our living is impacting the environment, and so our approach to the environment begins to become more significant in our moral framework and we change our behaviour to be better people in our stewardship of the earth.
We begin to see destruction of the planet as part of sinful behaviour, and so recognise things that help to look after the planet as righteous acts. Jesus has a difficult challenge for the man in our reading today. How does that challenge land with us? What are the things that are getting in the way of our developing relationship with God? While the challenge of living a faithful life is difficult, our love from God does not rely on us.
In Mark's gospel, Jesus outlines the challenge that faith requires: living not just the
commandments, but a life in service of others by giving away what you have. The disciples are astounded by the standard required, the level of righteousness needed, and yet, in the midst of the heavy demands, Jesus remind them, '"For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."' (Mark 10:27)
We are called to do our best for the Realm of God, living lives that offer God our best. And even though we don't understand why things are as they are, or how we do things in the right way, it is God who makes things possible so that in love, we all will be saved and perfected for the sake of the Realm of God and its fulfilling that is to come.
Hymn: 277 STF – My song is love unknown
Love and prayers Revd Sara
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