Lust for Gold

Mark 10:17, 19-22

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” You know the commandments: ‘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.’ ” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

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Forget your lust ... for the rich man's gold
All that you need ... oh, Lord, is in your soul
You can do this ... oh, baby ... if you try
All that I want for you my son ... is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be somethin' ... you love and understand
Baby, be a simple ... oh, be a simple man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can

"Simple Man" by Ronnie VanZandt and Garry Rossington

It's easy to want the good things in life. Who doesn't like a nice house and car? Who doesn't like good food and drink? Who doesn't feel glad when the season of want ends and the season of plenty begins? Well, in America these things are seen as the fruit of labor that is repaid in gold.

So what must I do to inherit eternal life? For this rich man, he didn't have to steal or kill to eat bread every day so breaking those commandments was unnecessary. Since most wealth in the ancient world was inherited, honoring his father and mother would have been a part of walking through his house every day.

As for false witness, defrauding others, and adultery, I'll take him at his word. He's done the minimum required. Good for him.

Ronnie VanZandt sang of a man receiving the word of God at his mother's knee. "All that you need is in your soul. All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied." Everything you need is given to you. Everything else is gravy-and no matter how yummy gravy is-and that's not always good for the soul.

Simplicity, the simplicity that comes with discarding earthly concerns about wealth and power and seeking the nest egg of life in Christ is where life lies. All else is just fancy things that tarnish over time. Life in Christ is the one thing that lasts forever.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:15

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

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I know there's a place you walked
Where love falls from the trees
My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees
I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this

"Who Are You" by The Who from "Who Are You" (1978)

This may be the first question we ask. As the doctor takes us from the safe and warm place we call home and our mothers call their womb, before language the first question we ask is "Who are you?"

This question repeats itself as we become more aware of the people we see on this earth. We will ask it of parents, siblings, family, classmates, friends, and lovers, "Who are you?"

Even as we begin to wonder about our very existence and start asking questions about life and our place in it, we look to the mirror and ask one more time, "Who are you?"

This may well also be the first question we ask of God. "Who are you?"

There was quite a buzz about Jesus at this point of Matthew's gospel. The 5,000 had just been fed with five loaves and 4,000 more with seven loaves. So as Jesus entered Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They started giving Jesus the answers to his question, like any good student will respond to the Rabbi. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets; answers abounded. Sure they were all wrong, but the breadth of their answers showed how wildly the crowd was buzzing.

Jesus then turned the question on them. "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter, the first guy to boldly go where angels feared to tread, responded saying, "You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God."

I was once asked if the cup was half-empty or half-full. I said the cup is broken. I said it out of rage, knowing the cost of sin. Sung by The Who, this answer makes a different sound.

My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees

Life is broken, but we are reminded of where we can go when there is no where else to go. We are reminded of the grace of being invited to take our broken cups to the throne of God's glory.

I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this

In no uncertain terms, our sin-soaked lives are a place where it would seem God wouldn't want to come. Humanity has taken creation, the garden, and turned it into a sewer hole. And still, we receive the kiss of God's grace--not the Judas kiss we more likely deserve.

It's true, if we could only come before God when we are clean enough, we would never ever dare approach. But God doesn't love us despite who we are, God loves us because of who we are, even when who we are is a a mess. We can't measure up to this love, but that doesn't stop God from inviting us. That didn't stop God from sending the Son to invite us. That didn't stop the Holy Spirit from coming and dwelling within us even today.

Such grace, such peace, such love, it makes me ask "Who are you?" And it makes me as glad there is an eternity to lovingly discern the answer.

Dreams I'll Never See?

Acts 2:17 (NRSV)

In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

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Just one more mornin'
I had to wake up with the blues
Pulled myself outta bed, yeah
Put on my walkin' shoes,
Went up on the mountain,
To see what I could see,
The whole world was fallin',
right down in front of me.

Dreams by Gregg Allman from The Allman Brothers Band (1969)

Joseph's dreams were of a future no one could imagine, a time when Israel would be so large and so strong that Egypt would send them to their own land, and it all began with his brothers bowing before him. Acts speaks of the day the Holy Spirit was given to the church by the Lord. This advocate, the one who walks alongside us, was poured out upon all flesh at Pentecost. Since that time, the Lord has promised sons and daughters shall prophesy, and young men shall see visions, and old men shall dream dreams.

What ever could have been in Gregg Allman's dreams in 1969? Speculation can abound from people who were there at the time, and by those who weren't. Still, climbing the mountain just to see what could be seen, this is what we need to do everyday. But the mountain we are called to climb doesn't always require shoes.

We are called to climb the mountain and see what lies ahead of us. We can climb this mountain in prayer, seeking with the eyes of our souls-as well as our soles-to discern the will of God. We climb the mountain with fellow believers in discipleship, doing as we are called to do. We climb the mountain in service, doing as the Lord calls us to do.

Perhaps a part of our frustration is that we will never see God's work done. The Allman Brothers sang, "'Cause I'm hung up on dreams I'll never see." Still, we can live in confidence that as long as our Lord lives-and our Lord lives-these dreams will come to fulfillment. The reason why is that these are not our dreams; they're God's dreams. God has a way. God will see it through.