Roger Lynn
August 30, 2020
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The contrast is night and day. It is stark and it is clear. Life as it was intended or life as it is often experienced. That is the picture which Jesus presents to his disciples. That is the choice. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Or love yourself more than anyone else, and walk all over your neighbor whenever it suits your needs.
Within the context of Mark’s Gospel, this contrast is presented as Jesus draws near the final showdown with the forces which oppose his vision of life. It is time to choose. In the book of Deuteronomy, as the people of Israel were preparing to enter into the Promised Land, Moses urges them to hold fast to God and follow God’s leading. He says to them, “...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live...” (Deuteronomy 30:19) Jesus presents his followers with the same choice as they prepare to enter into the new land which is opening up before them. The realm of God is here, now, in the midst of you. That is what he had been telling them. And now we see what is at stake in choosing to enter that realm. Will you choose God and justice, or will you choose selfishness and greed?
I once attended a lecture series featuring John Dominic Crossan, Biblical Scholar and member of the Jesus Seminar. He reminded us that throughout the Biblical record of both the Old and New Testaments we are presented with the truth that “the earth belongs to God.” In order to live in harmony with this foundational reality of the world, we are called to keep God at the center of all that is, including our lives. Jesus says as much in today’s reading. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:29) Crossan then went on to point out that the character of the God to whom the earth belongs is one of justice. And justice is here understood in terms of distribution rather than retribution. God’s original intent and ongoing desire is that the world and everything in it be treated fairly and compassionately. To keep God at the center of life and to follow where God leads us is to seek after justice in all things. Again, Jesus says as much. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Loving God and seeking justice for those with whom we share life on this planet is at the heart of what it means to recognize that the realm of God is here, now, in the midst of us.
Unfortunately, that is not how it works out much of the time. In one way or another we often fall short of that goal. It seems to be a human tendency to put ourselves at the center, and whenever that happens we lose our balance and our bearings. In first century Israel, Jesus saw this playing out in a religious system which had become self-centered and abusive. The rich were getting richer and the poor were being exploited rather than protected. This system was originally intended to connect the people with God and God’s justice, but those responsible for maintaining the system had chosen to focus instead on their own power and prestige. As a result, the most vulnerable members of society were being abused and forgotten.
Today the setting is different. The specific issues have changed. Sorting out the details has become more complicated. But the basic reality and the choice remains the same. Will we choose to keep God at the center of life and seek the justice which God desires? Or will we choose instead to keep ourselves at the center of life and ignore the injustice which is so rampant in our world? All of this is more complicated than it has ever been before, because we are more aware of the interconnectedness of our world than we have ever been before. We know that it is important to ask questions like, “Who grew the coffee we are drinking, and are they being paid a fair wage for their efforts?” We know that it is important to ask whether shopping at a particular store supports exploitive labor practices. We know that it is important to examine the ways our patterns of consumption contribute to the degradation of our planet. We know that such questions are important and we know that the answers are not always easy to find or easy to understand. But seeking to follow the God of justice means continuing to ask the questions as we strive to take steps in that direction. The reward for such efforts is often difficult to detect. In the short run it frequently seems as if self-centered, exploitive living is rewarded. The rich do get richer and they appear to be quite happy with the situation. At the same time it often seems that efforts to make our lives and our world more just and compassionate cost a great deal while the results are barely noticeable. But appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, I remain convinced that striving to live my life in harmony and balance with the God of justice does make a positive difference – for me, for us and for the world. I do not have all the answers about what that looks like and how to go about it. And even when I do have some of the answers my life does not always reflect my understanding. But I will continue to seek ways to ever more fully live into a way of life in which I love God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength, and opening myself to God’s guidance towards a world where justice is a reality rather than just a dream. I invite you to join me in that adventure.
The contrast is night and day. It is stark and it is clear. Life as it was intended or life as it is often experienced. That is the picture which Jesus presents to his disciples. That is the choice. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Or love yourself more than anyone else, and walk all over your neighbor whenever it suits your needs.
Within the context of Mark’s Gospel, this contrast is presented as Jesus draws near the final showdown with the forces which oppose his vision of life. It is time to choose. In the book of Deuteronomy, as the people of Israel were preparing to enter into the Promised Land, Moses urges them to hold fast to God and follow God’s leading. He says to them, “...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live...” (Deuteronomy 30:19) Jesus presents his followers with the same choice as they prepare to enter into the new land which is opening up before them. The realm of God is here, now, in the midst of you. That is what he had been telling them. And now we see what is at stake in choosing to enter that realm. Will you choose God and justice, or will you choose selfishness and greed?
I once attended a lecture series featuring John Dominic Crossan, Biblical Scholar and member of the Jesus Seminar. He reminded us that throughout the Biblical record of both the Old and New Testaments we are presented with the truth that “the earth belongs to God.” In order to live in harmony with this foundational reality of the world, we are called to keep God at the center of all that is, including our lives. Jesus says as much in today’s reading. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:29) Crossan then went on to point out that the character of the God to whom the earth belongs is one of justice. And justice is here understood in terms of distribution rather than retribution. God’s original intent and ongoing desire is that the world and everything in it be treated fairly and compassionately. To keep God at the center of life and to follow where God leads us is to seek after justice in all things. Again, Jesus says as much. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Loving God and seeking justice for those with whom we share life on this planet is at the heart of what it means to recognize that the realm of God is here, now, in the midst of us.
Unfortunately, that is not how it works out much of the time. In one way or another we often fall short of that goal. It seems to be a human tendency to put ourselves at the center, and whenever that happens we lose our balance and our bearings. In first century Israel, Jesus saw this playing out in a religious system which had become self-centered and abusive. The rich were getting richer and the poor were being exploited rather than protected. This system was originally intended to connect the people with God and God’s justice, but those responsible for maintaining the system had chosen to focus instead on their own power and prestige. As a result, the most vulnerable members of society were being abused and forgotten.
Today the setting is different. The specific issues have changed. Sorting out the details has become more complicated. But the basic reality and the choice remains the same. Will we choose to keep God at the center of life and seek the justice which God desires? Or will we choose instead to keep ourselves at the center of life and ignore the injustice which is so rampant in our world? All of this is more complicated than it has ever been before, because we are more aware of the interconnectedness of our world than we have ever been before. We know that it is important to ask questions like, “Who grew the coffee we are drinking, and are they being paid a fair wage for their efforts?” We know that it is important to ask whether shopping at a particular store supports exploitive labor practices. We know that it is important to examine the ways our patterns of consumption contribute to the degradation of our planet. We know that such questions are important and we know that the answers are not always easy to find or easy to understand. But seeking to follow the God of justice means continuing to ask the questions as we strive to take steps in that direction. The reward for such efforts is often difficult to detect. In the short run it frequently seems as if self-centered, exploitive living is rewarded. The rich do get richer and they appear to be quite happy with the situation. At the same time it often seems that efforts to make our lives and our world more just and compassionate cost a great deal while the results are barely noticeable. But appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, I remain convinced that striving to live my life in harmony and balance with the God of justice does make a positive difference – for me, for us and for the world. I do not have all the answers about what that looks like and how to go about it. And even when I do have some of the answers my life does not always reflect my understanding. But I will continue to seek ways to ever more fully live into a way of life in which I love God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength, and opening myself to God’s guidance towards a world where justice is a reality rather than just a dream. I invite you to join me in that adventure.
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