text: November « 2012 « Welcome to TheGatherings!
  25th Sunday in Pentecost B, November 4th, 2012
  ""And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." [Mark 12:34]
  The song I chose as a mental hook, "More Than a Feeling" is meant to communicate an important message. God's Word, specifically His Holy Law, is not supposed to make us feel good about ourselves. It isn't meant to congratulate us on how much we love our Creator and our neighbor; in fact it should produce the opposite effect in us. God's Law should first terrify us, because it shows us how little we love Him and how poorly we love our neighbor, and then it should move us to call out to God for a solution to our lack of love.
  And yet, like the Scribe in our gospel reading (Mark 12:28-37), how easy it is for us too, to become comfortable with how we think we are doing. Oh how easy it can become for us to turn off our ears and blind our eyes to the truth; we fall far short.
  The young scribe in our gospel lesson, is someone we might call a seeker in today's lingo. He is genuine in his desire to live a God pleasing life. He comes from a confusing culture, where the Law of God exists within the frame work of not just 10 commandments but 613 commandments. Can you imagine that?! There were 248 positive commandments, or commandments that told you what you should do, and then there were 365 negative commandments, or commandments that told you what you should not do. With all of these commandments a person could get lost prioritizing them. So the young scribe presents a valid question to Jesus, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
  We need to remember that the young scribe, like many young people today, felt that he really did love God; to him, the proof of this was the truth that He wanted to please the Heavenly Father. And second He had been listening to Jesus for some time now, and He really did respect Jesus and His teaching. He probably found a great degree of wisdom in the Words of Jesus; he seemed to be comfortable around Him, listening to Him. So when he asked Jesus, which commandment was the most important, he was really asking for Jesus' guidance.
  This morning Jesus is teaching an important lesson. Knowing God and pleasing God are similar but separate. Oh they're close, but they aren't so close as being the same. There are two things that separate those who know God from those who please God. And both of those things come only from God.
  The first is the Word of God. Hear O sinners. Listen to the Word of God and let it penetrate you. When you listen to the Word, when you really hear what it is saying you will know God's truth and you will know His heart. The truth of God is that you are trapped in your sins. On your own you can never really love Him or your neighbor. That kind of love can come only from your Creator. And how does He give that love? By allowing us to hear His Word. And when we let God's Word do what God intends for it to do, He gives us faith. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." [Romans 10:17]
  Through the writings of the apostles and the testimony of all of scripture, you can read all of God's Word with Jesus as the central figure. You can go from the commandments of the law to the fulfillment of the Law, which is the gospel, in the person of Jesus, the One true God; God in human flesh. Because of the love of the Father and the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit, you can hear the Words of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and know that through Him, God alone made all things new and right, including you. You know that the same love that led Jesus the Messiah to the cross to die for the sins of the world also leads you to love God with your whole being, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
  What is impossible for you to do, becomes possible when God is the one working in you and through you. By faith, you know that much more than all of the burnt offerings and whole sacrifices are necessary to please your creator. True obedience is demanded. But you also know that this obedience had to come from outside of you; it had to come from God. In Jesus, you see God Himself coming to you to offer both sacrifice and obedience, and as a result, by faith you receive His forgiving mercy. And now as our epistle lesson (Hebrews 9:11-22) states, you have "such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens." This one final act and the faith that comes from the very Word that teaches you about this work of God, is enough to draw you closer to the kingdom; so close that in fact you are now in that kingdom. And now only two things remain. You must rest in the kingdom of grace, forever enjoying the forgiving love of the Father, and you are asked invite others into it with you.
  The pronouncement of God through Jesus Christ is, "You are forgiven!" In the message of the gospel you have been given great power, the power of God unto salvation. That message is for you but it is also for your neighbor. Your neighbor may not feel obligated to love you, but God sure does, and He loves your mean spirited neighbor too. The same God who in the beginning looked at His creation and called it good, wants to do the very same thing again with your neighbor who doesn't know Jesus by faith.
  That is the very reason you are still here living in this dark and dying world. You are to bring light and life to it. You are to bring the message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ to all who will hear. When you see your neighbor and see how unlovable they are, God wants you to remember how much He loves you and how much you are to love Him. He wants you to remember what real love is, not so you can feel guilt and shame, but so He can use you to speak words of faith and love to those who are faithless and unlovable, just as you once were.
  In this holy house of worship, Jesus looks upon our neighbors just as He did the young scribe and says to their hard hearts, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Come unto me and find rest!