What really matters

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, & 9:20-22 and Mark 9:38-50

Jesus made three clear predictions of passion….of His coming death (chapter 9 presents the second prediction (8:31; 10:32)).
Each prediction is followed by His disciples failing to grasp how things really are…and what really matters.

In Mark 8 and again in Mark 9, Jesus had told them that He would be executed! "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days He will rise." (Verse 31).
That's pretty clear…isn't it…Jesus didn't muck around…He told the disciples straight out…He would be killed…this phrase…the Son of Man…was another title for the Messiah…They knew Jesus as Messiah…so they should have understood…but they couldn't hear it.

Sometimes we hear something so strange that our mind can't comprehend it…then when we have it sorted in our mind…what we think should happen…we can have a wrong expectation…I think this is what happened to the disciples.

Since they didn't understand Jesus…they went down the road talking about something they did understand… something they cared about. They walked down the road asking among each other who was the greatest. Amazing isn't it…in the presence of the greatness of Jesus they focused on their own greatness.

Jesus knew they were vying for top disciple status…saw they were jostling for power…knew they had completely ignored His warning that He would die… knew that their hearts were focused on self not on discipleship…and He wanted to talk with them about it…Jesus wasn't trying to trap them…He simply wanted to help the disciples to understand what it meant to be a disciple.

The disciples…on the other hand…knew at once that they had been caught red handed…they understood that Jesus had called them to greatness…understood that they had fallen into petty arguing about greatness.

However a darkness in the heart cannot be cured by moving the body from one place to another…Jesus had seen into the dark recesses of their hearts…we know the disciples are embarrassed…truth is…we are embarrassed for them too…a part of our embarrassment is for ourselves…because we know we are no better than those disciples…we know…if Jesus were to come into this church today…and were to expose the dark corners of our hearts…we would be embarrassed by the pettiness and selfishness…He would find there.

Something deep inside us says "but for the grace of God…I too would be standing spiritually naked in front of these people"…”There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

If you asked 100 people to identify their favourite Bible passage it is likely not one of them will mention this morning's gospel text from verse 38 onwards in this 9th chapter of Mark's gospel…if your hand causes you to stumble…cut it off…it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell!

If your foot causes you to sin…cut it off…it is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye than to have 2 eyes…and to be thrown into hell…where their worm never dies…and the fire is never quenched.

As we consider these words this morning in our war torn world…you may be like I was at the start of the week…wondering what could this all possibly mean…what are we to do with these words from Jesus…when Jesus talks of hell…He is talking about a real place a place where…there will be nothing of God!

However I assume that Jesus is not talking about literal amputation…plucking out eyes…cutting off hands…and feet…in these verses…we recognise that the language of the Bible is sometimes so vivid and concrete… that it perplexes/bewilders us…we think we know what Jesus is not recommending…but that by itself leaves us nowhere.

These are curious verses what is it that Jesus calls on us to do…take a minute…search around the foggy storerooms of your mind…see if you can locate a resentment…one which is old… ugly and painful…but still very much alive. Can you feel hostility towards someone…for a word spoken…an action done… maybe something…which should have happened…and never did…these are some of the ways in which a resentment begins to grow.

A resentment can thrive in darkness…or in light…it doesn't matter if you are aware of your resentment or unaware…it grows regardless…and its roots run deep…when resentment is alive in us…it too drains away energy…sucks the very life out of us…like a tumour…it puts pressure on the healthy tissue…after a while…it gets so crowded inside that we have difficulty finding out what really belongs to us…and who we really are.

Perhaps…this is the amputation which is required…the amputation that Jesus is talking about…when Jesus tells us to pluck out our eye…or to cut off the hand or foot which cause us to stumble…could He be telling us that our resentments need to be removed…something which can seem terribly difficult…even impossible…a resentment can seem part of who we are so much so that its disappearance amounts to a real loss…an amputation.

While we cling to our resentment the prospect of losing it can appear as unnatural…and as unattractive…as the maiming of our body…yet Jesus tells us that this maiming is necessary…if we are to enter into true life…because there is no way we can bring our resentments into God's Kingdom…the divine realm consists entirely of amputees …whose resentments have been removed.

Whatever our justification…somehow…we must give up our resentments…what we're talking about here is forgiveness…and whenever true forgiveness occurs… it's a miracle as much as walking on water or…restoring sight to the blind.

When we consent to the removal of resentments…we are…like the patient who submits to life-threatening surgery…because there's no hope for life without it…then we can comprehend that we are forgiven people…forgiven by God at the price of Christ's cross.

Now…we need to ask ourselves if God forgives me…how is it I cannot find forgiveness for my neighbour?
We pray each Sunday…"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us"…the only way for us to put this into practice and be capable of forgiveness is…to extend forgiveness.

Knowing that God can forgive my infinite debt…what is it that prevents me from extending forgiveness to my fellow servant…who stands in need…many of us will know that giving up resentments is tough work…our hearts harden easily becoming 4 hard…over and over…and over again…perhaps…we do not want to relinquish our resentment…do we find some perverse enjoyment in it…and in feeling miserable…

If we want it dealt with…then a first step is to want to relinquish it…utter a plaintive cry…"Lord soften my heart!"

From this meagre beginning better things can come…since God gladly accepts these offerings to set us free from the hooks of resentment…as we begin to realise the only gifts we have to offer the Lord…that is the ones that completely belong to us are…the gifts no-one would want…such as our resentments.

In a hospital room you may have seen a special waste container labelled Biohazard…in this container are put items that present a health threat to anyone who comes into contact with them…given the possibilities for infection the Biohazard container is a sensible precaution…now imagine a Biohazard container of a different kind…one designed to contain any thing that represents a threat to our soul’s health…to contain anything that can cause our hearts to harden in a spiritual sense…this container becomes an ideal receptacle for resentments.

Do you…have a resentment that it is time for you to amputate and discard…it's a tough call…but it is not impossible…it is an odd offering…I know…but God will accept it…and you will find that where your resentment was amputated…there will be no gaping wound…instead it will become the site of renewed health and vitality.

Remember God's love is a balm…that forgives and forgets while resentment is an acid that burns and blemishes.

Let us pray.

If you can recognise resentment in your storerooms…then during this period of silence…tear the resentment from its place…toss it into the Biohazard container intended for dangerous spiritual waste…now offer up the container to God remembering that God's love is a balm that forgives and forgets.

Lord Jesus we hand this spiritual biohazard container over to you.

Amen.