SCRIPTURE: Mark 10:17-31
TEXT: 17As 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?” THEME: Eternal life living. INTRODUCTION This is the passage the song ‘Kanaka Waiwai’ is based on. Kanaka is a person and waiwai means prosperous. Its root is ‘wai’ which means water. I am wondering if a word is repeated such as waiwai, if it is for emphasis, meaning an abundance of fresh water, which also means a rich sustenance for life. SCRIPTURE Jesus is getting ready to continue his journey, when a rich person accosts him by addressing him as “Good Teacher”. Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Good?” Everything Jesus does, is for the common good of all people, this is what the incarnation is all about, but what this person is asking, is not for the same kind of good. This rich person is only asking for what is good for them. What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The good, this rich person sees is that Jesus has Eternal life and asks, “What must I do to become immortal?” Jesus’ first response is to tick off a list of commandments that he has kept. 5 out of 10 is not bad. He has kept the relational commandments with others, but when it comes to his relationship with God and to coveting what others have, he has had difficulty keeping these. “I have kept all of these (you have mentioned) since my youth.” Then Jesus looks at him and loved him. On Wednesday, this passage was the theme of chapel for our preschoolers. “When Pastor Robb dies, He is going to go to heaven because Jesus loves him.” It’s just as simple as that. This is how my theology has changed from original sin to original blessing. This is how our need for a Savior is to show us how to live in Relationship with God and others. Love is powerful and forges these relationships, Love is a force that doesn’t need to have a substitutionary sacrifice, to satisfy a cosmic balance in the universe, or for God to begin to love us again. God’s love for us has never stopped, even when our ancestors disobeyed, were selfish and did not think about the common good, but only acted upon what they thought was good for them. They were sinful but not unlovable. Even while in the garden, God clothes them, teaches them how to farm, is concern about childbirth and continues to be involved in the lives of their descendants all the way, up to us. God’s love is more powerful than any sin or else sin would be more powerful than love. The words to the song “Jesus Loves me” are simple but true. The look of Jesus towards the rich person was simple and true and enough for an inheritance to Eternal Life. But the rich person misses it. He wanted Jesus to tell him that he was fine, doing what he was doing, but when Jesus says love God. Give your stuff away, and follow Jesus, he was shocked and went away grieving. It is impossible for us to make or get God to love us, thank goodness that God already does. And along with that love, comes grace and forgiveness. But for us to love God, takes a giving up of the idols in our lives, and coming to know who Jesus is. Simple in concept but really hard to do, especially if you think that you have much to lose. APPLICATION Today is the 155th Anniversary of the Beginning of Wailuku Union Church. I was going to reprint the Statement of Faith that was used at our beginnings on October 10th, 1866. but it was written to preserve the faithful so far away from home, as a way to escape sin and inherit eternal life. Our 1866 statement of faith was consistent with the prevailing theology of the day, but today, we would also affirm the tremendous power of God’s love that is steadfast and sure. We may change in our perceptions but God will always act according to what is best for us. What do the next chapters of our church’s Eternal Life living look like? We like to think that what we believe about God stays the same and doesn’t change throughout the ages. The truth of the matter is that how we understand what the scriptures say can be influenced by our culture, society, science and by what is going on in our world. If this were not true, then we would still be practicing slavery, or not have women as pastors, or the sex of our loving partner as an abomination instead of the condemnation of sexual violence. We have moved from just the preservation of our hope of eternal life to eternal life living. Like in the song, ‘Jesus Loves Me', affirms our belonging. This belonging includes us in the family of God, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, and members of the People of God. Eternal Life then becomes our inheritance, by being loved by an eternal God. The new observation we affirm, is that our eternal life does not begin after we die, but begins now, as we live in this world and continues after we die in heaven with God. Heaven isn’t just for me, but for everyone, so the skills that we develop with our relationships with each other here, will also serve us in heaven. We will continue to practice love in heaven by loving God and by loving each other. The mission to Hawaii was 200 years old last year. Some of the buildings that our churches use are almost as old. Some populations have moved from these strategic outposts, generations have passed and our interpretation of the gospel to the next generation has been problematic as the future of the church is uncertain. And now, in a Pandemic, shifting to an internet worship service, what will the church look like post Pandemic? Where does our efforts have the most effect? Is our building something we should sell, and give the money to the poor so we can be free to follow Jesus? Our Wailuku Mission Housing is not something we are doing to carve out a future for us. It is something we are doing for the Good of our community. Following Jesus, we have discerned this project that is a response to loving our neighbors. This project, besides the food pantry and the preschool makes our faith visible. We are living what we believe, not believing so we can live. This is Eternal life living. CONCLUSION In the song ‘Kanaka Waiwai’, the imagine we are given is of the rich person giving up their possessions and walking with Jesus in paradise. That isn’t what happens in the biblical text, but what could have happened. Immortality is such a seductive temptation. We are so afraid of dying, but what if we take our focus off of our dying and focus on our living. The walk-through paradise begins now. Learning to love in paradise today. Sharing in this world, being mindful of others, creating a paradise where ever we go. Love becoming our sustenance of life. Putting our possessions aside for loving our neighbor, humanity, the cry of the wounded, struggling, hungry and the sick. “Teach me how to love…how to share…let me walk through paradise with you…lead me on to paradise.” The writer of their song was quite the theologian, encapsulating Eternal Life Living beginning here and leading to life in to eternity.
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