Mark
Ready for the Day Mark 13.24-37
According to the scientists, the world began with a big bang. But how will it end? With a bang or a whimper? Will we finally blow ourselves up in a terrifying nuclear exchange. Or will the world slowly run down and grind to a halt like a battery powered toy the kids get for Christmas?
According to the Bible, neither of
these are the ultimate destiny of the world. Instead history will draw to a close
with the glorious personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ
26 "At that time men will see the Son of
Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four
winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
At a time of worry and anxiety for the world, it is good to
be reminded that God has the future firmly in his control. He was in control at
the beginning. He is in control now. He will be at the control at the end .
Today Advent Sunday is the first day of the church’s year and
the day we focus on the Second Coming of Christ. Why? Because on the first
Sunday of the year we focus on what is next
on God’s agenda. All the other great festivals such as Christmas, Easter & Pentecost
concern past events. Advent Sunday looks forward to what is next in the plan of God: the second
coming or second Advent of Christ, the day Jesus returns bodily to earth, to
wind up world history and to usher in a whole new order of reality.
We are going to look at two questions: WHEN WILL IT BE?
and WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE?
1.
The time is near
28 "Now learn this lesson from the fig
tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that
summer is near. 29 Even so, when you
see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
There are signs, says Jesus, indicators that the
end is near. Just as the budding of trees is an indicator that summer is near,
so these signs are an indicator that the day of Jesus return is near.
What are these signs? They are things listed in
this chapter: wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes, persecutions, martyrdoms,
false prophets, counterfeit signs and wonders.
Some of them are occurring now; and some have
occurred throughout the 2,000 years since these words were spoken. So has
something gone wrong, has there been some kind of hold up in God’s plan? Some
inexplicable delay? Is the Second Coming somehow overdue?
Not at all. You have got to understand God’s
timetable. God sees time differently from
us, as Peter says in his second letter:
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear
friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are
like a day. 1 Peter 3.8
Two thousand years waiting
for Jesus return seems a long time to us, but not to God. To him it’s like a
couple of days.
The point we are to
understand is that the Lord’s return is near. We are in the very last days of
these world but we have been in these last days since the day of Pentecost
nearly two thousand years ago, and that’s why we can see the signs of the times
all around us
Almost certainly that is
what Jesus meant when he said:
30
I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until
all these things have happened
‘These things’ refers to the signs which the first Christians saw and which we saw, but none of us have yet witnessed what these signs point to: the return of Jesus
That brings us to our next point:
2. The time
is near, but no one knows when (not even Jesus)
Thousands
of Christians, not to mention members of countless wacky cults, have tried to guess the date when Jesus will
return. They have all been wrong. In fact they were mad even to try. Why?
because Jesus says
32 "No one knows about that day or hour,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
If not even the Lord Jesus, knows the date of the second
coming, there’s no chance an amateur theologian poring over the Bible in his
back room is going to find the answer
that has eluded even the Son of God, not to mention the angels of heaven. Don’t
speculate, says Jesus about the date, but just accept that it is near - the
troubles and problems of the world are an indication that my return is near
It is a bit like labour pain. They
are a sure sign that a baby is to appear soon, though not even the most
experienced midwife is able to predict precisely when. In the same way the world
is going through labour pains - a certain indicator that the time for a new
arrival, the personal arrival of Jesus is near, though no one, not even Jesus,
knows the day and time.
So how do we live in the
light of the nearness of Jesus return?
HOW
SHALL WE RESPOND TO IT?
1.
Be Ready
If Jesus return is just
round the corner, if it is the next item on God’s agenda for the world, but if
no one knows when they return will be then you have to be in state of constant
readiness and alertness
We are hearing a lot about
fire fighters at the present time. They have to be in constant state of readiness, because no one knows when a fire
will break out. In the same way God’s people have to be in a constant state of
readiness because no one knows when Jesus may return
Or, to use Jesus
illustration, it’s a bit like an owner
going away and leaving his servants in charge. They have got to be ready at any
time for the servants to come back. So it is with Christians. So Jesus says:
36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find
you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I
say to everyone: 'Watch!'"
Don’t be a sleepy Christian,
be alert, be awake, be constantly ready for the Lord’s return
Let us heed Jesus words: What I say to you, I say to everyone:
'Watch!'"
If you are a Christian, don’t be afraid of that day, be alert, keep watch, but don’t fear it. In the words of a Graham Kendrick song based on this passage: ‘it’s going to be such a good day’
It’s going to be the best
day ever when the Lord Jesus returns to earth, gathers his people to himself;
when we see him face to face; and when he ushers in the new heaven and earth
where there is no more mourning or
crying or pain.
No wonder that in the same
Graham Kendrick song the refrain is repeated over and over again: ‘make it
soon’
It’s not a day to be afraid
of but a day to look forward to . That’s why the bible ends on that note of
eager expectation and anticipation.
In the last chapter of the last
book of the Bible Jesus says:
“Yes, I am
coming soon." Rev 22.20
And his people reply:
‘Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.’ Rev 22.20
Let that be our prayer, too
CLOSING
PRAYER, The Collect for Advent Sunday
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ
came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
If you have, you will understand how the men felt who went with
Jesus in the boat when the storm blew up. They weren't wimps, they weren't
easily afraid. They lived in a tough, rough world, but they ended up in a storm
so fierce, so violent, that they feared for their very lives. It must have been
a bad storm to frighten the experienced fishermen in their group.
For a moment they though their number was up.
And it all started off so calmly and quietly! A bit like those
passengers who got on that Great Western train bound for Paddington. It was a
normal morning like any other morning, it was a routine journey, for most
commuters one they had done many times before, but suddenly in a terrifying
moment it all changed. And they were in fear of their lives. So it was for the
men in that boat.
It was a calm and peaceful evening as they set out. They could
relax after a hectic day's work. Their boss, Jesus, was fast asleep in the
stern and all was well. The sea was calm, the sun was shining, but in the
distance the storm clouds were brewing. And before they knew it, they were in a
storm like they had never seen before, and their lives hung on a thread.
A furious squall came up, the Bible tells us, waves broke over the
boat, the boat was nearly swamped. They realised, experienced seamen that they
were, that their lives were in danger.
And Jesus was asleep!
Didn't he realise what was happening? Was he completely
unconcerned about their fate? Wasn't he going to do anything to help?
'Wake up, Jesus, Wake up!' they cried, 'don't
you care if we drown? don't you realise what is happening to us?' Of
course, we can understand how they felt. We all go through storms in our lives:
there's a death in the family - a beloved child or wife or husband or parent;
we loose our job; we have money troubles; a relationship breaks up; the doctor
gives us some bad news about our health we have been dreading; there's trouble
in the family: a son goes off the rails, there's a row among the relatives, there's
upset, there's bitterness, there's anger, there's even violence.
And we feel as if our lives have been plunged suddenly into a
storm -- a storm that threatens to overwhelm us, to swamp us with worry and
fear and anxiety and even rage. Yes, we know what it is like to go through a
storm.
And sometimes we wonder where God is, too.
Is he asleep, just like Jesus was - snoring away happily while
we're struggling to keep our heads above water? Does God really care we ask
ourselves? Does he really realise what I am going through or has he forgotten
me?
It was at that very point when the disciples were wondering 'Does
Jesus really care?' that he did something.
The storm was raging, the disciples were terrified, and then Jesus
got up and then Jesus spoke, - not to the men, but to the wind and waves 'Quiet, Be still'. Jesus spoke and the weather
obeyed. A person with real authority just says the word and people obey, so it
was with Jesus: he just said the word, and the weather, the whole natural world
obeyed.
And there was complete calm.
And the disciples were terror struck again. They weren't afraid of
drowning anymore: they were afraid of the amazing power of Jesus. We're
sometimes a bit over familiar with Jesus, a bit too casual, a bit too informal,
a bit too matey. Sometimes we think too much of those Sunday school pictures of
a rather soppy, slightly effiminate figure in a long white robe, surrounded by
little children and pretty little lambs. We forget what the real Jesus was
like: grown men trembled in his presence.
Even the disciples, who knew him well, were terrified: terrified
at what he had done; terrified by his awesome power; terrified by the thought
of who it was in their midst.
And so they asked themselves this question: 'Who is this?
Even the wind and waves obey him?'
Well, there's only one answer to that question. Who can speak to the wind and the waves and they obey him, but God
alone who created them? You know how powerful the sea
is, you know how vast the ocean is, and you know who holds this whole vast
world in his hands. and when he issues his orders to the wind and the waves, is
it any surprise that they obey him? He made them in the first place.
The disciples began to realise what exactly they were dealing
with. This man who they were following was much more than a great religious
teacher, he was much than a great miracle worker, this man was GOD.
Two thousand years have gone by and Jesus is the same: he still
has the power: he still has the love. He still speaks words of calm into our
lives as we go through the storms of life and he calls you and me to follow him
and believe in him and trust in him and take him as our Saviour and King and
our God.
A prayer together:
Life had been really hectic of late and Jesus and the disciples had
gone off by boat for a bit of peace and quiet in the country. You know what's
its like: you've just put your feet up in front of the fire, settling down for
a little afternoon snooze when the phone rings; the grandchildren turn up; the
kids wake up from their afternoon nap and all hope of peace is gone. It was
like that for Jesus and the disciples when they arrived at their little rural
hideaway when they found that the crowds had gone there ahead of them.
We can could understand if Jesus had emitted a deep groan of
dismay or even exasperation. But Mark tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds
he felt a quite different emotion: verse 34a: When Jesus saw the crowd ...
he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
He saw them not as a nuisance, but as people, precious to God, who
needed his help. He saw them through the eyes of his compassion. His heart went
out to them. He saw them as they really were: sheep without a shepherd.
Sheep without a shepherd are in a bit of a mess, being rather
stupid animals and being prone to getting themselves into all kinds of scrapes.
They are all over the place without a shepherd to look after them. And when
Jesus saw this crowd, he saw that was their basic problem, too. They had lost
contact with the shepherd of their souls. They no longer had a living
relationship with the living God and as a result they were all over the place.
We know that, too. Where would you or I be without God? What kind
of mess would we be into, what kind of lifestyle might we be leading, without a
shepherd to guide us?
We need to see our world, our parish, our friends, our workmates
through the eyes of Jesus. It is very easy for us to be very despairing with
the world or even quite bitter and angry with people. We think to ourselves: how
terrible those people are; don't they behave badly and we can be quite
dismissive of them -- until we realise why they behave like that: because they
are sheep without a shepherd. It's because they are separated from God.
That realisation should affect us in two ways:
But what about Jesus? What did he actually do for these people? He
saw them. He diagnosed their basic problem: they were like sheep without a
shepherd. He had compassion on them. So what did he do?
So he began teaching them many things. Mark 6.34
Because they were sheep without a shepherd; because he loved: he taught them. He knew that what they most
needed was to be taught, to be taught about him, to be taught about God's
kingdom, to be brought back into fellowship with God. That was Jesus' top
priority. That should be ours as well: there is nothing more important than
that -- than to teach people God's word of life.
But, he didn't leave it there, he fed their souls with his
teaching but he fed their stomachs, too. Jesus helped them in a very practical
way, too. He laid on a slap-up meal so generous in its servings that not only
was everyone full up, but there were twelve baskets full of leftovers.
And of course, that is a very important point. It's no good going
to a hungry man and saying 'God loves you' unless you give him some food as
well. It's vitally important that we share God's message but it is also vitally
important that we lift a hand to give some help in a practical way -- Emmanuel
International and TearFund are very good examples of organisations that do
just that.
Jesus in his compassion did both: he taught them many things and
he fed them; he fed both body and soul. And says Mark: They all ate and were
satisfied. Mark 6.42
Now, we all know about the feeding of the five thousand. It's one
of the best known stories in the Bible and it occurs in all four Gospels. But
what exactly did it mean?
And when it comes to Royal events like a wedding or a coronation
or even a funeral or some kind of national celebration we revel in our
traditions as a nation. And I must say I am all in favour of a bit of
tradition. The word tradition means what is passed on, what has been handed
down, and it's good to hold on from what is good from the past and to remember
it.
So traditions can be a very good thing, but they can also be a
very bad thing as well, when they get in the way of God's truth.
The Pharisees who featured so strongly in today's bible reading
from Mark 7 were great traditionalists. They carefullly guarded their
traditions and handed them down from generation to generation. Anything with
the label 'traditional' on it would have appealed to them immensely.
So they were scandalised when along came Jesus and started
breaking traditions left, right and centre.
READ verse 5: So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked
Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the
elders instead of eating their food with `unclean' hands?"
In effect they were saying: Why don't your disciples keep to the
traditions, why do they break the rules? Why do they seem so disrespectful to
all these things that we have been taught, that are so valuable and so
important for people who take their religion seriously? We've always done it like
this, we were taught to do like this, why don't you do it?
I expect you can understand how they felt. I understand how they
felt, but, if we want to see things from God's perspective, we need to
understand how wrong they were. And Jesus had some stern words of rebuke for
them. Why?
Jesus had stern words because these rules and traditions that they
were so keen on were man-made rules and not ones that came from God. In fact,
they often used their own man-made rules to bend God's rules and get round them.
Jesus gave a prime example. If someone had something that they
could sell or use to help a parent in need -- after all the Law did tell them
to honour their father and mother -- they could get round this by declaring the
item 'corban' (something specially dedicated to God and unable to be sold).
Do you see how their man-made rule nullified God's commandment?
Do we ever do that? That is a question we must ask ourselves.
When people tell us, "you must do this or you must do that or
this is the right way to do it", I want to ask: where is that in the
Bible? Is it something from God's word in Scripture that is binding on every
Christian? Or is it just a man-made rule or ceremony that is at best an
optional extra?
But, Jesus didn't want just to leave it at that, he had a bit more
to say.
The Pharisees were very concerned, even obssessed, with what made
you clean or unclean. It meant avoiding certain foods, it meant avoiding
certain people, it meant going through complicated cleansing ceremonies. But
Jesus had something revolutionary to say about that.
They were all barking up the wrong tree. Why? Listen to this:
READ verses 14-15: 14Again Jesus called the crowd to
him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing
outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what
comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'
It's not what you eat that makes you unclean. In fact there is no
such thing as an unclean food. That's why Christians do not have any special
food that they are unable to eat, unlike Hindus, Jews or Moslems -- because
Jesus has declared all food clean. No, what makes you unclean is not what comes
from outside, but what comes from inside:
READ verse 20-23: 20 He went on: "What comes out of
a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21 For from within, out of men's
hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22
greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All
these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"
All the bad things come from inside. That's where the real problem
of the world is: in the human heart. That's why we have had two terrible world
wars this century. That's why warfare and bloodshed continue in many parts of
the world today.
That's why you and I are part of the problem as well as the
solution. We have all got spiritual heart disease.
So if we want to be really clean, it won't come through religious
ceremonies. It won't come through performing the right ritual, but only by
being changed and purified by God's Holy Spirit.
Now is an opportunity for us to search our hearts, and to be
purified and cleansed on the inside before we pray.
The Parable of the Tenants: Mark 12.1-12
‘Dad’ said the little angel to his
father the big angel ‘you know earth, you know that place the Son of the Lord
our God went to all those years ago, which one is it? Is it that big bright one
over there, or is that red one, or is the greeny one with purple rings all
round it ?’
‘No its
none of them, son’ said his Dad, ‘you see that little pinprick of light down
there in the corner, well, that’s the star they call the Sun, - and round the back of that is the earth - but its too small too see from here’
‘You mean the Son of the Lord our
God, he went to a titchy little place like that? Miles from anywhere. Whatever
for ? Why didn’t he go to that big green one or the big red one or the bright
shiny one instead.
Well, Son
you’ve got to understand the way the Lord our God thinks. With him I’ts all
about love. It was the people on
earth - he loved them you see. He said ‘I made them, I loved them, I’m going to
rescue them.’
Cor, I bet the people on earth were
thrilled. I bet they were excited. I bet they laid out the red carpet. I bet
they felt really privileged that the Son of the Lord our God had chosen to
visit their titchy little planet personally
- all because he loved them.
‘Well,
actually, no. They killed him.’
‘They killed HIM ! They killed God’s Son ! They actually killed
him !’
‘You’ve got
it. They killed him. ........Just as he knew they would’
Just as he knew they would! Do you
mean to tell me that the Son of the Lord our God went to that place called the
earth because he loved the people there so much? And before he went, he knew he
was going to be killed by them and he still went ?
Yep, that’s
it, sont. You’ve got it.
Dad, sometimes I find the Lord our
God a bit hard to understand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It is amazing isn’t it? That God came to this world in person. That
human beings like ourselves plotted to kill him, betrayed him, had him whipped,
beaten, and then crucified him. Its even more amazing that God knew in advance
that it would happen and still he came. That’s how much he loves me and you.
But, what a sad comment on the
human race, even on people who call themselves God’s people, that when the Son
of the Lord our God came to this world in person: we killed him
Jesus told a parable to the Jews
about it. The owner of a vineyard went away and he sent his messenger to
collect the rent from the tenants. The messengers are beaten up, mistreated and
sent home empty handed. In the end the man says to himself. I’ll send my son,
my only Son, they will respect him
But no: they killed the Son (Mark
12.7-8)
Just as the people of Israel were
about to. They knew that they were like the people in the story. God had sent
his messengers, the prophets, to them. They had ignored them and ill-treated
them, they hadn’t listened or taken to heart God’s message to them. In the end,
God sent his Son and now they were about to kill him. In fact the parable made
them all the more determined to do that (see verse 12). It was a bit close to
the bone, a bit too near to the truth
You’ve only got to read the Gospels
to see the sheer level of hatred of Jesus of what he was doing and what he was
saying. At the heart of all that is a rebellious attitude to God, a hatred of
God and his ways that the Bible calles sin
As such it affects all of us. The
danger of reading this parable is to say ‘thankyou
God I am a not like those awful people
who killed Jesus’. In actual fact, you and I, are just like those awful people who killed Jesus. You and me, had we been
there, could well have been part of the crowd that cried ‘crucify’
Surely the honest response is to
say ‘Lord I could have been one of those people, I could have joined in with
the crowd, I could have shut ears to
your word’
The artist Rembrandt was a
believer, if somewhat unconventional, and he painted many great biblical
scenes. When he painted his famous picture of the elevation of the cross he
painted himself as one of the executionners. It was his humble admission that he
was no different and no better than those who crucified Jesus. He was part of
the same sinful human race, that had this deep rebellious streak towards God in
its hearts.
And so as we think about God’s
messengers who were irgnored and abused, and as we think of the suffering and
rejection of Christ today on Passion Sunday, each of us have to ask ourselves
these questions:
·
are we listening, really listening to God’s word to
our lives
·
are we treating the Son of God the right way ?
·
is he our Lord or just our mate, does he have authority in
our lives, or is he just a comforting presence
there in the background ?
These are very important questions
- at the end of the day they are the
most important questions of all. The Jews thought they could get rid of Jesus
by killing him. People today think perhaps they can get rid of him by ignoring
him or mocking him or putting his troubling teaching to the back of their minds
but to each of those people and to us, Jesus says, as he said to the people who
first heard this parable:
‘Haven’t
you read this scripture: The stone the
builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and its
marvellous in our eyes ?’ (Mark
12.10-11)
The very
one who was rejected, the Son who was beaten up and killed, has become the
capstone. He is most important stone in
the building, the stone that holds the whole thing together. Jesus is Lord,
Jesus is the king , Jesus is the only Saviour. This is something only God could
do. God has turned the tables. The rejected one is now the anointed one. As
Peter told the crowd on the day of Pentecost
Therefore
let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ. Acts 2.36
Its Jesus
this, Jesus that we all have to deal with. The world tried to get rid of him
once and didn’t succeed.
Haven’t you
read this scripture: The stone the
builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and its
marvellous in our eyes ?
The Greatest Commandment: Mark 12.28-34
Two groups of walkers set out on a
15 mile walk for charity. It was over rough Moorland and dense woodland
and they had to reach a rendezvous
point by 4pm in the afternoon where they were going to get picked up. They were
all well-equipped with maps, a compass and suitable clothing.
By the pick up time the first group
had arrived, had time to relax and have a cup of tea and were ready to be taken
back to the base. But there was no sign of the other group. So they waited and
waited, until the organisers started to get worried. With the weather worsening
and darkness starting to fall, things began to get serious and a full scale
search had to be instituted
Eventually the wet bedraggled
walking party were found, nearly 5 miles from the rendezvous point - they had
walked for miles and miles - but, unfortunately in the wrong direction. Someone
had lost the group’s only compass. So they kept walking in what they thought
was the right direction. But in actual fact they had veered off from the
direction they were supposed to be heading, and the further they walked, the
further they were from where they were meant to be and the more lost they were
The first group however had a
compass, they had a map., they were able to keep on the right path and they
made the rendezvous point with time to spare
What a difference a compass makes
if you are going on a long journey. Without it you can veer off completely and
get completely lost. As you can in life - without a spiritual compass. So many
people get their lives in a terrible mess. So many people cause so much
unhappiness to themselves and to others because they do not have any kind of
compass. They don’t have any means of finding their way through life. They are
as lost and confused as our poor party of walkers who mislaid their compass out
walking.
You and I are no different -
without a spiritual compass we are, quite literally, LOST. How can we know the
right way to live, the right way to live our lives, the direction, to go, in
the compass to walk by ?
Surely that it what God’s
commandments are all about. They are there to teach us how to live, they are
there to show us the way. The psalms are certainly full of that of that
conviction:
Show me
your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; (Psa 25:4 NIV)
Teach me
your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name. (Psa 86:11 NIV)
Teach me to
do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psa
143:10 NIV)
That’s why God’s commandments,
God’s guidance for living is so vital
But which of them is the most
important ? That was the question Jesus was asked:
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard
them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,
"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
And Jesus answered:
29 "The most important one is this: 'Hear,
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as
yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
The most important commandment is
to Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength.'
The most important commandment is
about putting God first about
putting him at the centre. It is about loving God, not just an emotional
feeling, but loving God with your whole life, your whole self. When we do that,
it is like going on a walk with a compass. We are heading in the right basic
direction, we travelling along the right road, we are heading for the right
destination
But when we stop loving God fully
and wholeheartedly, we tend to veer off. As time goes on we get further and
further away from where we should be
Let us each ask ourselves: how is
our love for God? Are we loving him with all our heart, our soul, our mind our strength?
Its quite a challenge isn’t it? Anything less of course gives him far less than
his due
And what about the other
commandment, the one that Jesus says is the next most important after loving
God?: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
That’s the other key part. That’s
the one that sums up so many of the other commandments. That’s the one that
looks out into the world. It’s no good loving God, but hating his world. Loving
God must overflow into love for the people next door, the people down the street,
the poor, the widow and the orphan on the other side of the world. They’re all
our neighbours and we must love them, too
Sadly we are, if anything, becoming
a more selfish world. Our focus is on self but Jesus teaching is different. The
heart of life is not loving yourself, it’s loving God. And then its other
people. That’s a very different way of
living, but its God’s way, its the right way and the best way to live.
If you live in this way, you have God’s compass to guide you through your life.
No wonder the man who asked Jesus
said this
32 "Well said, teacher," the man
replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other
but him. 33 To love him with all your
heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your
neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and
sacrifices."
And no wonder Jesus said to him:
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely,
he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then
on no one dared ask him any more questions.
You’re on the right lines, he is
saying in effect, you are heading in the right direction.
Let us reflect on him in his
majesty and power and love and let us do the same