[Link to Sermon from Sunday, June 2, 2019]
Below are also a series of questions which I will share concise versions of the answers I wrote while doing the devotional. But first, the Scriptural passage: (Matthew 19:16-30, New International Version)
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Now, the first three questions (there are eight in total):
1.) What are your impressions from this sermon?(Note: I say "kinda-sorta" because I understand that God will not necessarily call "everyone" to just up and leave everything behind to follow Him -- after all, the Body of Christ needs workers in the marketplace, as well as people with money -- but everyone who wants to follow Jesus is called to give certain things up, and then to take up certain responsibilities within the Body, according to their purpose and gifting.)
It was a powerful sermon. It was timely. It actually even began to answer the biggest personal question on my prayer-and-fasting list: "why am I here? what is my purpose?" But I'll be honest: it was not at all the answer I was looking for. Bottom line, I discovered anger I have about precisely this. There's growth to be had, for sure.
2.) In what ways are you trying to "have it all" and have the Kingdom?
In life, I want to have my cake and eat it, too. Today was a good example: I had a lot of open time today and chose to work on some music. I then chose to work on some more music, thinking: "Ah, I have time! I can do this, and shop, and make lunch, and shower, and still do a full devotional before my afternoon appointment!" Nope. Didn't do the devotional then; wasn't enough time there, so I did it this evening, and it is only now in the later evening that I'm getting around to blogging.
3.) In what ways do you sense the American Dream informing you more than discipleship to Jesus?
I sense the American Dream informing me of what adulthood is supposed to look like, that it was good; and that, in spite of the life I had growing up, if I did well in school, graduated, and got a job, then adulthood would work out OK. Growing up, discipleship with Jesus to me was just a "church" thing, only on Sundays, and completely separate from this picture of adulthood that was going to be the main part of my life. Now, since joining the Vineyard, and following through on several other personal healing opportunities that God has put in my path, I've begun to see more and more how discipleship with Jesus is not only meant to be integrated into the main part of my life, but actually be the main part of my life. Where I'm at is heading into (or already in) this all-out war between the American Dream which I still long for, and this some kinda-sorta-yet-to-be-revealed picture of discipleship just somehow being this life.
[For non-Christians who are reading this blog and curious about Jesus, I'm guessing I've lost you at the phrase "the Body of Christ." The Body of Christ simply means every Christian who follows Jesus, worldwide. This includes Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, and other churches who proclaim Jesus as God and the Son of God. For the sake of argument, the "Body of Christ" is a metaphor (although in reality it is much more than that!) in that a human body has different parts who are responsible for different things: feet for walking, brains for thinking, hearts for pumping blood and for feeling feelings, etc, etc. In the same way, the Body of Christ (i.e. the Christian Church worldwide) has different members responsible for different things: pastors/priests, bishops, deacons, teachers, prophets, as well as lawyers, doctors, schoolteachers, chefs, politicians (I hope), and so on.]