“For God all things are possible”
With God’s help what would you like to
see done or accomplished?
With God’s help what would you like to
do or become?
What does your response reveal?
About you - about your hopes, dreams,
desires and your outlook on life?
About your image and understanding of
God and how God acts?
How do you imagine God work in you
and through you to bring about these
changes?
“For God all things are Possible
What if instead we made God the most
important word in Jesus’ statement and
asked with our help what would it be
possible for God to accomplish?
What would have to change about the
way we think and live as God’s people?
World of Possibility
What we imagine as possible is
conditioned and constrained by the logic
of the world
The logic of the “world” is a calculus,
an economy, a system of accounting everything is for sale, everything has a
price and nothing is sacred
Kingdom of Impossibility
In the Kingdom of God things happen by
the impossible!
In the world logic determines what is
possible, probable or entirely necessary
and as such is the light of the world
The Kingdom of God shatters the
horizons of the possible!
Kingdom Against the World
The “world”is what really exists,
whereas the kingdom calls for something
else that would appear as “foolish”,
“weak” and “impossible”
The “kingdom of God’ contradicts the
world, which is the order of power,
privilege and self-interest, of business as
usual
Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those
who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the
gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the
whole world and forfeit their life? (Mark 8:35-37)
The Foolishness & Weakness of God
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since,
in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through
wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our
proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand
signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s
foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness
is stronger than human strength
(1 Cor 1:20-25).
Possibility of the Impossible in Context
As 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?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall
not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not
defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since
my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you
own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many
possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have
wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But
Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things
are possible.” (Mark 10:17-27)
Constrained by Worldly Logic
Rich man construes the kingdom in terms
of worldly logic:“inherit eternal life?”
“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and
said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what
you own, and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come, follow me.’”
Possibility of Transformation
In the kingdom everything turns on
metanoia - a new heart that inspires a
new way of living
“Jesus, looking at him, loved him” contrary to the logic of the world love
rather than judgment is the power that
transforms us and the world
“Suppose we think of God not so much in terms of
everything that we desire, which seems a little
acquisitive, but in terms of everything that desires us,
everything that draws us out of ourselves and calls
upon us, calling from below being to what is beyond,
that summons up the best in us, then asks us to go out o
our creaturely way of being and live generously, to live
and love ... to live by loving, unconditionally?” John
Caputo, The Weakness of God
“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you
were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not
many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the
world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to
shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the
world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so
that no one might boast in the presence of God. God is the source
of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God..” (1 Cor 1:26-30)
The God Who Calls Us!
The God calls us into the horizon of the
impossible is not the God who fixes us or
solves our problems
The God “who gives life to the dead and
calls into existence the things that do not
exist” (Rom 4:17) calls us into
relationship and participation in the
ongoing work of new creation
The Call of the Rich Man
Fear of the unknown causes us to focus
on what the rich man has to give up
What is the reality into which Jesus was
inviting him?
The Context of the Rich Man & Jesus in Mark
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might
touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus
saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children
come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the
kingdom of God belongs.
(Mark 10:13-14)
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and
followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has
left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or
fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not
receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters,
mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to
come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will
be first.” (Mark 10:28-31)
Discussion Questions
Why is it so difficult for the rich man to
relinquish his attachment to the world its stuff and its logic?
Recount a time when you broke with the
world and its logic of calculation for the
sake of love. What happened?
The Call to Serve: Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher,
we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you
want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and
one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are
asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I
drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it
has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and
John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those
whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over
them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son
of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The Colonized Self
“Teacher, we want you to do for us
whatever we ask of you.” (Mk 10:35)
Everyone wants to be esteemed and valued,
but in the world’s logic it is power, privilege
and wealth that make that possible
The world is not just out there, it’s in our
hearts
So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the
Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and
their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but
whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for
many.” (Mark 10:42-45)
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be
first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and
put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever
welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”(Mark 9:35-37)
Dynamics of Power in the World
“The spirit that animates worldly power naturally tends toward
manipulation, domination, and control. Rooted in the deceptions of
misdirected desire, it is a power that in its most course expressions
would exploit, subjugate, and even enslave. “Within a fallen
humanity, then all power is tainted, infected by the same tendencies
toward self-aggrandizing domination.”
“One of the most common practices of rich and poor alike is to use
whatever wealth is available to improve social standing, through
the consumption of goods that carry status.”
James Hunter Davidson, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy,
and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World
Jesus and Power
Through his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus
laid bare the illusion on which worldly power was
based
Jesus’ power was derived from his intimacy with the
God which allowed him to heed the call to serve the
One who is the Source of Life and no other
The social power exercised by Jesus was predicated on
his rejection of status and privilege and was used to
heal and restore people to life and community
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. ...
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by
the Lord.”
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of God servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is God’s name.
God’s mercy is for those who fear God
from generation to generation.
God has shown strength with God’s arm;
God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
God has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
God has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
God has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
Faithful Engagement
“Formation is about learning to live the alternative reality of the kingdom of God within
the present world order faithfully”
“A theology of faithful presence is a theology of engagement in and with the world
around us. It is a theology of commitment, a theology of promise .... At root a theology of
faithful presence begins with an acknowledgement of God’s faithful presence to us and
that God’s call upon us is that we be faithfully present to God in return.”
“... faithful presence means a constructive resistance that seeks new patterns of social
organization that challenge, undermine, and otherwise diminish oppression, injustice,
enmity, and corruption, and, in turn, encourage harmony, fruitfulness, and abundance,
wholeness, beauty, joy, security, and well-being”
James Davidson Hunter, To Change the World
The Call to Discernment & Practice
Discernment: What new reality is God
calling into existence?
Practice: What is God calling us to be
and do in order to participate in the new
creation?
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of
which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet
untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to
go with good courage, not knowing where we go, but
only that your hand is leading us and your love
supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Evening Prayer, ELW