All Things Are Possible
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a rich man
All Things Are Possible
Mark 10:23-27
"... for God, all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). That is what John believed. He was a man who believed that, "for God, all things are possible." That was John's faith. That was John's conviction. That was the foundation upon which John built his life -- "for God, all things are possible." Each day was a gift fashioned by God, full of opportunities for goodness to achieve, and goodness to enjoy.
Measured by small town standards, John was a rich man. He made his money in oil, like another John whose last name was Rockefeller. John didn't make his money by producing oil or refining it. John made his money by moving oil and gasoline to where people needed it. It was John's good fortune that a whole lot of people needed a whole lot of oil and gasoline in a whole lot of places. So it was that by Big Fork standards, John became a rich man.
He was a rich man who went to church. He always went to church. John seldom missed "being in church" on Sunday morning. Not so many years ago, part of John's responsibility on Sunday morning was to observe his ushers, to make sure their appearance and performance measured up to the high standards he, as head usher, set for them. Knowing John's eye was on them, you better believe they did measure up.
John was a man who wanted things done right. John was a man who believed that Jesus Christ deserved to have things done right in his church. In his life, as a member of this congregation, John did what he could, in many different ways, to make sure things were done correctly and in good order.
Along with his belief that "with God, all things are possible," John also understood with the Apostle Paul that, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise" (Colossians 4:8), that is what he should give his attention to and practice. John's desire to have things in the church be as best as they could be was not just a matter of personal preference. For John it was a matter of faith.
John was a transplanted German Lutheran who worshiped here each Sunday, surrounded by Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes. Although he never missed the annual dinner at his home church in Grand Rapids, he honored his membership here by exchanging sauerkraut for lutefisk. To paraphrase the words of our Lord, "Greater love has no man than this, that he eats lutefisk for the sake of his neighbors."
John was a man who believed that the church, the body of Christ, is made up of many different members. Each member must contribute their special gifts for the building up of the whole body. Along with believing that, "for God all things are possible," John believed that, together with himself, the members of this congregation are the body of Christ. He was bound by faith to cooperate, to fit in, to sing beside, pray beside, plan beside, work beside, eat lutefisk beside, and sell lefse beside, his brothers in Christ, and, once in a while, his sisters in Christ, in this congregation.
Doing that wasn't always easy. John had his way a lot, but not always. When he didn't, John didn't turn his back and walk away. He stayed to do his part, not out of stubbornness, but out of faith, faith that included both Christ and Christ's church. So, when this congregation gathered, John was seldom absent. When he was off to Los Angeles to spend some time with his son and his son's family, he remembered us. He worshiped with Robert Shuller in the Crystal Cathedral, and he remembered us.
Because John was present so regularly at worship, he must have heard these words of Jesus read many, many times, "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" (Mark 10:25). I don't think John considered himself rich. We did. I'm not sure he did. I suspect, though, that he might have wondered whether Jesus considered him to be rich. If that was true, what would that mean about heaven, about the kingdom of God?
If I were rich, the words of Jesus would make me nervous. Actually, they do make me nervous. Compared to the vast majority of the population of the planet earth, I am a rich man. All you people here are rich people. Jesus' words about the difficulty of rich people entering the kingdom of God are not just something he is saying about someone else. He is saying it about us. That makes me nervous.
I don't know, though, that it made John nervous, because he knew without a doubt that, "for God, all things are possible." So, when Jesus died on the cross, he died for John. Jesus died to make it possible for John to become one of the saints in the kingdom of God. Being rich, or being poor, or being anything in between, has nothing to do with it. It is Jesus' death, Jesus' death and resurrection, that has everything to do with it. It is God's way of making salvation possible for us all. Because it was God's way, and because John knew that, even more than himself, God has a passion for doing things right, John had complete confidence in the forgiveness and salvation work God had done for him in Jesus Christ.
Because of what God has made possible in Jesus, John is gathered with the saints. Even now he is looking them over, measuring them up, putting together a brand new crew to usher at the banquet feast of the kingdom of God, the banquet feast of Christ and his people. It is a feast at which John is both head usher and welcome guest.
Amen.
All Things Are Possible
Mark 10:23-27
"... for God, all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). That is what John believed. He was a man who believed that, "for God, all things are possible." That was John's faith. That was John's conviction. That was the foundation upon which John built his life -- "for God, all things are possible." Each day was a gift fashioned by God, full of opportunities for goodness to achieve, and goodness to enjoy.
Measured by small town standards, John was a rich man. He made his money in oil, like another John whose last name was Rockefeller. John didn't make his money by producing oil or refining it. John made his money by moving oil and gasoline to where people needed it. It was John's good fortune that a whole lot of people needed a whole lot of oil and gasoline in a whole lot of places. So it was that by Big Fork standards, John became a rich man.
He was a rich man who went to church. He always went to church. John seldom missed "being in church" on Sunday morning. Not so many years ago, part of John's responsibility on Sunday morning was to observe his ushers, to make sure their appearance and performance measured up to the high standards he, as head usher, set for them. Knowing John's eye was on them, you better believe they did measure up.
John was a man who wanted things done right. John was a man who believed that Jesus Christ deserved to have things done right in his church. In his life, as a member of this congregation, John did what he could, in many different ways, to make sure things were done correctly and in good order.
Along with his belief that "with God, all things are possible," John also understood with the Apostle Paul that, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise" (Colossians 4:8), that is what he should give his attention to and practice. John's desire to have things in the church be as best as they could be was not just a matter of personal preference. For John it was a matter of faith.
John was a transplanted German Lutheran who worshiped here each Sunday, surrounded by Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes. Although he never missed the annual dinner at his home church in Grand Rapids, he honored his membership here by exchanging sauerkraut for lutefisk. To paraphrase the words of our Lord, "Greater love has no man than this, that he eats lutefisk for the sake of his neighbors."
John was a man who believed that the church, the body of Christ, is made up of many different members. Each member must contribute their special gifts for the building up of the whole body. Along with believing that, "for God all things are possible," John believed that, together with himself, the members of this congregation are the body of Christ. He was bound by faith to cooperate, to fit in, to sing beside, pray beside, plan beside, work beside, eat lutefisk beside, and sell lefse beside, his brothers in Christ, and, once in a while, his sisters in Christ, in this congregation.
Doing that wasn't always easy. John had his way a lot, but not always. When he didn't, John didn't turn his back and walk away. He stayed to do his part, not out of stubbornness, but out of faith, faith that included both Christ and Christ's church. So, when this congregation gathered, John was seldom absent. When he was off to Los Angeles to spend some time with his son and his son's family, he remembered us. He worshiped with Robert Shuller in the Crystal Cathedral, and he remembered us.
Because John was present so regularly at worship, he must have heard these words of Jesus read many, many times, "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" (Mark 10:25). I don't think John considered himself rich. We did. I'm not sure he did. I suspect, though, that he might have wondered whether Jesus considered him to be rich. If that was true, what would that mean about heaven, about the kingdom of God?
If I were rich, the words of Jesus would make me nervous. Actually, they do make me nervous. Compared to the vast majority of the population of the planet earth, I am a rich man. All you people here are rich people. Jesus' words about the difficulty of rich people entering the kingdom of God are not just something he is saying about someone else. He is saying it about us. That makes me nervous.
I don't know, though, that it made John nervous, because he knew without a doubt that, "for God, all things are possible." So, when Jesus died on the cross, he died for John. Jesus died to make it possible for John to become one of the saints in the kingdom of God. Being rich, or being poor, or being anything in between, has nothing to do with it. It is Jesus' death, Jesus' death and resurrection, that has everything to do with it. It is God's way of making salvation possible for us all. Because it was God's way, and because John knew that, even more than himself, God has a passion for doing things right, John had complete confidence in the forgiveness and salvation work God had done for him in Jesus Christ.
Because of what God has made possible in Jesus, John is gathered with the saints. Even now he is looking them over, measuring them up, putting together a brand new crew to usher at the banquet feast of the kingdom of God, the banquet feast of Christ and his people. It is a feast at which John is both head usher and welcome guest.
Amen.
