Service Sheet (pdf)
Call to Worship:
Here I am Lord in your presence I am still
Matt Beckingham, Here I am Lord, (Northumbria Community Celtic Daily Prayer)
Introduction:
Welcome to our service today. I’m Deacon Merry Evans, and I’m leading the next Session in the Bradford North Methodist Circuit of our Saints Alive programme. Our theme today is Time to listen to what Jesus actually said. If you are following the programme booklet you will find a number of challenging things Jesus said and I hope you are able to think about these during the coming week. This morning we shall be thinking about just one of those things Jesus actually said, his challenge to a wealthy young man about his possessions.Prayer:
Living God, maker of all things, we meet together now to worship you. You call us to you as a loving parent calls their children, that we all might dwell in your love. May we have the courage to seek you more fully, letting go our love and attachment to earthly things, and rejoice continuously in the grace and favour of Salvation bought through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.Hymn:
Great is Thy faithfulness STF 51
Reading:
Mark 10:17-23
17 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?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 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.’” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money[a] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 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!”
For a moment let me ask you: Have you ever heard of anyone, in our day, who has done such a thing: given all they have to the poor?
There’s one famous, if controversial, example that may come to your mind because it an example that has been in the public eye. If you saw The Crown, or the tv programmes giving tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh you may have noticed references to Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice. In the 1930’s she believed she had a call from God and established a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns. She died, reportedly with no possessions because she had given them all away. Princess Alice had a turbulent life, and none among us can say what her motives were for doing this. Here is someone who, in the lifetime of some of us, apparently did give away her possessions in pursuit of ‘entering the kingdom of God’. It happens. Can you think of anyone else?
Let me give you some examples:
In the 1970s I knew two students, (one actually from Bradford,) who gave away all their savings as a part of a deliberate act of commitment to Jesus and his way. They did this independently of each other and without the knowledge of the other. Being students surviving on grants from ordinary working homes, they had few possessions to speak of, but what savings they had they gave away. It is fair to say their commitment from then on was to live modestly. They both gave their money to their local church. Their faith, and commitment to Methodism, became lifelong (as far as I know). I seriously wonder if this would this have been so if they hadn’t taken that action in their youth, and given away their savings? By doing so they cut their attachment to money and wealth and focussed more freely on their Christian journey.
Here's another slightly different example:
In the 1980’s, I knew a 45 year old Methodist Local preacher who was challenged by the gospel to leave her teaching job, sell up her house, and move into an inner city location buying two adjacent terraced houses. She lived in one, turning the other into a centre for the Asian women in the area to meet and socialise, learn English, seek advice, and develop relationships with their white British neighbours. Being a poor area, this community house, and this local preacher, was a life changer for many of the women. In a sense she didn’t give her wealth away, just converted it into something she felt was more in line with God’s kingdom of Justice, or as the Old Testament would put it ‘care for the stranger in our midst’. The project came to an end when the area was bulldozed for redevelopment. She moved on to other Christian work.
One last example:
In the 1990’s I knew a couple who used their surplus money to buy a house large enough to give five refugees a home. They and some of their Christian friends supported these refugees through the various legal processes to gain permission to stay in Britain and find work and somewhere to live. This wasn’t done out of guilt at having too much money, or too much property. But because there was a need to address the needs of some of the most economically vulnerable people in their community. They did because they could. They weren’t attached to their money, or possessions, but able to use it for God, and for God’s neediest children.
What do these examples say about wealth and being able to enter the kingdom of God?
When it comes to wealth, it isn’t the money or possessions as such that seem to be the problem, but our attachment to them. The more you have, the more of a problem it sems to be. We might do all the right things, but if we are snagged up by our attitudes towards our possessions then we will not experience the full freedom of God’s life for us, here and now.
That is a core understanding in Christian thought, and is a key part of our own Methodist tradition. John Wesley had a knack of producing memorable phrases to summarise key parts of his teaching. You may know his three-part slogan regarding money and possessions. Gain all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can. This captures the heart of Christian living. We should do all we can to live well. To make the most of our lives, our abilities, and skills, and personality. We should do all we can to live in consideration of our fellow creatures, as well as ourselves. We should not be shy of working hard, and earning money and taking care of our families as best we can. Wesley’s slogan captures these things in those first couplet: Gain all you can, Save all you can. It was not wrong for the rich young man to have great wealth. The money and possessions in themselves were not a problem for his finding Eternal life. Where the problem lay was in the hold they had on him He couldn’t let go of them, and see them as belonging to God rather than himself.
Wesley said, Give all you can. Having got all you can, what then is your relationship with your possessions? Do they hold you back, or are you able to use them freely in God’s worship and service? You can’t serve God and Mammon (money), says Jesus. What you have belongs to God, and you are stewards of it in this life. How would God have you use your money? How would Jesus expect you to spend it? How are you building God’s kingdom here on earth? How is Justice and Peace served by your use of your money and possessions? Do you hold onto them, and let them have a hold on you? Or do you let go of them, and let God’s love and freedom have a hold on you instead? “What must I do to receive Eternal Life?” Jesus says, “Let go.”
In our Saints Alive programme we are asking ourselves what next for our church and for our circuit? Holding onto what we have gained, and what we have saved may be good, but it is not the whole story. How are we using what we have for the future? God has a kingdom to build, it requires we use what we have to build it. Holding onto to what we have will not bring that kingdom in. Only giving it away will give New Life. This applies to our wealth as a church, and particularly so with our ways of doing things and with our buildings, just as much as it applies to personal wealth. Having Gained, and Saved over several generations, how are we now to Give? Letting go is hard. As a church we have to find ways of letting go. Only then will we see God give us new life. Like the personal examples we looked at, we might see a sense of greater commitment to God, an ability to convert our resources into serving the coming kingdom rather than a past which is gone.
Jesus looked on the rich young man, in his confusion and desire to find God’s living way. And Jesus loved him. Jesus looks on us, with our treasures of church, and tradition, and buildings and money. He looks on us in our confusion, and hope, and desire to find God’s living way. And Jesus loves us. Will we let go of what holds us back, to Give all we can, and follow him? I hope and pray we do.
17 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?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 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.’” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money[a] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 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!”
Reflection:
These words are disturbing. Does Jesus expect us all to sell everything and give it to the poor? Can we only enter the kingdom of God if we do? What was Jesus getting at? What did he actually say? What did he mean?For a moment let me ask you: Have you ever heard of anyone, in our day, who has done such a thing: given all they have to the poor?
There’s one famous, if controversial, example that may come to your mind because it an example that has been in the public eye. If you saw The Crown, or the tv programmes giving tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh you may have noticed references to Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice. In the 1930’s she believed she had a call from God and established a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns. She died, reportedly with no possessions because she had given them all away. Princess Alice had a turbulent life, and none among us can say what her motives were for doing this. Here is someone who, in the lifetime of some of us, apparently did give away her possessions in pursuit of ‘entering the kingdom of God’. It happens. Can you think of anyone else?
Let me give you some examples:
In the 1970s I knew two students, (one actually from Bradford,) who gave away all their savings as a part of a deliberate act of commitment to Jesus and his way. They did this independently of each other and without the knowledge of the other. Being students surviving on grants from ordinary working homes, they had few possessions to speak of, but what savings they had they gave away. It is fair to say their commitment from then on was to live modestly. They both gave their money to their local church. Their faith, and commitment to Methodism, became lifelong (as far as I know). I seriously wonder if this would this have been so if they hadn’t taken that action in their youth, and given away their savings? By doing so they cut their attachment to money and wealth and focussed more freely on their Christian journey.
Here's another slightly different example:
In the 1980’s, I knew a 45 year old Methodist Local preacher who was challenged by the gospel to leave her teaching job, sell up her house, and move into an inner city location buying two adjacent terraced houses. She lived in one, turning the other into a centre for the Asian women in the area to meet and socialise, learn English, seek advice, and develop relationships with their white British neighbours. Being a poor area, this community house, and this local preacher, was a life changer for many of the women. In a sense she didn’t give her wealth away, just converted it into something she felt was more in line with God’s kingdom of Justice, or as the Old Testament would put it ‘care for the stranger in our midst’. The project came to an end when the area was bulldozed for redevelopment. She moved on to other Christian work.
One last example:
In the 1990’s I knew a couple who used their surplus money to buy a house large enough to give five refugees a home. They and some of their Christian friends supported these refugees through the various legal processes to gain permission to stay in Britain and find work and somewhere to live. This wasn’t done out of guilt at having too much money, or too much property. But because there was a need to address the needs of some of the most economically vulnerable people in their community. They did because they could. They weren’t attached to their money, or possessions, but able to use it for God, and for God’s neediest children.
What do these examples say about wealth and being able to enter the kingdom of God?
When it comes to wealth, it isn’t the money or possessions as such that seem to be the problem, but our attachment to them. The more you have, the more of a problem it sems to be. We might do all the right things, but if we are snagged up by our attitudes towards our possessions then we will not experience the full freedom of God’s life for us, here and now.
That is a core understanding in Christian thought, and is a key part of our own Methodist tradition. John Wesley had a knack of producing memorable phrases to summarise key parts of his teaching. You may know his three-part slogan regarding money and possessions. Gain all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can. This captures the heart of Christian living. We should do all we can to live well. To make the most of our lives, our abilities, and skills, and personality. We should do all we can to live in consideration of our fellow creatures, as well as ourselves. We should not be shy of working hard, and earning money and taking care of our families as best we can. Wesley’s slogan captures these things in those first couplet: Gain all you can, Save all you can. It was not wrong for the rich young man to have great wealth. The money and possessions in themselves were not a problem for his finding Eternal life. Where the problem lay was in the hold they had on him He couldn’t let go of them, and see them as belonging to God rather than himself.
Wesley said, Give all you can. Having got all you can, what then is your relationship with your possessions? Do they hold you back, or are you able to use them freely in God’s worship and service? You can’t serve God and Mammon (money), says Jesus. What you have belongs to God, and you are stewards of it in this life. How would God have you use your money? How would Jesus expect you to spend it? How are you building God’s kingdom here on earth? How is Justice and Peace served by your use of your money and possessions? Do you hold onto them, and let them have a hold on you? Or do you let go of them, and let God’s love and freedom have a hold on you instead? “What must I do to receive Eternal Life?” Jesus says, “Let go.”
In our Saints Alive programme we are asking ourselves what next for our church and for our circuit? Holding onto what we have gained, and what we have saved may be good, but it is not the whole story. How are we using what we have for the future? God has a kingdom to build, it requires we use what we have to build it. Holding onto to what we have will not bring that kingdom in. Only giving it away will give New Life. This applies to our wealth as a church, and particularly so with our ways of doing things and with our buildings, just as much as it applies to personal wealth. Having Gained, and Saved over several generations, how are we now to Give? Letting go is hard. As a church we have to find ways of letting go. Only then will we see God give us new life. Like the personal examples we looked at, we might see a sense of greater commitment to God, an ability to convert our resources into serving the coming kingdom rather than a past which is gone.
Jesus looked on the rich young man, in his confusion and desire to find God’s living way. And Jesus loved him. Jesus looks on us, with our treasures of church, and tradition, and buildings and money. He looks on us in our confusion, and hope, and desire to find God’s living way. And Jesus loves us. Will we let go of what holds us back, to Give all we can, and follow him? I hope and pray we do.
Hymn:
Would I have answered when you called STF 674
Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr Words: © 1997, GIA Publications Inc. Music: Merla Wilson © Catacombs Productions
Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr Words: © 1997, GIA Publications Inc. Music: Merla Wilson © Catacombs Productions
Prayers:
Father, we give you thanks for your forgiveness of our reluctance to follow you, for your coaxing and enticing us to forgo the comforts of this life to gain the benefits of your Eternal Life, for forgiving us the error of keeping to the broad and comfortable way rather than the narrow way of Jesus, of serving our selfish interests rather than the interests of your kingdom.Father, we give you thanks for your constant care of the church in all its strengths and weaknesses; for your sensitive guiding, pruning, anointing and enabling.
Father, we give you thanks for our love which binds up the world’s wounds, protects and defends us against evil, and works unceasingly for what is right and just.
Father, we give you thanks for your presence in our homes through the nights and mornings, afternoons and evenings, each day, each week, each year. Father, we give you thanks for your comfort which refreshes and soothes, supports and sustains all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit.
Father, we give you thanks for life which is not taken away at death but brought into fullness and everlasting peace. Amen.
The Lord’s prayer.
Hymn:
Love Divine STF 593
Words: Charles Wesley, Music: Howard Goodall, Performed by: National Methodist Choir GB
Words: Charles Wesley, Music: Howard Goodall, Performed by: National Methodist Choir GB
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