20 Sept - Earthly Things

James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37

The collect today is, I think, apropos for our times. "Grant us, O Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things." In this time of economic and financial crisis, that speaks to me.

We’re taught to be ambitious; and ambition should lead to success, should lead to reward, which we often interpret to be financial reward. Where did Jesus say that our reward was financial? James writes about this in his letter. He’s writing to a community that’s clearly in conflict and he says to them: “you ask, but you ask wrongly, because what you get, you’re going to spend selfishly.” Ambition leading to the wrong things. For James, envy and selfish ambition lead to wickedness and chaos and open the doors to sinfulness.

I think today many of us have fallen prey to Prosperity Theology, or what is called the Prosperity Gospel, which has some roots in the Old Testament: those who have much have been blessed by God and those who don’t have been cursed by God - our godliness is reflected in our success.

But Jesus turns things upside down.

I picture Jesus walking behind the disciples as they’re walking to Capernaum and arguing over which of them is first over the others. They get to a house and Jesus invites the twelve inside. I imagine that there are other people in the house, servants, women preparing a meal, children wandering around... and in front of them all Jesus totally busts the disciples by saying: “so, what were you arguing about on the road?” And it says that they were silent. The translation that The Message uses is that “the silence was deafening.”

Do not focus on earthly things.

And to prove his point, Jesus drags a child who was playing nearby and pulls him into this circle in the midst of this circle of men and says: “the first will be last, the last will be first; and one who welcomes a child such as this welcomes me, and not only me, but my Father.”

Now, our society greatly values children. But let’s look back to the way that society viewed children all the way up into the Middle Ages. Children were worth something between a woman and a slave. Thomas Aquinas in the Middle Ages taught that if a house is raging with fire, the husband is obligated (obligated!) to first save his father, second save his mother, third save his wife and fourth save his child. That’s the relative value of a child to the disciples - how shocking it was for Jesus to pull this child in and say: this is who you should be spending your ambitions helping.

One of the questions in the Wired Word reading for this Sunday is: “is your fear and anxiety around your financial status a comment on the state of your faith?”

Is your fear or worry about your financial status a comment about the state of your faith?

Something to think about.

Though easier said than done, the prayer of our collect says:

help us not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenly…to follow Jesus’ example.

Peace,

The Rev. M.E. Eccles, LPC