The rich man asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" As we explore that question in our worship today, let us open ourselves to Jesus and listen for his response to us.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we hang on so tightly to the things that we want, that we don't leave room for you.
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, sometimes we're unaware when our centre is firmly fixed on something other than you.
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, help us to let go of everything that prevents us from truly embracing you in our hearts.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Mark 10:17-31
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 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!" [24] 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! [25] 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." [26] They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" [27] Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." [28] Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." [29] 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, [30] 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. [31] But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Story:
We all become attached to possessions and sometimes, like the rich man, we fail to get our values in the right order of priority. This is a story to illustrate priorities so that the children can begin to consider their own value systems before they reach any crisis points in their lives.
The Video Game
"Get off!" Tom pushed his younger brother away. "It's my present, not yours!"
Jerry's face fell, but he moved away. He watched silently as Tom played the most exciting video game Jerry had ever seen. He longed to have a go, but the game was Tom's birthday present and his most treasured possession. And since there were twenty-five levels to beat, Jerry knew it was unlikely he'd ever get a go on the game.
Tom noticed Jerry's disappointment, but he didn't care. The game was his and he was keeping it. No-one else was going to take it from him, not for a moment. He took the game to bed with him, in case Jerry got up early and sneaked a go.
That night, Tom woke suddenly from a deep sleep. He lay for a moment wondering what had woken him, then he became aware of muttered voices and the opening and shutting of doors. He crept out of bed and peeped over the bannisters. To his horror, he saw a stretcher being carried by two ambulance men. Tom's mother was crying and his dad had his arms round her.
Tom raced downstairs. "What's happened?" he cried anxiously. "What's the matter?"
Tom's dad put his arm round him too and hugged him close. "Don't you worry, son," he said. "It's Jerry. He's been taken ill and he has to go to hospital."
"Hospital?" Tom was aghast. "Will he die?"
At that, Tom's mother wept even more. Tom's dad said, "Of course not! The hospital will put him right. That's why he's going."
But Tom wasn't convinced and he knew his mother wasn't convinced either. His dad was just saying that to keep their spirits up.
Tom couldn't concentrate on anything, next day. He couldn't wait to visit the hospital to see Jerry. He kept thinking how awful life would be without Jerry.
At the hospital, Tom stood close to his brother's bed. Jerry was very pale. "Here," said Tom in a subdued voice, "this is for you, to help you get better." And he pushed the video game into Jerry's hand. Jerry smiled a wan smile, but he didn't even look at the game.
Tom felt hurt and confused. He'd given Jerry his most treasured possession, but Jerry didn't seem to care about it.
"He's too ill at the moment, Tom," explained his father, "but wait until he's better. Then he'll love the game." Tom's mother added, "Why don't you say a prayer for Jerry, asking God to make him better?"
They all prayed together for Jerry, and Tom determined to ask everyone he knew to pray for his brother.
Jerry did get better, but he had to stay in hospital for a week and it took a long time after that before he was really well again. Then the two boys began to enjoy the video game together. And Tom realised that although he liked the game, his brother was more precious to him than anything.
"Thank you, God," whispered Tom, "for bringing Jerry back to us."
Activity:
You need:
Two sticky boards or magnetic boards
Two sets of
identical cards which you can attach to the boards
On each card, write a different value such as: Mum, Dad, grandparents, home, love, Barbie, Nintendo (or whatever are the current popular toys), money, holiday. etc. Stick each set of cards randomly on each board. Divide the children into two teams. Their task is to put the cards in the order of importance. It might be a good idea to set a time limit for this. When each team has finished, look at the lists and discuss the reasons for the chosen position of the cards. If both teams have much the same lists, talk about values and the importance of quality of life (love, home, etc.) over possessions and things. If one team has possessions high on their list, find out why those possessions assume such importance. Watch out for pastoral implications as you might pick up problems at home which need to be followed up. Talk about the Bible story of the rich man and ask the children why they think Jesus told the rich man to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor, and try to elicit from them that real happiness doesn't lie in money or possessions.
Diary Time: For details, click here.
Ask the children whether any of them have had to face awful times in life like a death or illness in the family, and ask them what it felt like. Ask whether anyone gave them extra toys at this time, and whether that made the pain go away. It may have helped to ease the pain and distracted them for a while, but won't have got rid of the pain altogether. If no-one has experienced anything like this, talk about Tom in the story and ask how he felt when his brother was taken ill. The children should draw or write about any of this.
Intercession:
God of love, as we in your Church work hard to raise money to maintain our buildings and ensure the smooth running of our Church, keep our hearts and minds firmly fixed on you. Help us to resist the temptation to think only of raising funds and instead, raise our spirits to seek only you.
God of love, our society seems to focus only on money and wealth. Enable us to show by our lives and our attitudes that there is more to life than material riches, and help us to find our true treasure in heaven.
God of love, we pray for our community asking that we may spot any who are sad or disadvantaged in any way and do our best to help them. We pray for a good standard of living for all, and pray that we ourselves might be prepared to settle for less if that means that others who need it can have a little more.
God of love, we hold in your presence all those who are sick, asking you to bless them and heal them. And we commend to your loving care all who are suffering because someone they love has died either recently, or in previous years at this time.
Blessing:
May all the love of Christ enfold you,
may all the power of the Holy Spirit protect you
and may God fill your heart and soul.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you now,
be in your homes and in your families
and with all those whom you love
and for whom you pray,
now and always.
Amen.
