Sunday Service 9th August
The truth about God’s way
9/8/26
Call to worship
Hymn 128(JP): Jesus bids us shine
Time for all
Hymn 146(JP): Just as I am
Dedication of Offering
Reading: Luke 9: 37-50 Amanda
Prayer (The Lord’s Prayer will be on the screen)
Hymn 511: Your hand O God has guided
Sermon
Prayer
Hymn 506: All I once held dear
Benediction
Welcome to our meditation for 9th August.
We come to church to seek God’s path for us. but often we don’t want to follow that path.
There is a temptation to create a path that we want to follow...and then try to get God to bless that.
But that is not Gods way.
That’s a challenge for us as we will see after our reading which shows this conflict.
We will look at that after our reading from Amanda.
Prayer of Dedication of Offering
Heavenly Father,
Of all the gifts you give us, what would you ask back from us.
Some money? A small but of time? Help us today, as we give our offering, to truly reflect on what our offering means to you...to us. and what you would ask of us this day.
Amen
Sermon
The older I get, the more I believe that the biggest impediment to our faith growing, is ourselves. And in particular, a battle within ourselves between what we think we want, and what we really need.
What we think we want is happiness...and if we chase happiness then one day we will find it, have it.
And we chase happiness in wealth, and power and stuff...but we never quite get there...so we chase that wealth or power or stuff just a bit more thinking that we are so close.
What’s more we believe that we should be free to find this happiness, nothing should stop us from being happy.
True happiness however comes with being tied to God.
That relationship gives us love and hope which leads to peace and security, which leads to true happiness.
That is the message of this passage; though we may struggle to understand it.
To be honest we may struggle with this passage a lot.
Somebody comes up to Jesus begging for Jesus to heal his son.
And Jesus response seems very strange to us...
‘How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I need to put up with you?’
That seems a very strange response.
In my personal devotions this week I came across a story of a disciples who claimed that he wanted to give up everything and join the monastery to follow God, but unfortunately his family loved him too much to let him go.
Well the Abbot said, ‘Love? That isn’t love at all.’
And the Abbot then told the disciple a secret that he cold simulate the state of death so that the disciple could see just how much his family loved him.
The next day the disciple, to all outward appearances, seemed to be dead, and his house rang to the cries of mourning.
The Abbot then showed up to the house and said to all the weeping family that he had the power to bring the disciple back to life...all it took was someone to volunteer to take his place. And then he asked for a volunteer.
To the disciples astonishment every member of the family began to give reasons why it was necessary for them to keep their own lives.
His own wife summed up the sentiments of the whole family with the words, ‘There’s really no need for anyone else to take his place. We’ll manage without him.’
Now my initial reaction to that story was, ‘Well obviously the disciple was just thinking of an excuse to not join the monastery.’
Something the Abbot had obviously seen.
Obviously the disciple wanted to set the boundaries for how much he wanted to do God’s work...and going into the monastery was a commitment too far.
The disciple wanted a contract...this is how much he would do for God,
And in turn this is what he expected from God.
And it was so easy to condemn the disciple for that attitude.
But then it dawned on me that that is exactly what is happening in this passage.
That is what is frustrating Jesus and getting him so agitated.
Here’s the clue.
In the passage immediately before this we have the transfiguration.
In it three disciples go up the mountain with Jesus for quiet time and Jesus is literally transfigured before them.
They see Jesus in all his glory in relationship with God the father.
And a voice from a cloud says, ‘This is my son, whom I have chosen - listen to him!’
Then today’s passage says that the next day they come down from the mountain and immediately are faced with a man saying, ‘This is my son, my only son...heal him.’
That’s no coincidence.
In these passages we are asked to compare two father-and-son relationships.
We have the heavenly Father and Son; we have the human father and son.
The human father and son is supposedly an example of love.
The father loves the son and wants his son healed.
Now I am going to be really hard here, really insensitive, but I think I need to - to make my point.
This is a relationship of selfishness not of love.
In this relationship the father needs the son to keep the linage going. If the son dies then his family line dies.
This is about an easy life, finding happiness.
And the father believes that his life would be easier of his son lives.
If his son lives then his son will be married off and have family of his own; that family will look after the father and mother in their old age.
The parents will have everything that they want; security in old age, knowing the family line continues, having someone to look after them.
And presumably that will make them happy.
All Jesus has to do is make his son well and his life will be secure and he will be happy.
And what is the response of the father and son to this amazing healing?
The crowd are amazed, but presumably the father and son go home and carry on what they were doing.
They are happy for now, until the next disaster hits them.
That is not the way of the heavenly Father and Son.
If the Heavenly Father thought the same way then he would never have sent his Son to earth.
Why would he?
Why would he send his son to be ridiculed,
send his son to be mocked,
send his son to be betrayed,
send his son to be abused,
send his son to be tortured,
send his son to die?
None of these things would bring God happiness.
That point then gets reflected on again immediately after this healing.
Jesus is reflecting on the attitude of the earthy father after his sons healing and how they go away happy, but indifferent to any other people.
They are caught up in their own world...a world where personal happiness and the pursuit of happiness is all that matters...
which ends up being a world of personal selfishness which doesn’t ultimately bring happiness to anybody.
And then Jesus immediately tells the disciples that that is not the life he is offering because it is a dead end.
Instead Jesus will follow a life of relationship, which is a life of sacrifice, a life of thinking of others, where he will be handed over to others.
But within that is a relationship with God...
not a contract that God tries to buy us off by fulfilling our every wish,
but a relationship where God offers to be with us no matter what we face.
A relationship where we have the confidence that we are with a God who truly loves us; and that confidence is what brings contentment, peace, hope, joy, happiness.
And how do the disciples respond?
If I get the better job when the empire is made I will have power.
If I have more power then I will have more wealth, influence, control of my life.
If I have more control of my life then I will be more secure.
If I am more secure then I will be happy.
I do my bit, God does his....contract.
Jesus’ response to that is to put a child in front of them.
That child has less of everything than the disciples; less money, less power, less influence, less control of their lives.
And yet that child was happier and more content than they were.
Why?
Because the one thing that child had was a relationship with a parent that loved them.
How much of our faith is truly seeking what God wants us to do?
And how much of our faith is trying to get God to do stuff for us?
Today’s reading puts all that in perspective.
And it is really hard.
It really makes us reflect, it really challenges us.
Recently, at weddings, I tell this story of my daughter Cairy and son James doing a three legged race on the Coll highland games.
Cairy was a long legged seven year old, James as a wee legged five year old.
And as advice we told them not to think left right left right. Because the legs tied together couldn’t cope with that.
Instead think outside inside outside inside.
Which was fine for the first step.
James stepped as far as he could, and so did Cairy, except Cairy’s leg was a lot longer than James...so when they then moved the inside leg it was too long for James and over on his bahoochy he went, and Cairy kept on running, dragging James behind her with his head bobbing against the ground.
I tell the recently married couple that they are now tied together, but they have to work out how to walk together, go in the same direction at the same pace...or else it won’t work. And speed isn’t important. Marriage isn’t a competition, you can’t win marriage...if there is a winner in a marriage then there is a loser, and if there is a loser then there isn’t a winner...just a divorce.
That’s what God has been trying to tell us.
We have been made to be tied to God; that gives us relationship, security, hope, peace, contentment.
And when we walk with God, going where his wisdom leads us, then we have all those things.
But when we try to control it, dictate it,
when we try to make the deal that God has to look after us the way we want, do what we want...or we will take the huff and walk away...
then we don’t have a relationship, we have a contract, and that contract gives us nothing that we want.
Because God doesn’t do contracts just relationships, so that contract we have created isn’t real, and we are on our own.
The one bit of hope in this passage is this...no matter how frustrated God gets, and Jesus really gets frustrated in this passage with everyone...Jesus is willing to wait until we figure it out.
Jesus waited it out for the disciples...he’ll wait for us to work it out too.
Let us pray
God of the mountain top, of the transfiguration, of the revelation and closeness,
Thank you for also being the God of the valleys, of the messiness of life.
We admit, that more often than not we come to you...not with our best...
but with what we actually have: questions, doubts, worries.
We come to you knowing you are the one who keeps showing up
even when those around you keep letting you down.
We are the ones who question your commitment to our lives.
We are the ones who don’t believe that you are concerned with us or even care for us...how could you care when our lives aren’t as perfect as they should be?
We don’t want you to be the centre of our universe; we want you to control our universe so that the universe revolves round us.
If only we had...better health, more money, a more secure home, a more devoted family...then we would be happy, then we would be content.
Give us that and we would be devoted to you...
Forget about the shadow of the cross, forget about what your loves showed, we still want to negotiate what you could give us, should give us.
Thank you for your patience with us.
Thank you for being so gracious.
For waiting until we see your relationship is all we need.
For waiting until instead of hording because of insecurity and in fear, we start to be generous because of love and thankfulness.
For waiting until our hearts feel free to surrender to you...and find what we have given, is nothing compared with what we have received.
Amen.
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