Sunday Eucharist with Father Dave - October 10, 2021

Today's readings were Job 23:1-7, Hebrews 4:12-16, and Mark 10:17-31

Our first reading gets to the heart of the book of Job where the poor man is arguing with his friends - all of whom becoming increasingly determined to maintain that God is just and that, therefore, the terrible things that had happened to Job must mean that he had done something really terrible!

Job resists their simplistic wisdom but doesn't have any real answers either. There is only one source from which he can hope to receive an explanation - the Almighty - and God seems to be maintaining silence.

Our epistle once again illustrates the writer's understanding of Jesus as both fully human and fully divine. Jesus is seen as our "great high priest who has passed through the heavens" and "the son of God" (4:14) and yet, simultaneously, the author says, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are." When we struggle and fail, Jesus understands!

Our Gospel reading contains that well-known and disturbing verse, "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).

Christians have a long history of coming up with ways of softening the blow of these verses. Unlike the 'rich young ruler' who is depicted in the passage, most of us have not been honest enough to just 'walk away' from Jesus after receiving this challenge but have come up with ways maintaining our lust for wealth while thinking that we can serve Him anyway.

"No one can serve two masters" Jesus says elsewhere (in Matthew 6:24). We might acknowledge that we 'shouldn't serve two masters' but (as Kierkegaard pointed out) it's not that we 'shouldn't' but that we 'can't'!

Dave
www.fatherdave.org
www.fighting-fathers.com