Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Readings – Job 1: 1-2: 1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1: 1-4; 2: 5-12; Mark 10: 2-16

Today our reading from the Good News according to St. Mark begins —

         Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus
         they asked…

The testing of Jesus was never-ending.  It is also never-ending for us, the followers of Jesus.  In ancient Greek, the prayer Jesus taught his first disciples includes —

          Do not bring us to the test,
          or.....Lead us not unto temptation. 

A huge test in our present-day environment is to declare that others, that a group of people are not worthy of our concern, that they are not like us, that they are less.                               

       Blue states or Red states, White, Brown or Black, Mayflower American or New American, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim, farmer or coal town, city, suburb or small town, male or female, young, middle-aged or old.

Many seek to divide us, and then once we are divided, to promote, to affirm some over others.  The test is — do we allow division and the chaos that ensues.  Even portions of Holy Scripture seem to promote that some are more valued than others, that some are more worthy than others. 

Yet, it is through the heart of Jesus that we are to read all Holy Scripture.  Today we hear these words from the Letter to the Hebrews —                                   

        …all have one Father.  For this reason,
        Jesus is not ashamed to call them [all]
        sisters and brothers…

Hear again – All of us are sisters and brothers.  All of us are children of God.

 To return to our Good News reading from St. Mark —                                               

        …whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child
        will never enter it.

We are sisters and brothers, we are children of God, not because of what we have done, or where we live, or who our parents are, or how smart we are, or how talented we are, or how wealthy we are.  We are sisters and brothers because the Lord God says we are.  We are children of God by declaration.  Furthermore, God declares that we are children out of love.  Jesus is not ashamed of any of us.  That is a foundation stone of our faith.  God loves us, all of us. 

In Hymn #439 we sing of that love.                        

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! 
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
to lay aside his crown for my soul.

What wondrous love is this?  Indeed, the love of God for us!

Today we are gifted with God’s love through singing together, praying together, passing the peace to each other, and being fed with the Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation.

And today in love we send out Anna, Ryan, and Ben with God’s love and our love.  We send them out to a new community of work, play, and worship. God will love them in Dillsburg as God has loved them here in Selinsgrove.  God will shape them, God will mold them, into their truest selves in Dillsburg as God has shaped them here in Selinsgrove.  Of course, we will miss walking beside them, but others are already walking beside them in our place. 

Wrapping Anna, wrapping Ryan, wrapping Ben, with God’s uniting love, with God’s binding love, let us conclude this time today with the blessing from the Old Testament book of Numbers (6:24-26):

      The Lord God spoke to Moses, saying;
      Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,                
      Thus you shall bless…
      You shall say to them                                                         The Lord bless you and keep you;
          The Lord make his face to shine 
      upon you and be gracious to you.
          The Lord left up his countenance
      upon you and give you peace. 

Always and forever. 

Amen