Hello boys and girls!

Has anyone ever told you to get lost or go away? Has anyone ever told you that they didn’t want you around? How did that make you feel?

There is one person who will never tell us to go away. In fact, he wants all of us to come close to him. His name is Jesus. Let me explain by reading a story to you from Mark 10:2-16.

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The Gospel passage from Mark 10:2-16 appears at first glance to be two unrelated stories, but there is a connection between the two of them. Both stories tell us how Jesus cares for the outcasts and the less fortunate in society and how he expects us to treat them.

In Old Testament times, children and women were on the lower levels of society. Women were seen as nothing more than property, and children were considered to be useless until they were old enough to help out around the property. Women could become the victims of divorce for reasons as minor as burning the meal, not keeping the house clean or for getting older. As a result, if they did not have another male relative to support them, they usually ended up in prostitution.

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I'm going to take you on a short walk down memory lane. Some of you may have heard of a singer/songwriter from the 1970s by the name of Ray Stevens. He was famous for writing and recording comedy songs such as "Bridget the Midget", "Ahab the Arab", "The Streak" and many others. He did record a few serious songs, the most famous of which was "Everything is Beautiful". That particular song starts with a group of children singing words that tie in nicely with the topic of my homily today. The verse goes something like this:

Jesus loves the little children

All little children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

In Mark 10:13-16, the disciples try to prevent the children from coming to Jesus to receive his blessing. In his stern rebuke, Jesus reminds the disciples that the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Does this mean that the kingdom belongs to children, or does it mean that the Kingdom belongs to those who are LIKE children? I believe it's the latter.

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James 5:13-20 begins by referring to two ends on the spectrum of life-suffering and cheerfulness. Suffering refers to affliction of any kind-physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It includes anything that causes trouble or affliction. James’ remedy is to tell us to pray. This passage focuses on the life-transforming power of prayer. Every state of mind or mood is a call to prayer.

It’s easy for us to turn to God when our lives are unraveling or when we feel overwhelmed. It’s also easy for us to see prayer as the last option or treat it like a time-waster that keeps us from solving our problems on our own. James argues that the best solution to our problems is prayer. Prayer doesn’t mean that God will end our pain, but it does mean that He will give us patience and perseverance. In James 5:7-12, the word patience is used seven times. In verses 13-20, the word prayer appears seven times. Prayer is the key for dealing with situations that require patience. Take the apostle Paul, for example. Several times he asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh but God said that “my grace is sufficient for you.”

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In 2012 Dr. Michael Youssef, who is the founder and President of Leading the Way Ministries, wrote an article about a Christian Sunday school teacher who was leading a class of boys. After a conversation with one of the boys, the young man prayed and received Christ. That young man was D.L. Moody, who became one of the greatest evangelists of his time.

On one of his trips to England, D.L. Moody preached at a church pastored by another great evangelist named F.B. Meyer. Moody invited him to come to the United States to preach. At one service, a man named J. Wilbur Chapman gave his life to Christ and became a great evangelist. One of the people he led to Christ became his travelling companion. That companion was evangelist Billy Sunday.

After Billy Sunday preached in Charlotte, North Carolina, a group of farmers asked God to do something great for the world, starting in Charlotte. They invited an evangelist by the name of Mordecai Hamm to preach in Charlotte. During one of his services, three young men came forward to receive Christ. Their names were Billy Graham, Grady Wilson and T.W. Wilson. Billy Graham became one of the most respected evangelists of our time, and the Wilson brothers became administrators with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

While we are on earth we will never understand what God is doing through each and every one of us. We will understand this only when we get to heaven. One lone Sunday school teacher impacted generations of Christians by doing God’s work. If that one Sunday school teacher can have such an impact, just think of how our ministries or our gifts can be used by God to impact the world.

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Salt has been important throughout history. In fact, at one time people used to be paid with salt. Because salt has been so important it’s not a surprise that Jesus told us in Mark 9:50 that we are to be like salt to the world. In particular he said, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.” What he meant is that we should flavour our world with both our love and Christ’s love. The world needs that love because there is a lot of bitterness and hatred in the world today. He also meant that we should allow him to use us to make the world a better place. If we show Jesus’ love in everything we do, we can do much to reduce bitterness and bring peace to our world.

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What is the one human quality that drives us to success while causing all sorts of problems at the same time? It is ambition. Ambition is one of the driving forces in our lives. It propels us to excel in our jobs. It pushes us to reach our goals. It can give us a reason for living. Ambition is one of the tools that the world uses to measure success.

There is another way to measure success-one that is not of this world-and that is the topic of the Gospel reading from Mark 9:30-37. We sometimes think that we can measure success the way the world does. We mistakenly believe that if God receives glory for what we do, then it should be glorious for us also. We must remember God’s faithful servants from the Bible, and we must remember that their situations were far from easy or glamorous.

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How many of you play sports? How many of you won or were on a team that won? It’s fun to win, isn’t it? Now, who actually lost or was on a team that lost? That wasn’t fun, was it? Everyone likes winning or being first, but no one likes being last or losing.

The disciples felt the same way at times. For example, in Mark 9:30-37, they argued about which one of them would be first in God’s Kingdom. Jesus said that anyone who wants to be first in God’s Kingdom must be last on earth by serving everyone, including the less fortunate.

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I want to take you on a trip down memory lane for a minute. Some of you may remember a famous comedian named Flip Wilson. He had a TV show in the 1970s, and on this show he had such famous characters as Geraldine Jones and Brother Leroy. He also had some famous lines, including one that ties in nicely with the reading we heard from the Book of James. That line was, “The devil made me do it!” The characters in Flip Wilson’s comedy routines often blamed the devil for leading them into trouble, and they were partially right. The devil can’t make anyone do anything, but he can definitely tempt us and influence our choices.

The devil is part of earthly wisdom, and James contrasts earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. People’s lives reflect the source of their wisdom. There is “earthly, unspiritual, devilish” wisdom that leads to “envy and selfish ambition” in the individual and “disorder and wickedness of every kind” in society. Against this, there is “wisdom from above” that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits…” Trouble arrives, he tells us, when we act based on earthly wisdom and not out of faithfulness to God.

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Christ’s death represents atonement for sin, and the beginning of God’s eternal, messianic rule. Nothing can make up for the loss of our soul, but there are many times when we exchange our souls and our lives for worldly things instead of spiritual things. Worldly things do not lead to eternal life. Those who give up their lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel will find eternal life. This concept was very evident to the readers of Mark’s Gospel because they faced persecution and conflict. They saw this as a challenge to be faithful. We have the same challenge today. The world is still hateful to both Christians and the Good News of the Gospel.

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