The Bible - it's a big book when you're looking through it for something written specifically to and for you.

The Bible Draft is a fun and creative way to connect your experiences, thoughts, and feelings directly to the words of Scripture. Played similar to the format of a fantasy football league with the commeraderie among players in your league, the creativity of team names, and the personalization of Scripture passages just for you, the Bible Draft is a worthwhile challenge for those who have never opened the Bible before as well as for anyone else at any stage in the journey.

To the participants of the AoB 2028 Deacon Formation Class Bible Draft - may you be turned to fertile soil as the Word of God is cast richly into your hearts and minds in this, your Bible Draft! With great confidence, Bible Draft prays for joy in your discovery and encounter of our Lord in the wisdom of and pages of Scripture! “All Scripture is inspired by God … that the man of God may be complete …” - May you have all the grace necessary for this journey!

An Embarrassment of Riches

So many good things to reflect on here!  I was going to entitle this reflection “Hell’s Kitchen” after the guilty pleasure show I’ve watched recently as several aspiring chefs compete to become the protege of a master chef.  The highlight passage would have come from Mark 10:35 and following as Jesus’ disciples desired to merit placement at His right and left in glory.  “Can you drink the cup that I will drink?” Asks Jesus, who then further teaches the lesson of service over the exercise of authority.  This, of course, is in stark contrast to the self-promotion, gossiping, bickering, and backstabbing that take place in the cooking competition and more personally, in the world of growing a career - good fodder there.

Going with the reflection title: “Jesus was STAND trained” in reference to Mark 10:13 would likely miss many, but it’s as good of a way as any to connect the verses that proceed the highlight passage and are worthy of consideration as well.  Crowds were bringing children to Jesus that He might bless them.  The disciples, in typical rash behavior, tried to keep Jesus free from the crowd by keeping the kids away.  Jesus, of course, welcomes the children blessing them and teaching, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Then I come across this man who has followed the law from youth.  Jesus asks him for one more thing.  Literally from the reading I can grasp that Jesus is asking the man to give up “what you have.”  Well, what did he have?  Does it really matter what exactly it was?  I mean, the man was asked to sell whatever it was and to give it away.  Is there any significance that this story is told immediately following Jesus’ blessing of the children?  What is the contrast?

I’ve always liked considering the idea of “being a child of God.”  Children have fewer, if any responsibilities.  Kids get to play more games than adults do.  Children experience awe and wonder more frequently than adults.  Someone recently described their perspective on young children.  To paraphrase, he suggested that they are like aliens; they have no context for everything new they experience; sights, sounds, smells, emotions, thoughts are all newly experienced and extreme for the little ones.  Kids are also more naive, even innocent, than adults.  In knowing less than adults, sometimes they might know more.  They are dependent and have very little control over their world, let alone the world around them.

I wonder if Jesus request of this man was less about wealth or materials or even of giving to the poor.  I wonder if it wasn’t Jesus’ way of asking this man to give up a sense of control and independence.  The older I get, the more I realize how little control I actually have of things.  

Twila Paris would sing (a song I first heard my dad listening to, and that I gravitated to), “God is in control.  We believe that His children will not be forsaken.”

It is daunting and scary to consider letting go of/giving up that which I have to become dependent; especially in the place of adult lessons that would say I shouldn’t trust, I shouldn’t put myself out there, I don’t have what it takes, or whatever the lie that resonates for you.  Instead of looking at what I’m giving up, perhaps the better focus is to look to whom I’m becoming dependent upon.  After all, being a child of God (the guy who kind of created everything and owns it all anyway ... and if I could ever get my head wrapped around it - a God who loves me perfectly) doesn’t sound that bad.  If it means I get to play more, count me in ;)

I’ll leave you with a reflection my dad shared with me as he reflected upon a couple passages:

“How great the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1) and “Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.  Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

Tim - this last scripture blows me away.  Jesus is addressing Mary of Magdala and, through her, the other disciples, his “brothers.”  Jesus is actually placing Mary, the disciples, and through them, us at his level.  By the power of the Resurrection we have been brought right into God’s household as His kids, Jesus’ brothers.  Amazing.