Success
Life is tough for main line churches in this country and in
many places the western world. Once we knew our place. We were respected. People
looked to us for some kind of leadership. We had a place in society. But now
things are tough. Apart from a few growing churches, most of us are struggling
to hold our own. Many are not. We are struggling to work out our place and what
it means to be successful. Actually most of the time we are struggling just to
survive.
And then we have this Sunday’s gospel reading – Mark 3:
20-25. This is Jesus being successful. And the response is mixed. Yes there are
a significant number who want to be near and squash around him. But there are
those who are much more sceptical. His family think he is out of his mind and
want to rescue him from himself for their own sake. And the religious elite
condemn him as in league with the evil one. Infatuation and scorn seem to be
the response of Jesus ministry. And through it all he keeps living “God’s agenda
of restoring people to wholeness so that they could take their place again in
creation and be free”[1]
How does any of this help us think about what being successful
looks like?
Comments