They’re certainly not backward in coming forward, are they? James and John, that is. “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” It doesn’t say it in the text, but I can just imagine Jesus rolling his eyes at that one. He knows them well enough. “Sure, what is it you want me to do?”

What do James and John want? Well, just a little bit of the glory action. I mean it’s all well and good tramping around the countryside, following Jesus, roughing it every night, having given up jobs and security and family. That’s all fine, but surely there’s going to be a pay off sometime. And, James and John wouldn’t want to miss out on that, would they? So, they try and secure their place, their place in glory.

I wonder if the other disciples were angry not because of what James and John did, but because the other disciples weren’t quick enough to think of asking first. Now, they were in danger of missing out.

And, I wonder if this isn’t a common fear amongst followers of Jesus?

“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”. Thus says Jesus. The thing with wealth is that it is relative. There is always someone richer than me, so I can always shimmy my way around the uncomfortable implication of Jesus’ meaning. But, as good as we are at shimmying, at some point we have to face up to the fact that we are the camel. As we look at the eye of the needle and the eye of the needle stares back at us, what are we thinking? What, or who, do we trust to get us through? What, or who, does the church trust to get it through? Is it our wealth? Is it our prestige? Is it our doctrine? Is it our intellect? Is it our commitment? Is it our Lord? Whoever, or whatever it is, whoever or whatever we put our trust in, it’s only when we die that we’ll find out for sure whether our trust is rewarded or misplaced. So, Jesus invites us to come and die, with him. That’s where he’s heading as he teaches his disciples about camels and needles. He’s on his way to Jerusalem where he will be killed, and on the third day . . .

Well, you know the rest of the story, but will you trust the rest of the story?

Pastor John Strelan Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

In Mark 9:38-50, Jesus emphasizes the priceless value of faith, urging us to recognise what is truly precious. Just as we protect and cherish our most valuable possessions, Jesus calls us to guard our faith with even greater care. We are infinitely precious to God, and the gift of faith He gives us is beyond compare. Jesus warns us to avoid anything that could harm our own faith or cause others to lose theirs. As we reflect on this message, may we treasure our connection to God, nurturing the precious gift of faith that unites us to Him eternally.

NOTE: There is no audio recording of this sermon.