"Welcome to My World"
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 29, 2009
Mark 10:32-45
There’s a whole world right at your fingertips in the internet. You
can know what’s going on almost anywhere in the world and about almost
any subject. Added to this is a whole area on the internet where you
can tell the world what *you* want it to know. Millions of people do
this with their own blog. A blog is an online journal. You can write
on things that are of interest to you, whether it’s knitting,
philosophy, cars, birds, sports, your family, or about life in
general. When you have your own blog there doesn’t have to be
collaboration. It’s your blog, you can say what you want. Others don’t
decide what you put on your blog.
If you write a book an editor will come along and make changes. If you
make a movie you have to work with all kinds of people who have a say
in the final production. At work we often have to collaborate with
others on projects. But if you have a blog you get to decide what will
go out to the world. A way some people emphasize this point when they
start a blog is by introducing it with these words: “Welcome to my
world.”
That’s what Jesus does in the Gospel reading for today. When He tells
the disciples what will happen to Him He is saying, “Welcome to My
world.” Actually, it’s not just His world He’s welcoming them to, it’s
His religion. In telling them what will happen to Him, He is saying,
“Welcome to My religion.”
There’s a lot of people who think nothing more of that than all the
blogs out there—they’ll just go to a different one. That’s nice,
Jesus, but I think I’ll just try another religion. I’ll even just do
my own. You see it all the time. People will say, My religion is a mix
of different religions and philosophies.
That’s what James and John were saying. Not to be left out in the
cold, it’s what the other apostles were saying. They all were starting
their own religion. They could have started their own blogs. “Welcome
to my world” was really “Welcome to my religion.” That’s, really, what
we all do. We take God, the Bible, Christianity, and we craft our own
religion that suits just us. Then in the way we live and talk, we are
saying, Welcome to my world; Welcome to my religion. If it’s not for
you, you can start your own blog and do your own thing.
Jesus straight off says, Welcome to My world; Welcome to My religion.
It’s a religion in which it’s about Me going to the cross. In which I
will drink the cup of the wrath of God. In which I will be baptized
with the sin of the world. This is My world. This is My religion.
Welcome to it.
James and John have better ideas. Hey, that sounds great, Jesus, but
we’d like some glory to go along with that suffering and death and
resurrection. If it’s all going to work out for You in the end, we’d
like to get in on the action. The other apostles have the same ideas,
they just weren’t as quick to the punch as James and John. All twelve
of them said to Jesus, That’s a nice world You’ve invited us to, there
Jesus. But we have some ideas of our own—welcome to our world.
You see, we don’t we really need Your suffering, and being mocked, and
dying, and rising from the grave. We’d like some glory, please. Will
you take care of that for us? There’s a good God. Yes, welcome to our
world. It’s all about us. Not really about You, Jesus. But you do have
a nice blog, and we’ll check it out from time to time.
I don’t know about you, but I often treat the Bible the way I do some
of the blogs I read. I only read a few, but I find that even with a
few, I can’t keep up with them. I end up checking in to them once in a
while. Since they’re just blogs, that’s not a big deal, but I find my
Bible reading has a similar pattern. It’s not a blog, of course—it is
God’s Words written down; Him saying, Welcome to My world; Welcome to
My religion. But too often, I say, That’s nice; and treat it as I
would a blog. I will check out what You have to say, of course, now
and then.
But the way I live, I’m really saying, Welcome to MY world. Even,
Welcome to my religion. How could the apostles take what Jesus was
saying, which was all about Him, and turn it around to wanting it to
be all about them? It’s because that’s who we are. We are by nature
sinful. We’re in our own little world. And each of us wants to go
around inviting others to our blog—welcome to MY world! You don’t have
to stick around, but you’re welcome to.
But mostly, we’re not interested in making the case to others, but to
God. We want to tell Him where it’s at. God, You’ve got a lot of good
stuff on that blog of yours, but have you checked out mine? If you can
get on board with my religion things will work out just great for me.
As long as you don’t impose on me having to actually read and study
Your Word on a daily and consistent basis; as long as I don’t have to
suffer the embarrassment of sharing the Gospel with my non-Christian
friends; as long as I can continue to keep telling white lies in order
to keep the peace with my spouse; God, as long as you do as I say then
You will be a great boon to my religion.
How about if, instead, we listen to Christ? We actually take His
invitation and enter into His world? How about if, instead of just
checking out His blog once in a while, we actually get into the Word
of God and read, mark, learn, study, and inwardly digest it? How about
if, when we come to those places in His Holy Word that are tough to
come to terms with, we step back and listen? Take what we hear from
Him and enter into the world He has welcomed us into. Take to heart
His religion rather than the fantasy world we create for ourselves. Be
in His world on His terms rather than ours.
What if we hear the Word of our Lord and, instead of thinking about
how we can get in on the glory, we simply rest in what our Lord has
given us? Simply rest in the peace that goes beyond our limited
understanding. Be grateful for the eternal salvation He has brought
about in His suffering, death, and resurrection. Flood our hearts and
minds with thoughts not of glory or what we want but of the
forgiveness He has washed us with in our Baptism. Rejoice in the
lavish Feast of His Body and Blood He has prepared for us and the
invitation “Welcome to My world.” Welcome to My Feast. Come to Me and
receive Me; My Body and My Blood. My forgiveness and eternal
salvation. Peace for all your woes, strength for all your trials.
Salvation from yourself and your world of sin that the devil, the
world, and your sinful flesh keeps welcoming you into. Our sinful
flesh is all too eager to rejoice in the invitation to be brought into
a world that revolves around ourselves. It abhors the world Jesus
invites us into, which is the world of His cross; a world of suffering
and resurrection. That’s why He headed toward Jerusalem—to go the
cross. That was His world. He went to the cross for the sin of *the*
world.
When Jesus was on the cross, God was saying to the world: “Welcome to
MY world.” This is how you get into heaven. This is how you obtain
true and eternal glory. This is how you get what you really need. If
you look to that one who was beaten and hanging on the cross, you will
see God’s world; His religion; how He welcomes you into it. When you
daily arise and recall that you are a Baptized child of God, you will
see what the world of God is like—one in which He welcomes sinners and
eats them. You will see that His world is the world of grace, inviting
you into it, dining with you at His Table.
When your last hour comes, you may be at peace and rejoice, because
the words of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to you when you enter
into heaven will be, “Welcome to My world.” As you await that day,
rejoice in the opportunity you have everyday to bring this Good News
of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection to others, welcoming them
not into your world, but His. Amen.
SDG
--
Pastor Paul L. Willweber
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS]
San Diego, California
princeofpeacesd.net
three-taverns.net
It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything
except where the marks of the Church are concerned.
[Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian]
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