Be Honest

Below is the message given at Oahe Manor Sunday, September 23.  The Scripture is Mark 9:31-34.


            At various places, the gospels tell about Jesus choosing the disciples. The disciples, for the most part, were common, everyday people. They were not chosen because they were the wealthiest people, or the most highly-educated people, or the best speakers, or the cleverest people around. In fact, the Bible does not really tell us exactly why Jesus chose the twelve people he did to become his disciples. They were simply the ones he chose. We assume there must have been good reasons why Jesus chose the people he did, but we don’t know just what those reasons were. We just figure that since Jesus was doing the choosing, he must have made the right choices.

            I wonder, though, if there were times when maybe Jesus wondered if he’d made some mistakes. Because, when you read the gospels, there seem to be so many times when the disciples just don’t seem to get it. They just don’t seem to understand what’s going on. Two of those times come in the short scripture from Mark we read this afternoon.

            Our reading starts out with Jesus teaching the disciples, telling them what’s going to happen. He says, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But, we’re told, the disciples “did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”

            Jesus would have known that, of course. It must have been frustrating for him. I mean, he must have wanted the disciples to know what was going to happen, or else why tell them? But at the same time, he must have known they could not understand, because we don’t see anything about Jesus trying to explain it further. And at the same time, it must have been sad for Jesus, too. Not just because he could not make the disciples understand what was going to happen, but because they were afraid to ask him about it.

             I guess, in a way, it’s understandable that they might be afraid to ask. I mean, this is Jesus, and they’ve seen Jesus respond to questions from both religious and political leaders and make them look foolish. But still, Jesus was their friend. Besides, there are plenty of times in the Bible when the disciples not only asked Jesus questions but did not hesitate to try to tell him what to do. But here, when it comes to one of the most important things Jesus needs them to know, they’re afraid to ask him anything. Jesus must have been very sad about that.

             Then, a little while later, Jesus hears them arguing. He asks them, “What were you arguing about?” And again, the disciples are afraid to say anything, because what they’d been arguing about was which one of them was the greatest.

            And once again, Jesus must have felt both frustrated and sad. He’d have been frustrated because to argue about something like that would indicate, again, that the disciples just did not understand. They should have known better than to argue about which one of them was the greatest. But he’d have been sad, too, because they did not trust Jesus enough to be honest with him.

            As I think about it, I think the sadness was probably greater than the frustration.  Because, again, Jesus knew who the disciples were. He knew they were not learned scholars or great theologians. He knew there would be times when they did not understand. But he must have been sad and disappointed when they were afraid to ask questions and be honest with him.

            I mentioned the times when Jesus would respond to questions from religious and political leaders and make them look foolish. But you know, I don’t think there’s a time in the gospels when Jesus reacted that way to people who were asking him honest questions because they were trying to learn and grow in faith. The times when Jesus made people look foolish were the times when people were asking him questions with some other motive. When people were trying to trick Jesus, or to trap him, or to show how smart or how good they were, then Jesus would respond and put them in their place. But Jesus never put people down when they asked honest questions. Jesus also never put people down when they were honest with him about what they’d done. Jesus never put people down when they were sincerely trying to get closer to God.

            We talk sometimes about the value of prayer. One of the most important things we need to do when we pray is to be totally honest with God. We can be honest with God about anything and everything. We can be honest with God about our faults. We can be honest with God about our doubts. We can be honest with God about our fears. And we can be honest with God in asking questions, too.

            God created each one of us. That means God knows more about each one us than we know about ourselves. God knows how weak we can be, and how subject to temptation we can be. God also knows how much we struggle sometimes, and how much we hurt sometimes. God knows all of that and much more, because God created us.

            But God also knows how much good there is in each one of us. Because the thing is that, whenever you create something, you put a part of yourself into it. Whether you create a painting, or a song, or a craft project, or a piece of furniture, or a poem, or a cake, or whatever it is that you create, you put a part of yourself into creating it. That means that God put a little of himself into each one of us. And no matter what we do, that part of God is always there.

            Jesus chose common, everyday people to be his disciples. That’s what Jesus still does.  He knows there are times when he’ll be frustrated with us, and there are times when we’ll make him sad. But there is something of God in each one of us. And if we come to God honestly, and sincerely try to get closer to God, God will always be there for us.