Thanks Chad! I love your walkthroughs of our Gospel passages. I hate that you only went through the first half of the reading that I have as an Anglican, but you lay the groundwork for where I need to go here. I do have a technical question: why are you uploading in only 360p (its been that way for a while, but I haven't thought to ask until now)? It makes everything blurry, especially when you put up text and I have it at full screen. I hope that you'll start uploading in higher quality so that everything can be a bit more crisp and easier to read when you have words on the screen. thanks again for your work!
Jeremiah, thank you very much for the word of encouragement. The Lutheran lectionary that I follow split that section of Mark 10 (unwisely, in my opinion) between last Sunday and this coming Sunday. It was an odd break in what was obviously one discourse about riches. But torn between that lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary, I chose the former, mainly because it is the one used at the church I attend. Regarding the technical question: I think that we got that issue of fuzziness fixed with the video I uploaded just a few minutes ago. It took about 10x longer to upload but the quality is much, much better. Thank you for the altering me to the issue. If anything is ever “off” about the videos, please do let me know. God bless your preaching.
I love the way you framed Jesus' encounter with the wealthy ruler. Like the "temptation in the Garden of Eden", it is a kind of Rorschach test where people reveal their own "dark side" by the way they interpret it. When King David is confronted by the prophet Nathan about a man who steals a poor man's only lamb, David lashes out because he has had a corresponding adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. Who do you give your positions to? Who do you make rich with your wealth? As you point out, wealth is a trap, and Jesus has presented him with an impossible task (like cutting off limbs). I think you did well on your Rorschach test.
I think this story hasn't much to do with literally wealth, but more so with a spiritual perception of being morally superior/rich that is based on moral selfreliance. In essence this is the ability to achieve righteousness by keeping the law, as opposed to righteousness by faith. In the parable of the prodigal son, the oldest one thought he was rich too. But Jesus blessed the poor in spirit and I think this is the message. Abraham was wealthy, not only materially, but primarily spiritually as he is the father of all believers. Kain got angry because his religious(rich) sacrifice wasn't accepted by God, as opposed to his brothers who is an example of faith. Same with Esau, he got angry. Jacob was renamed Israel after he discovered how to trust God instead his own works, after he saw Gods face in his brother. And as you mentioned Job who swapped his own righteousness for the righteousness of God when he really saw who God was. All this was an affront for the religious people of all time, and specifically the Jewish religion in Jesus days. Jesus is the real stumbling block.
![Greed: The Case of the Rich Young Ruler - Timothy Keller [Sermon]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/W4m8cv-_VKw/mqdefault.jpg)
Stunning. Jesus loved him. Stunning. Jesus loves me. Thanks again, dear brother.
Great lesson brother Bird. Thank you again!
thank you Chad
So good! ❤
Thanks Chad! I love your walkthroughs of our Gospel passages. I hate that you only went through the first half of the reading that I have as an Anglican, but you lay the groundwork for where I need to go here.
I do have a technical question: why are you uploading in only 360p (its been that way for a while, but I haven't thought to ask until now)? It makes everything blurry, especially when you put up text and I have it at full screen. I hope that you'll start uploading in higher quality so that everything can be a bit more crisp and easier to read when you have words on the screen. thanks again for your work!
Jeremiah, thank you very much for the word of encouragement. The Lutheran lectionary that I follow split that section of Mark 10 (unwisely, in my opinion) between last Sunday and this coming Sunday. It was an odd break in what was obviously one discourse about riches. But torn between that lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary, I chose the former, mainly because it is the one used at the church I attend.
Regarding the technical question: I think that we got that issue of fuzziness fixed with the video I uploaded just a few minutes ago. It took about 10x longer to upload but the quality is much, much better. Thank you for the altering me to the issue. If anything is ever “off” about the videos, please do let me know. God bless your preaching.
I love the way you framed Jesus' encounter with the wealthy ruler.
Like the "temptation in the Garden of Eden", it is a kind of Rorschach test where people reveal their own "dark side" by the way they interpret it.
When King David is confronted by the prophet Nathan about a man who steals a poor man's only lamb, David lashes out because he has had a corresponding adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.
Who do you give your positions to? Who do you make rich with your wealth?
As you point out, wealth is a trap, and Jesus has presented him with an impossible task (like cutting off limbs).
I think you did well on your Rorschach test.
I think this story hasn't much to do with literally wealth, but more so with a spiritual perception of being morally superior/rich that is based on moral selfreliance. In essence this is the ability to achieve righteousness by keeping the law, as opposed to righteousness by faith. In the parable of the prodigal son, the oldest one thought he was rich too. But Jesus blessed the poor in spirit and I think this is the message. Abraham was wealthy, not only materially, but primarily spiritually as he is the father of all believers. Kain got angry because his religious(rich) sacrifice wasn't accepted by God, as opposed to his brothers who is an example of faith. Same with Esau, he got angry. Jacob was renamed Israel after he discovered how to trust God instead his own works, after he saw Gods face in his brother. And as you mentioned Job who swapped his own righteousness for the righteousness of God when he really saw who God was. All this was an affront for the religious people of all time, and specifically the Jewish religion in Jesus days. Jesus is the real stumbling block.