Good Living
What makes a good life? Family? Friends? Health? Wealth? Influence? Legacy? What are the elements that make up good living for you, and in what priority and measure?
We’re going to be exploring that question for the next three Sundays, October 13th, 20th, and 27th. October 27th is Reformation Sunday, and we will likely focus on the question through the lens of the early 16th century. Martin Luther, from whom we draw our denominational name, asked it this way: “How can I be right with God?” No spoiler alert here, but the church at the time located the answer in human actions, including monetary contributions. Luther was restless over the lack of certitude that he could ever do enough. He found through a careful reading of the Bible that we do not make ourselves right with God, but God makes us right through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Good living is found in and through him.
You’ll notice that the question in the 1500’s placed God at the center of good living. That is less of a given for many people in our time and place. We’ll see that as we reflect on two passages from the Gospel of Mark on October 13th and 20th. In the first, a man comes before Jesus seeking a path to good living, and he wants to keep what he has. In the second, some of Jesus’s disciples want to end up ahead of everyone else. I can summarize Jesus’s responses (while somewhat oversimplifying) this way: God first, then other people, then ourselves last.
More on all of that as we gather together on Sundays, in person or via livestream.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Don
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