Pentecost 21 (B): Preaching as a Storymaker

[Music] That smooth Christian jazz you're hearing means you've tuned into same old song, "Electionary Podcast of Mockingbird Ministries." I'm your co-host, Aaron Zimmerman. I'll be joined by Jacob Smith as each week we break down the "Electionary" readings for the upcoming Sunday. To give you something to think about, and if you're a preacher, to give you something to preach about, and no matter who you are, to give you a connection to the never-challenge changing message of God's grace for actual people like you, unzip that monogrammed faux leather, Bible carry-in case, and cover, pull up a chair, and let's dig in. [Music] Okay, and we are back once again for another exciting episode of the same old song. I'm joined by a guest host today, a very special guest host. I don't know if anybody is at home during the weeks when the Kelly Ripa show comes on, but if you remember, it was originally Regis and Kelly, and then it made its way to Kelly and Ryan. And then whenever Ryan was gone, Ryan Seacrest, because he was so busy, she would have her spouse mark on the show. And now it is the Kelly and Mark show. And maybe this is my overall master plan, Hall Aaron is gone. But today I have a special guest host, and it is Melina Smith. And so it is the Jacob and Melina show, just a kidding. It's the Mr. and Mrs. Smith show. But here we are. I'm joined by Melina Smith, who is the executive director of Storymakers, and so which is a Sunday school curriculum, which addresses not only the gospel, but the emotional and social wellbeing of your child. And so we are glad to have her here. And Melina, welcome to the same old song. Hey friends, it's not a same old song with me. It's a new song. It's a new song. That's Jake just said. I, Hey, Mockingbirders, Hastere makers, so glad to be here. Thanks, Jake. Yeah. And so I thought it would be kind of interesting to, you know, since I'm running everything with Aaron gone. I thought it would be kind of interesting, maybe if we could, you know, take a look at some of the texts from, you know, a child's perspective and from like, you know, crafting a child's children's sermon, because many of us have to do that. And so, so, yeah, well, we're glad that you're here. So our text today. I'm glad we have Job. That's a really child-friendly text. Oh, yeah, Job. And Hebrews dealing with swords, although little boys would like that. So, but our readings today are from Job chapter 23 verses 1 through 9 and 16 through 17. But really, if you're going to preach on this text, you need also 10 through 15 in there. And then we need Hebrews chapter 4 verses 12 through 16. And then finally, we'll be taking a look at the Gospel of Mark chapter 10 verses 17 through 31. But it is great to have you here, Mel. And so, well, why don't you tell us a little bit about story makers and about children's ministry and about, you know, kind of addressing the scriptures that are as relevant to a child? Yeah, well, thanks for having me. Super pumped up. I love SOS. It's super encouraging, especially as we're writing content. And I know our team loves it too. Yeah, let me just tell you, story makers, Jake just described. We create kids' content, teens' content. And really, you know, what I've learned over the years is that grownups need the Gospel too. And what's been so amazing in this ministry is like, not only are kids having a great time with it, but I think grownups are being shaped by it too. So I think it's really imperative as to how we communicate and share the text with our grownups because they're the ones that are shaping our kids in so many ways. And so this is, you know, I think text like Job and the harder text like right now, we're writing all about the minor profits. I think these are, this is content that's super accessible to kids and really important because it hits all the highs and the lows of life. And so this is really exciting. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks, Jake. That's amazing. Did I just hear you say Job is super accessible to kids? Yeah. Well, that is, that's a fresh perspective. And so, well, we're taking a look here at Job chapter 23 verses 1 through 9 and 16 through 17. And essentially, the setup is that if you remember last week in chapter 1, we saw that basically Satan cruises in and is like, you know, and you know, is like, I'm ready to take someone on and God is like, have you thought about my servant Job and you can do everything but not kill him? But, and the question of, you know, the book of Job brings up all of these questions about, you know, where is God when it hurts? Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad people? All of these just interesting questions. And then from chapter 2, basically, onward, there is a series of conversations in chapter 2 to 22, Job is having a conversation between his friends and although in chapter 5, God also speaks. But the pattern throughout those chapters is that Job's friends are completely convinced that God prospers the innocent and punishes the guilty. And what they're trying to do in the previous chapters is convince Job, he must have done something really terrible, so fast up. And so, and that is the immediate context for chapter 3 in the preceding chapter, Job's buddy, Ellie Faz tries to persuade Job that it's clearly because his wickedness is great. And Job is like, it's not. And that is basically the setup for chapter 23, which is our text today. And here we begin to see him defend himself. And Mel, how would you say that this is accessible to kids or what would you say about this? Well, first of all, let's bring Ellie Faz back. That's a great name. I know a lot of people having babies this year, so hey, no one's going to be duplications there. Ellie Faz. Ellie Faz, you be Ellie. So I think that the way, the reason why I said Job is like perfect for kids is because fiction inhabits so much of the dynamics that Job holds. Everything is unfair. There's a power dynamic. There is community circling around trying to decipher like, why is this thing happening? And I think that's so true to so many of the stories that we surround ourselves with. So I don't think, I think Job is unique in that it's like a literary device in so many ways. And I think it makes me think about Rawl Doll because when his children's book, in his books, which kids love, what he does is that he shows up with a problem, like a really bad tragic problem. Like my parents are, I'm orphaned, my parents are dead. And then it launches into a longer narrative. And I think Job possesses that similar quality to it. And I just think it's a great way for kids to kind of begin to think about like, well, life isn't fair. What's happening? And then you can kind of begin to tease out the idea of like, are we creatures who's a creator? And it also, I think it also breaks into this idea of like what we do as humans in trying to decipher when things don't seem right from our perspective. And our own interpretation is probably skewed or flawed. And so I think there's this, I think that's kind of interesting, right, Jake? Like when something goes wrong, we often go to our peers and we go to a group of people who we hope or imagine would like, sort, like lift us up or be like, oh, yeah, that guy's a bad guy. Like that thing happened to you because that guy's a bad guy. And so you just see so much of real humanity at play in this whole book. >> That's really good. I love what Job says right here because this is I think at the very heart of the human experience when it comes to God, especially in the midst of suffering. He says, if I go east, he's not there. If West, I can't find him. He works to the north, but I can't see him. He turns south, but I can't catch a glimpse of him. And I think in so many people, in their congregations, in your congregations, you're dealing with people who are going through things and experiencing things that they have cried out to God in the middle of the night. They're waking up between three and six and are laying their petition for God before God to deliver them from something. And they absolutely, positively do not hear him. And I think that this is really the statement from Job is the experience of a lot of humans, the hidden God who hasn't felt very alone during troubled periods in our lives. And this is the reality. And Job is laying it out there in a real way, the deus of Skandas, the hidden God. And that is a big theme. I mean, I think especially with kids, don't you think, Melina? Yeah, it makes me think of that Gerhard Ford, a quote, "God does not play hide and seek." And I think that that's, you know, we, you know, it, because in so many ways, the presence of God feels maybe untangable. And I think because we, as humans, really do not want to be in discomfort, it's really hard for us to wait. It's just part of our nature and we do not suffer well. And so I think in, you know, so it's natural for us to feel that, yeah, maybe there isn't a God or maybe God is hidden because our, we've got our perspective skewed in that we imagine that our creator's job is really to, to make our lives more comfortable than they maybe experienced as. So that's, those are the thoughts that came to my mind. Yeah, that's definitely the therapeutic nature of our kind of Christian faith, which often I'm, is much more of a detriment in that, that idea that God is there to make all my dreams come true. And when the stuff really begins to fall apart, well, you know, where do I turn? And this is why at least if you're going to preach this text, you need to be familiar with verses 10 through 15. Because this is where Job reminds the reader of the benefits of his innocence and, you know, and that, and the benefits of what God has declared about him. And that has become the thing by which he can, his foot can be steadied in like gold, you know, that he's been tried. And all of these things, however at the end he says, therefore I'm terrified at the presence when I consider, and I'm afraid of him, which leads to the last part of our electionary reading. If I could vanish in darkness and thick darkness would cover my face. This is, this is really what life is truly experienced. If you don't know the God revealed and the God revealed is the person in work of Jesus Christ on the cross for you. And that God says, though your sin be great, my work for you, my shed blood is greater than all of that. And that whatever you may be feeling alone, maybe you're feeling abandoned, this word of promise that comes to you from the cross of Jesus, this word of promise that comes to you in bread and wine assures you that, well, you've never, it's never been promised that your dreams are all going to come true. But what has been promised, what has been given to you is the real promise that God will never leave you or forsake you. And that nothing is so bad that it will not eventually be redeemed. Jesus JR Tolkien, that great storyteller once said, all things sad will become untrue and that there is a resurrection from the dead coming, even the many deaths. And so I think that this would be the direction and the way that I would point people to if I was preaching. Get them to understand that Job is real. This is a real kind of experience. It may be a story, but it's a real experience that every human has and it is that experience being touched with it, that we need to see, we need to discover and hear the revealed God in Jesus Christ speaking to us. Yeah, and I think that's why these texts synthesize so well together because when we jump into Hebrews, I don't want to jump into God. Nice way, Mel, you're right. Yeah, I'm prepared. But when you're talking to kids and they imagine, they can relate to this type of story that the Job narrative, you want to anchor it with as you just proclaimed the good news of Jesus. And what's so cool in the Hebrew text is that I love this use of language of like, he is a not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. And I think that that's really important because I think when we get, we can be, we can get really, we can be overwhelmed by our feelings and we can be, it's easy and accessible for us to fall into deep despair. But to know that our creator has sympathy and connection to our own pain and weakness, I think, is a through line to pull us to the other side. Yeah. And I love that. He opens up by talking about the power of God's Word. And it comes to us in many ways. It comes to us through the Scriptures, the Word of God comes to us through the Scriptures. It comes to us through the law and the prophets. It comes to us in Christ. It comes to us by the work of the Holy Spirit living in us. And it also comes to us in the preaching clearly of the gospel when the Scriptures are rightly taught. And the reason why it's able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And that's really getting at the interior. You know, so often we think that we're defined by the exterior, by what we do. And here he's reminding us that the very seed of everything, it's the heart. So it's able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And nothing is hidden from him. The one whom we must render account. Now that alone is really, really bad news. You know, if I've got a render account to God on behalf of my deeds, well, holy moly, that should cause you to tremble. You know, but this is where the sense becomes very important in the book of Hebrews. Since then, now, well, wait, how am I going to give account? Well, we have a great high priest who's passed through the heavens. He hasn't just walked through some temporal temple, you know, through a giant curtain. But rather this one has passed through the heavens. A.K.A. he's literally resurrected from the dead and been ascended to the right hand of the Father. This is a reference to his ascension. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. Really, and what is our confession that Jesus Christ has died for my justification and has been raised and now pleads for me. And I have a loving relationship with God, my Father. And it's because of this. It's because we haven't a high priest. He's able to intercede for me in a real way because, well, he's sympathized with our weakness because he's been fully human completely in every way just as we are. I love what Ken Jones said last week and I've been pondering that a lot, the dual nature of Jesus, fully God and fully man. And he talked about it in the sense of cigarettes. You need both paper and the tobacco for the cigarettes to be effective, you know what I mean? And so you need God to be Jesus to be fully God and fully man. And it is in the fully man part that he is like us in every way and becomes something that we can relate to. And because of his death and resurrection and now interceding for us, we can approach the throne of grace with boldness. Anything stick out to you there, Mel? That would be touching to a kid. Yeah, I mean, I think it's really, you know, these texts together, Hebrews, Job and the gospel. I think it's important to have, when you're talking to kids and teaching them scripture, that you're making those intersections together so that they can understand how these things all relate to one another. So, so that you know that they're not lost in the law and morality and fable tales, but that they know that this is a living word and that, right, since then, you have a great high priest and that why that matters. It's like the text from Joe Daniel Isaiah, the prophets, they paint this picture of someone coming. And so I think it's really, you know, important to spark that curiosity of like, oh, here's a one that we've been talking about that is coming. This is what we've been, the whispers that we've been hearing from the Old Testament. And so, but I love the dynamic language. Like two heads sword, like all of that, that really interesting language. I just, I think, always play that up because that feels really intriguing and, and not dull and boring. And, and I think that that's important to keep our interest and imaginations on high alert. Yeah. The, I think what separates us from Joe is not our bouts of depression and anxiety and doubt. What separates us from Joe is that we actually have been given the fact that we have a high priest and the knowledge that we have a high priest who's totally for us, well, that enables us to approach the throne of grace with boldness and really bring our mercies. I mean, bring our like prayers and petitions to his mercy and find grace to help in time of need. I love that. And I've been thinking a lot about this, you know, we've been talking a lot about like, "Oh, I've been talking a lot." with people and you about prayer and kind of the ordering of affections, especially when we find ourselves in these dark places. You know, so often our prayer is like we're like a drowning person, you know, and we're just like, God, fix this, you know what I mean? And what we forget is that even in that, it's not what we're praying is as my will be done. You know what I mean? We may be going to God, but it's not with the boldness that is the fruit of receiving His mercy and grace and times of need. And you know, instead, I mean God definitely knows that we have needs, but it is the ability to go before Him and not in the sense of an idol, but like Lord, I need this so that I might serve you well. You know, I need my daily bread so that I might not like clamor for my idols, you know, and might worship you joyfully and all of these things, but I think that that is the primary difference between Job's situation and ours, not the fact that we don't suffer with fear and depression, but that we know we have received the God revealed. Jesus says our high priest. And that becomes the enabling word to approach God's throne with grace and boldness. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this idea, I think this is a very, that we're talking about Gen Z and Alpha being the most anxious generation of all time. And I think it's easy for us to story and to feel bound by the Job scenario. And we can curate that own narrative for ourselves through doom scrolling and all of these things. And so we need a reorientation every day all the time to remember that we do have the high priest and we do have one that sympathizes with us. And that's just something that we need to repeat all the time over and over and over again. Not just for piety, but because we're, we want to live well and we want to live in a way that we trust that our creator has gone before us. Absolutely. Well, talk about piety. We come to our gospel today. Mark chapter 10, I can tell you're prepared. And I mean, you know, Mark's prepared on Kelly and Mark, so I came ready. Yeah. So, what are your thoughts on chapter 10, verses 17 through 31? You know, we have the scene of a rich young ruler who comes to Jesus and is like, you know, a young man. We're told in this particular, and he's like, you know, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And you know, Jesus lays it all out and he leaves pretty sad. But what are your thoughts on this? I love the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Yeah. You know, I think it's like a miss, like the questions wrong in, I think that's the, the starting point is in unbalanced. He does a great point. He doesn't assume that he's already been, he's already inherited everything. And so he's already, he's coming to, he's coming to Jesus, not understanding, not understanding from where he even needs to start. So I think that's like the number one thing. And I think one, I would say one warning, I mean, I've been in church my whole life. And I've heard this text preach many times. And oftentimes I think people take this as an opportunity to bludgeon the idea of like wealth. So you know, I think that's always a caution to think about like how to do that this year. I'm not calling you badger. I've had church years beyond being in your peers. So I watch a lot of YouTube. So anyway, but that's, that's what I would say. I think the question is, the starting point is wrong, right? So your bookkeeper is starting out wrong, then everything else fails. So yeah, what would you have to say about that, Jay? I mean, you're absolutely right. The opening question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Is a, is a very, it's a, it's a flawed, flawed question. But I mean, this guy he's amazing. He's like basically the Holy Trinity of success. He's young, he's rich, and he's powerful. And probably a trusted, I'm just. Yeah. And you usually didn't get that kind, get to that level of success at a young age, unless you inherited it. So that makes sense, good teacher, what must I do to it? I've inherited everything, you know, my life. And he has everything you could want, possibly. However, there's something he doesn't have. And that's what something money and power and, you know, can't buy. And that's eternal life. And that's, that's an important question because that's the question so many people have been asking. The question we're all asking as well and as testified by plastic surgery and, you know, 60-year-old women on the Upper East Side wearing skinny jeans. Yeah, if the denial of death is strong, wherever you go. To your denial of death is what's going on here. And but wherever you go, urban, suburban, rural, New York City, Branson, Missouri, Central Asia, wherever you go, basically that is the question. You know, how can I not die? And the problem with his question though is what must I do to inherit eternal life? And there's a category mistake there because if you've ever received inheritance, you didn't do anything. A lot of the times you're just surprised by it. You know, you're like, oh my gosh, I remember that lady that inherited me, that icon of Saint Nicholas. I didn't do anything. I was just like, wow, it's given. And it's a gift. So there's a character flaw there. And there's a category flaw in the question. Anything else you're thinking about? Well, there's an assumption that he could, he has the ability, capacity to inherit like the kingdom of God, that there is something in his own doing that he could get there. So I think that's part of, I think, the problem too. Yeah, well, I mean, he's operating as most people do. That God helps those who help themselves. You know, and so that God gives good gifts to good little boys and nothing to bad little boys. And so Jesus tells him what he has to do. He basically lays out the tablets of the law. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I think, you know, it's, you know, it's in this particular situation. He knows, he knows his heart and he knows what he would never want to give up. And so I think, you know, this is a great illustration of what that is to you. So I would say to, like, it varies across like human to human, just in thinking about the tax, like, what, it's not necessarily just well for all of us. It could be, it could be a variation of other things that we're holding onto. I think to play cautious, not to, you know, bludgeon people with this idea of like, well, that guy's a rich guy and obviously be terrible to the loose as well. And that's his pain point. But we all have something that we're hanging onto that we shouldn't be hanging onto. And Jesus' in the Holy Spirit are good at identifying what that thing is. Because they want to free us. You know, we, Jesus came to set us free, not to, you know, just for us to like live in shackles of whatever the thing is that we're slaves to. So he's identified like what he's cuffed to this world with. Hmm. Yeah, he has idols. That's what is revealed here. And I like Tim Keller once said, he said, "Idology is what we fear the most, love the most, and trust the most." And what they usually can be boiled down to is three things, wealth, youth and power. And when Tim went on to say that when we have them, we're at the top of the world, things couldn't be better. And when they're taken away, it's as though we've lost our God. And then a deep and profound way we have. And I think that is what's going on here is you realize that this young man loved his stuff. And what we also see in this is that Jesus also loves this young man. You know, and Jesus loves you. And he wants to give all of us who hear the gospel what we lack. And often, I'm so what we lack is humility. You know? Yeah. So recently, I was just in Mexico in March with the chairman of my board. And, you know, it made me think, this text has made me think of that that Jesus isn't coming to the young man to make him feel bad or to like punish him or something or to diminish him or it doesn't seem that way to me. But I think these these poignant points are really about our own freedom and experience of joy. When I was in Mexico, we went down and we took some story maker zines and we threw a little story maker party and it was super amazing. And the year before we did the same thing and we don't know these kids. We don't really know the context we're going in. And by all intents and purposes, these kids don't have much in this life. And they have, they experience a lot of poverty. And you may imagine that they are not people who would be comfortable and not living joyful lives, but they are living in a posture of being able to receive. And there is joy in that reception of being in that posture, you know. And so I think that, you know, the young, the young rich guy is, I think, asking these questions because he doesn't have that kind of freedom that we all, that I saw in Mexico and that we all long for, just like these moments of reception and really joy in what God has given us. Yeah, that's, that is the real, I think that is a really powerful illustration in the sense that it reveals, you know, we would look and we would say, how could they possibly be happy? And I mean, those kids have like frozen lunch boxes and things like that, you know, and it's like, so how, like, how could that possibly? And you begin to realize that it's in the midst of nothing that you realize that, and you all you have is God that with man, these things are impossible with God, all things are possible. Does that make sense? Yeah, and I think that, like, you know, idols, you know, it's God is a jealous God, you know, and as a kid when I was learning about the Old Testament, you sort of have this sense of like, oh, well, God doesn't want you worshiping anything else because he's jealous. But I think the reality is, is like, he loves us so much. He's like, yo, that's not real life. That's not freedom. And that's not how I hoped and intended for you to even live. It's best living and well living when you have your categories organized properly. When I am the creator living in that headspace of yours and you are the creature, trusty, and knowing that you haven't heard it everything. And that's where real freedom and joy is. And I think if we kind of think about it in that framework, especially when we're preaching or teaching kids, you know, it's sort of this strange dynamic of thinking of like, wow, God is really jealous and it doesn't want us to worship other things. That may be true. I think simultaneously, there's also a truth that he wants us to, he's intended for us to have real life. And those things can't give it to us. And we miss, we get anxious and afraid. And so we grab things that are tangible and that make us happy momentarily. And then we hang on to those things and worship them. Yeah. Well, the disciples were really freaked out because with all of that piety, if the rich young ruler can't be saved, then who can be saved? And Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God. For God, all things are possible." And on our own, it is totally impossible. But with God, all things are possible for Jesus as the good teacher. And because he's good, and because he is God, who is good, and as God, he was rich, but for our sake became poor, giving up all that he had. Jesus divested himself of his honor, his glory, his power, and he became a servant who suffered and died on the cross so that by his poverty and death, you and I might become rich and faith in heirs of eternal life. And that's really what you want to convey and get across to your congregation friends. How does one inherit eternal life by becoming a child of God and being joined to Jesus in faith, dying and rising with him daily and following where he leads? And that's how you inherit eternal life. And the good news of the gospel is that in your baptism, Jesus has already declared you to be an heir, and eternal life is already yours in Jesus' name. So give them the goods and Malena, it's been so good to have you on the same old song. Yeah, yeah. All right. Anything else you want to say? Maybe tell people to get their orders in. You know, it's October and get their orders in for Advent. Well, if you're looking for Advent, we've got some great things for you. We have this amazing puppet theater house and we've got all sorts of zines and resources for you. And what I will say too is we love to lean heavy, especially with our teens on baptism, reminding them constantly as they're sort of dealing with the waves of emotions and all the things and they have a lot of job moments in their life experience as they're growing, but to remind them that they are covered and baptized and they've inherited everything and they're adopted. So I would leave you with that. And that's thanks for having with Jake. Yeah. Well, thanks for tuning in everyone and we will see you next week. Thanks for listening to same old song. Hope you found some gospel nuggets for the pulpit or for your life. If you like what you heard, leave a review or rating in Apple podcasts. Dave Zoll will be sad if you don't. Thanks to TJ Hester for audio production and remember to keep that Bible by your bedside ready to rock and roll. [Music]