October 11, 2009

Scriptures for October 11th: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22:1-5, Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31

Job:
Job has been listening to the helpful advice of his friends, but he is not finding what they have to say so helpful. So now he feels that he must clarify his own concerns. If he could talk to God, this is what he would have to say. His friends have told him that surely he must have deserved everything that happened to him. But Job searches his soul and says that he has done nothing. Why do bad things happen to good people? How much pain can we possibly bear? Next week, we hear God’s response to Job’s pain. Can we wait in our own lives for God’s response to our pain?

Mark:
What must we do to inherit eternal life? Jesus spends a lifetime answering that question for us. And just life the rich young ruler, we don’t always want to hear the answer that we receive. We have to learn to live in a way that does not hurt others. We have to rethink that things that we treasure, and sometimes be prepared to lose them. What do we do to ignore what Jesus us calling us to do? How do we explain those things away. In Jesus times, many thought there was actually a gate in Jerusalem called the eye of the needle, that animals could only pass through if they put down whatever they were carrying. That was not the case. The gate is inside of the heart of the faithful. In order to inherit eternal life, we must listen fully to what Jesus us asking of us.

Questions:
In your dark times, how do you experience God? What finally brings light on your situation and God’s love for you? How does your perception of God’s absence affect your life? When Jesus asks you to let go of anything that stands in between you and him, what will you release? Or will you walk away shocked and grieving?