Matthew 16:26
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
So is anyone else reminded of Scrooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol? Surely old Ebenezer had gained the whole world - he had money, he had power that made people fear him- Bob Cratchit was afraid to stand up and ask for more coal to warm his cold fingers. The arc of the story of Scrooge from being a cold, miserly, misanthrope to his redemption to kindness and selflessness seems to ring true with this reading from Matthew. Ebenezer had gained the whole world at the expense of his soul and he had done so willingly. Fortunately he also listened to the Spirit in the form of those three ghosts and woke up to hear and follow.
There are many things we can all invest our time and efforts in but the cost can be very high. The more we focus on attaining them at the expense of watching for the call to stewardship and discipleship, the more we can find ourselves separated from God and God’s creation. The cost of discipleship is that we are called to listen for the will of God in our lives and then follow. May we all, like Ebenezer wake up to that message of kindness and selflessness. Jesus leads, We follow, and for that we gain the Kingdom!
Jeffrey Witt
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us this weekend for the Second Sunday in Lent. Worship is at 8:30 and 11 and Education Hour is at 9:45.
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