Climbing Partners

New Living Translation Chapter 3

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. 32 There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”

33 Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 35 Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Chapter 4

Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

In January 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson completed the first free climb of the 3000 foot Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The pair spent six years planning and preparing for this incredible journey and were in fact successful after about 19 days.

While this is an incredible feat in itself the climb itself is not what stood out for me. Tommy was a well known climber…Kevin on the other hand had never free climbed anything over about 30 feet. He was a world class boulder climber…and heard that Tommy was looking for a partner to climb El Captain in fact he had but in quite a bit more time in planning this climb that the 6 years they put in together.

It was during this six year planning that they became close and started the actually climb together…They way this works is they beak the mountain into sections called a pitch. One climber ascends the pitch while the other spot them and rest themselves…if a climber falls on a pitch the go back the start of that pitch and attempt it until they complete it. This is where the story gets interesting.

There was one pitch that Kevin the new comer and they less experienced climber just could not get…Tommy had trouble with it but overcame the pitch and spent several days waiting for Kevin to get through it before he had to make the decision to keep climbing without him.

Every day on the mountain not moving increased the chance they would not summit…so every day for several days Tommy would spot Kevin and then continue his own climb as well…

to try to shorten the story. Finally Kevin decided to abandon his attempt to free climb the whole section so that Tommy could their trek. They rest of Kevins journey would be support only and he would not get credit for free climbing El Capitan with Tommy…it was an act of friendship and selflessness not many would extend.

So they continued with Tommy continuing the climb with Kevin in support. Tommy had gotten through the most technical and difficult part of the climb and stood on the cliff known as whino’s tower.

Instead of Tommy being filled with excitement he was consumed with the emptiness that Kevin was feeling becuase he would not be able to say he climbed to the top with Tommy becuase of not completing the pitch he was stuck on.

That night laying in their portico (Tent affixed to the side of the mountain) Tommy said he would not continue to the top without him....It took Kevin 6 days on pitch 15 after Tommy had already completed 20 of 31 pitches.

Tommy had every right to complete the climb without Kevin but understood that the pain Kevin would have experienced was not worth Tommy’s triumph.

Life has more meaning when we value others more than self along the journey.

Jesus mom and brothers believed that their position as family entitled them them to greater access to Jesus than others. In demanding Jesus drop everything to engaged with them they were putting their own journey ahead of others.

That is why Jesus had to deal with them in a seemingly rude and dismissive way. Not because he did not love them. Not because they were not valued by Jesus but becuase everyone needed to know they were as valued as his immediate family.

The Mission of Going into all the world means nothing if Jesus values certain people more than others.

That is why its no surprise that right after this challenge to his family that he then invites us all to generously share the keys to the kingdom. Jesus is the generous farmer in the invitation story.

He is generously giving to all the knowlege and power of the kingdom. He is over sowing as a matter of fact so we can all be a dynamic part of Jesus new movement.

That is all we can do as well. Evangelism or outreach is nothing more than giving people information or telling them your story about how Jesus has changed your life and letting others decide what to do with this information.

Many of us struggle becuase we feel like if we are rejected that somehow makes us a lesser Christian…that could not be further from the truth. In this parable we see that Jesus tells us that many will fall away or reject…but we are to keep cultivating the soil and keep sowing.

Jesus knows some will accept and fall away…But that does not stop him from sowing seed. Some will not accept, some will accept and thrive.

We must like God leave it up to the individual as to which that will be while continuing to sow generously.

Think about it for a moment…what if instead of being worried we will talk about Jesus too much we worried more about what could happen if we do not talk about Jesus enough.

The most important person in any relationship is not me, our you or even other. It is Jesus. Anyone with ears should listen and understand.

Accept the Invitation to hear.

To hear means to share not control. You and I cannot control whether people accept of reject the message of salvation. But we do control whether or not someone hears about or not.

We have to ask this question during lent. Are we more interested in summiting the mountain of faith alone or are others just as important as me.

We often focus so much in this season on what we are doing in order to grow in our relationship with Christ that sometimes we forget that the most important person in this relationship isn’t us—it’s Christ.

We forget that the greatest work being done is through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The greatest growth happening is when we submit to whatever God may have for us, versus striving to cause growth to happen.

Sadly, that can reflect in our relationships with others as well, as we try hard to get them to act and look a certain way before we are willing to love them extravagantly. We learn from this story that God is in the work of extravagantly bestowing grace upon all of us. We learn that there is enough for all of us, and we can trust that life is growing and will continue to grow if we have the eyes to see it and the trust to rest and celebrate the work that is happening.

Practice: Intentional tell your story of faith this week to at least 2 people.

Communion

Leader: Lift up your Hearts!

All: We Lift our Hearts to Lord Jesus!

Leader: Let us profess together who God wants us to be

All: We are a community connecting people to God and others by creating space where all people can belong.

Leader: Let us remember the words of Jesus on the night He was betrayed.

All: He took the bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,

Leader: This is my Body broken for you please eat in remembrance of me

All: In the same way after supper Jesus took the Cup and said,

Leader: This Cup represents my blood shed for you, whenever you drink do so in remembrance of me.

Let us take time to allow God to search us before we partake of communion together.

Let us feast together...

Benediction

Comes from Heb. 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.