As Above, So Below (Mark 9:30-37)

"Jesus Teaching the Disciples 2" ©Das Plenarium

This sermon was originally preached at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins, MN on September 22, 2024

The livestream of our service may be viewed here (with the excerpted sermon at the end of this entry). Today's Gospel text is Mark 9:30-37 .

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Good morning, Gethsemane. Before we really begin, I want to share something that’s come to mind multiple times this week as I’ve pondered today’s text, which is simply this: In today’s gospel, what  we will see is that while disciples are fighting over who’s the G.O.A.T. … Jesus is inviting them to follow the LAMB.

GROAN. It’s okay to groan. I just really had to get that out of my system. 

But in all seriousness, because today’s text is so deep and so rich, and so much more than goofy but irresistible one-liners, I’m not going to waste any more time; I’m just gonna take us straight into the Word, because I want to go slowly and move with attention and intention from the shallow end into the heartbeat pulsing at the deep center where I know, we’ll see ourselves -- and also Jesus.

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