“What are you arguing about?”

That was Jesus question to his disciples. You can read It in Mark 9:30.

But it’s also the question he’s asking us today. Because it’s a question about power and position and pride.

We all suffer with pride. Because we all have trouble seeing life through any other point of view than our own. And because we suffer from pride, we have issues with grasping for power and clawing for position.

“What are you arguing about?”

What’s got into you? Why are you so upset? Why can’t you just get along? Where is this coming from?

That’s the line of questioning when we face Jesus’ question. That’s the repeated pleas when we realize our own pride is like a cancer, tearing away at our spirit and ruining our soul.

But that question is answered with a blank stare.

But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Mark 9:34

They kept quiet. I imagine a few of them couldn’t even look up. They turned their eyes to the ground, shuffled their feet and kicked a few rocks. Maybe a couple turned around in anger, accusing someone else of letting the argument get to that point. Or perhaps one brave soul looked up in repentance.

That last one is probably the least likely. Instead, I’m almost certain that they doubled down on their own pride.

Why do I think that? Because they remained silent. And their silence was their confession. It was an admission that something was wrong inside of them.

What did they do wrong? They combined ignorance and arrogance in a dangerous combination. They took these two ideas and mixed them in the cauldron of pride.

They were ignorant of what Jesus was trying to teach them. He had just explained that he was headed to Jerusalem to die. That the Son of Man was brought to earth to serve, not to be served. That his life was going to be a ransom for many. That only through sacrifice can salvation truly come.

And they totally whiffed on it. They missed the point altogether.

How often are we ignorant of what God has for us? We allow the pride within and the pull of the world contribute to the blindness in our heart. Instead of leaning into a sacrificial life, we crawl up on a platform and find our place on a pedestal.

But they weren’t just ignorant. They were also arrogant. They thought that no matter Jesus told them or planned, they could pull off a revolt and revolution. They had their eyes set on a seat next to the Messiah. But they were way off. Because Jesus was asking them to carry a cross. How many would be able to make that trip?

And what’s ironic is that they would get a seat next to the Messiah. Just not in the way they thought. Instead of an earthly kingdom, theirs was an eternal one. And the path to that glory was the same as for Jesus – a selfless walk to the cross. Death of our dreams so that others may live.

Our own silence is confession. When confronted with pride, what do we have to say? Nothing. Let’s sit in that silence for a moment. Let’s allow it to fulfill a change of heart. And let’s give in to God’s designs and plans for us. Instead of being quick to reply, let’s wait until we are ready to move forward in humility.

What are you doing with your fears? We all have them. We each have moments in our lives when we get scared, we start to sweat, we shake just a little bit. Why? Because fear is normal and natural. It’s the bodies response to the unknown, the uncertain.

Life is full of uncertainties. Therefore, life is full of things to fear. We don’t deal with our fears by removing every uncertainty from our lives. And we don’t deal with our fears by training ourselves not to be scared of uncertainties. If we actually lived our lives with no fear, we’d be in trouble. We would constantly be taking unnecessary risks. And that would lead to a lot of trouble.

But when fear becomes the default, overriding reaction of our lives, we’re in trouble anyway. It’s not about having no fear, it’s about not letting fear control you.

So how do we go from fearful to peaceful? How do we make it so that fears no longer creep up our back, wrap around our neck and cause us to choke? It’s all about living in the midst of uncertainties with a certain amount of certainty.

Jonathan Fields tackles this in his book Uncertainty. Catchy title. One of the things he suggests is building “Certainty Anchors” into your life. Now, in his book he recommends quite a few things as certainty anchors, including some Easter practices that I don’t agree with. But there are some other things that I do like, that are actually biblical. Like meditation and prayer.

Fields says that we need to build into our lives actions that are certain. It may be a specific schedule you keep. Or it can be a certain phrase that you repeat. When fear starts to creep in, you go to that anchor and find a steady response. You find your center, in other words.

Now, here’s where it gets real biblical for me. He says that some of those anchors can be spending time in focused meditation or prayer. He suggests setting aside time daily to do this. You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right? That sounds a lot like what we in Christian circles call devotions.

This may surprise you, but the Bible talks a lot about meditation. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). That means, pick a passage from the Bible, read it, then think about what it means to your life. Simple!

The Psalms are full of instruction on meditation:

Psalm 77:12

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.

Psalm 119:27

Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,

that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 143:5

I remember the days of long ago;

I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

Psalm 48:9

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

That last Psalm is very important. We meditate on God’s word, his deeds, his actions in our past, his blessings in the world. But above all, we meditate on his unfailing love.

Perfect love. It casts out all fear. When you get afraid, think about his love. Meditate on it. In fact, before you get afraid think about it. Spend some time each day thinking about how much he loves you. That will put in your mind his words, his deeds, and his actions that are defined by his love. And when a fear creeps up on you – and it will! – just go to that place in your mind where you’ve trained yourself on his love. Embrace it and let God erase your fear.

A little over a week ago it was Easter, and that’s a pretty big deal here at Northbrook. Not just because we see our one of our biggest crowds of the year, with so many first-time guests. And if you were a first-time guest, we’re so glad you chose to spend Easter with us. But that’s not it, although that’s a good reason to put our best foot forward and serve you.

But the real reason that Easter is such a big deal is because of what happened on the first Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. That’s the whole reason we exist as a church. That’s the whole reason we are Christians. That’s the whole reason that we put our faith in God. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, then there’d be no reason to keep meeting.

On that very first Easter, after the resurrection, John tells us that the first thing Jesus did was ask a question. “Who are you looking for?” He asked that of one of his followers, Mary Magdalene.

But I think that question is as relevant today as it was nearly 2,000 years ago.

This week we started a series about five questions that Jesus asked in scripture. Those questions have historical and literary contexts to them, sure. But they also represent questions we need to keep asking. If we are seekers, seeking God and his best for our lives, then you could say we’re on a quest. And every quest begins with a question, just like the word question begins with quest.

Jesus was great about asking questions. What I really love is how he would be asked a question, and then flip it and answer with another question. He stood trial against Pilate and the Jewish officials and was asked, “Jesus, who are you?” His answer was, “Who do you say I am?” We may find ourselves in that same situation.

“God, where are you?”

And he may reply, “Where are you?”

“Jesus, can you help me out here?”

And he may reply, “Can you help me out by helping one of my little ones?”

But let’s back to that first question he asked outside the empty tomb, “Who are you looking for?” He asked Mary that question because she was having trouble recognizing him. Maybe it was the early morning light, or perhaps it was the tears in her eyes. But she looked at Jesus and saw…a gardener.

When we look at Jesus, we often see all kinds of things. A ticket taker, stamping our ticket to Heaven. A businessman, managing our religious transactions. A lawyer, defending us before his angry Father.  These metaphors are incomplete.

One of the best pictures in all of scripture of Jesus is this one – the Gardener. Go back to the beginning of John’s gospel. What does he say about Jesus? That he was there before time began, and he was there at creation. In fact, he was the one who created everything. Adam and Eve in the garden. He was the first gardener.

What do gardeners do? They get their hands dirty. And Jesus did the same. He bent down, scooped up handfuls of clay, and shaped them into a man, Adam. That first act of creation was one of gardening.

But he’s still our gardener today. He bends down into our lives. He reaches into the dirt and clay of our sins and molds and reshapes us. He breathes life back into our hearts. He plants. He waters. He grows.

As we continue our look at these five questions of Jesus, remember that he is the one working in the soil of your lives. It can be intimidating to face tough questions. But it can also be freeing. So allow him to dig into the dirt and clay, let him shape and move you around a bit. And accept his breath of life. That’s the beginning of our quest together.