Camels and Needles
This is the message I shared with St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches this past Sunday, Oct. 11. The scripture text was Mark 10:17-31..
Throughout today's gospel, the one
topic of conversation is that of money and possessions. Today, Jesus and his
disciples are on the move, making their way to Jerusalem and Jesus' passion.
Over the past few Sundays, we have heard radical demands from Jesus followed by
confusion from the twelve disciples. True to form, Jesus' call to all today is
uncompromising.
There are three separate
conversations in today's reading. The subject of each is money and its
relationship to eternal life. The rich man wants to know how to get eternal
life, the disciples want to know who can have eternal life. Jesus responds with
the good news that no one has a chance "at all if you think you can pull
it off by yourself. [But you have] Every chance in the world if you let God do
it" (v. 27).
The first conversation is between Jesus and a rich man (vv. 17-22)
who wants to know how to get eternal life. This story has all the earmarks of
the healing stories in Mark. The scene is set for the man to request and
receive healing. By running up to Jesus and greeting him with great reverence,
the man demonstrates that his request in both urgent and sincere. He was
heartsick. Despite his piety and wealth, something was missing.
What kind of illness did the man
have that makes this passage a healing story? His sickness was that of
affluenza. This man is possessed by his possessions. Jesus offers to free him
and cure him of his excess. But the rich man turns his back and walks away.
Remember in our gospel reading of two weeks ago, where Jesus was using the
example of cutting off a hand or foot or eye to save one's life, this week's
example of selling all that you own is also an exaggeration to the extreme: to
give up everything in order to serve the neighbor and to receive life in God's
Kingdom.
We assume that the man's heavy
heart was because of his wealth that he did not want to part with, but we don't
know that for sure. He may have been grieving the loss of the life Jesus offers
or was he perhaps grieving the loss of the possessions he was about to sell, in
order to love and serve his neighbors, so he could come and follow Jesus?
The key in this story is
"Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him!" (v. 21). Seeing clear through the man, Jesus does not
rebuke or discipline him, but loves him. Out of that love, Jesus tells the man
the one thing he needs to do, sell everything he owns and give it to the poor
and follow him. Jesus is simply calling the man to cast aside all other
dependencies and in radical trust accept the invitation to discipleship. Jesus
asks him to transfer his reserves to the heavenly realm and to join Jesus and
his disciples among the poor of the earth who have no worldly reserves.
"Follow me" was not an additional task the man needed to do. Selling
and giving is the content of the decisive final word, "follow me."
Now the spotlight shifts from the
rich man to Jesus' disciples (vv. 23-27), to the
comprehensive issues of the relationship of possessions to discipleship,
eternal life and entering the kingdom of God.
The disciples, like most people in
their day, likely thought riches were a sign of God's blessing. That idea is
still alive and well. Just listen to some of the televangelists. Having
possessions and seriously wanting to be a Christian stand in great tension with
each other.
Can stuff get in the way of our
relationship with God? You betcha. We live in a world full of excess, with
advertising that creates desires for things we can easily do without. To say we
must give up our wealth to be saved puts the burden on us to save ourselves.
Neither wealth or divestment of wealth saves us. God does.
To make his point, Jesus uses the
image of a camel trying to get through the eye of a needle. This was not just
difficult, it was ridiculously impossible. Jesus was contrasting the largest
animal and the smallest hole that any Jew in Israel could think of. It would
seem that no one has a chance. Human effort cannot achieve salvation because it
takes a miracle of God's grace.
Jesus' lament that it was very
difficult for people who have it all to enter the kingdom was shocking for the
disciples and for us too. If the rich couldn't be saved, no one can.
Jesus turns things around. God can
even save the rich, that is get the camel through the needle's eye. God can save
anyone. That is good news. The disciples were faced with divine possibility in
the face of human impossibility.
The spotlight now changes to Peter and Jesus. Peter's angle was that the
disciples left all to follow Jesus. Simply put, Peter is asking what's in it
for us? Jesus promises recompense not only in this life, but multiplied many
times in a future with more than enough. The rewards promised in this life are
the benefits of being included in the new family gathered around Jesus and the
hardships of persecutions and trouble.
Troubles and persecution are the
caveat. Being a disciple never allows one to negotiate a permanent peace with
the world, in which wealth is cherished and honored. Being a follower of Jesus
means we live in critical tension with the world. The tension revolves around
the fact that in God's kingdom, there is no rich or poor. In God's eyes, both
are equal and one should not be given preferential treatment over the other.
This flies in the face of how people in power view themselves. We can expect
difficulty and resistance as we follow Jesus, witnessing to the gospel in our
world.
God's word is like a mirror. We
see reflections of ourselves and our culture in the characters and discussions
we encounter in scripture. Questions are asked and attitudes are exposed. Since
the church cannot flee the arena in which it is called to live and serve, it
needs the constant reminder that the first will be last and the last first.
In Christ, we are a new family
gathered around Jesus. Jesus loves us and calls us to leave behind our false
sources of security. Those with power, prestige
and wealth may find it difficult to renounce these things and enter into
community. Interviews with wealthy philanthropists show that power and
influence and the ability to get things done, are generally mentioned as the
greatest advantages of wealth. The wealthy have been very successful in running
their lives by themselves, making it harder for them to trust in Christ. They
may not see themselves being in need of anything. They view their success as
being achieved on what they have done, not on what God has done for them. As a
family of Christ followers, we cannot allow such standards of influence to distinguish
one person from another. The cross of Christ is the great equalizer.
Christians are sometimes accused
of being too heavenly minded. "...one of the best proofs that Christianity
is not a projection of unrealistic psychological wishes is the realism with
which it speaks about the world and the life of those who bear witness to the
gospel. Christians do not hide from evil or suffering. They overcome those
realities through loving service" (Pheme Perkins).
How shall we respond? God making
us his own is not the end of the journey, but only the beginning. Jesus is
looking at us with love, perceiving our heart sickness and actually asking
something of us. What if God is not only concerned about our eternal destiny,
but also cares about the life we enjoy here and now with each other in God's
creation? (David Lose).
Jesus comes to us and makes
demands of us, naming whatever idol we have created (money, clothing, the
latest gadgets or anything else that controls us) and asks us to give it up for
the sake of our neighbors and ourselves. Such preoccupation with stuff prevents
us from being all God is calling us to be when it comes to spreading the good
news.
God's gift of salvation can free
us to love each other, to care for God's people and world and to share the good
news with others. We don't do good things to score heavenly brownie points, but
it is how we respond as we bask in God's favor.
Our congregation is very active in
our community and overseas. Good things are happening and we need to keep doing
what we are doing. But, at the same time we need to keeping listening for what
Jesus is asking of us and our congregation right now. When we hear his voice,
we may be terrified that we've been found out and grieving all the plans we
have made for the perfect life. The choice is ours. Do we turn and walk away
from what Jesus is asking or do we give up our idols and follow Jesus?
Amen.
Resources
Beverly R. Gaventa, Texts
for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV-Year B
Pheme Perkins, The New
Interpreter's Bible: Volume VIII, Matthew and Mark
Brian Stoffregen,
http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark10x17.htm
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