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Satisfied
Pentecost 19B
October 11, 2009
Mark 10:17-31
In the Name of Jesus. Amen. You may have heard the story about an expert in diamonds who happened to be seated on an airplane beside a woman with a huge, gorgeous diamond on her finger. After a few moments, the man introduced himself and said, “I can’t help but notice your beautiful diamond. I’m an expert in precious stones. Please, tell me about that incredible stone!” She replied, “Oh! This is the famous Klopman diamond, one of the largest in the world. But there is a dreadful curse that comes with it.” Now the man was really interested. “What, exactly, is the curse?” he asked. She replied, “Mr. Klopman.” What we learn in the gospel account assigned for this 19th Sunday of Pentecost is that the real curse of our possessions is their capacity to steal our hearts and souls. After all, the heavier the purse, the tighter the strings, right? St. Mark’s account of this event doesn’t identify this man as “rich.” He simply says, “a man” runs up to Jesus, kneels, and asks what turns out to be a rather noble question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus tells him the obvious – you must keep the Ten Commandments – and begins reciting them. The man as much as cuts Jesus off saying that he knows that – he has kept the Commandments since he was a boy. But the man seems to be looking for more. He is looking, perhaps, for The Morality by which he will assure himself of eternal life. Or perhaps he is expecting to be assured that his life is just fine the way it is, having an “I thank the Lord I am not like these other sinners” opinion of himself compared to other believers. Jesus’ answer disappoints him. Mark writes, “Looking at the man, Jesus loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the man heard this [Mark continues], he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” Why does this man grieve? Jesus has just told him that eternal life is his, and it has nothing to do with law-keeping as a way to earn his way to heaven. Eternal life isn’t just about life after death; it begins now, living here and now in relationship with Jesus, following Jesus and Jesus alone. Why this strange response of sadness? We know very well why the man was shocked and went away grieving. Remember that he didn’t know yet that Jesus was the Messiah. As far as he and everyone else knew, Jesus was simply a rabbi, a pastor. The man came with a spiritual question, expecting a spiritual response. He wasn’t expecting to hear about something as this-worldly as his possessions. What does that have to do with eternal life? THAT, after all, is nobody’s business! THAT is strictly between he and God! Exactly. And what he learns from Jesus is that God has a very different point of view than ours. Despite Jesus’ effort to inspire the law-abiding man to step beyond mere law-keeping toward a life of true holiness, toward a richer, less cumbersome, more joyful relationship with God and with people, the man simply could not take that step. The reason? Mark gives only one: “…he had many possessions.” For all practical purposes, Jesus asks that famous question: “Have you ever seen a U-Haul following a hearse?” Was Jesus really telling the man to become destitute, or that he could “earn” his way to eternal life by obeying yet one more command? Once again, Jesus uses hyperbole, as he used it a few weeks ago when he said “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off” – intentional overstatement, which seems to be one of Jesus’ favorite teaching tools – to answer the man’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus is saying, “There is nothing you can do to inherit eternal life. It is a gift of God’s grace. But cut yourself loose from all the possessions which you are so proud of but which hold you back, the materialism that distracts you from spiritual things; the temptation to use money as a means to coerce and control others; and then come, follow me.” Later in his ministry Jesus restates this very clearly when he says, “I AM the way, I AM the truth, I AM the life. No one comes to God except through me.” There is an old story about a monkey who had everything he needed for a comfortable life. One day, he saw a beautiful, big, red apple. Not satisfied with the “enough” which he already had, he decided he needed that beautiful apple. The problem was, it was sitting in a cage with iron bars. Nevertheless, he had to have it. So he reached in, took hold of it, and tried to pull it out through the bars. It was too big. He couldn’t get his hand through the bars while holding the apple. He tried again. Still he couldn’t get his hand out. Never thinking to let go of the apple, the monkey believed himself to be trapped, and his excitement turned to regret. In this morning’s gospel account, the man’s possessions possessed him. You can’t get a camel, loaded down with stuff, through a narrow door; you can’t get your hand clinging to an apple through the bars of a cage. Either way, one is trapped. The man did not want to let go of his apples, even if doing so promised a closer relationship with Jesus. How can we embrace the life of Jesus when our hands are busy holding and securing our “stuff”? Being an English major and something of a writer myself, and knowing the value of a well-chosen word, notice what Jesus says to this man who, at first glance, seems to have the world by the tail. Jesus tells him, “You are lacking something.” He is lacking the freedom which comes from peace of mind and spirit. Despite all he has and all he has done, he does not know what it feels like to simply be satisfied. He is not satisfied with his life or his future. All that he owns and all he has done have brought him neither security nor peace. As obedient to the commandments as the man is, he is still needy: he needs to disentangle himself from his attachment to his possessions, for they are occupying the place in his heart and life where God and other people ought to be. They have become an obstacle to a rich and deeply satisfying life in relationship with Christ. He is a man in bondage. He lacks the freedom to trust and follow Jesus. We may be feeling pretty uncomfortable at this point; maybe even a little angry. Money has long been held to be a taboo topic in the church, especially on Sunday morning. But there is no topic more crucial to our spiritual lives than money. Money is too important to be left to the stock brokers and the government, no matter who is in power at any given time. It is clear that for Jesus, money is first and foremost a spiritual matter – he talks more about money/possessions in the four gospels than he does about heaven. You have to wonder why. Perhaps it’s because then, just as now, money, consumerism, materialism holds such a priority in human lives that it competes for the loyalty of our souls. But a very down-to-earth Sam Houston of Texas said in the 1800’s, "When I got baptized, my pocketbook got baptized too!" And Martin Luther, another very down-to-earth fellow said in the 1500’s, "There are three conversions necessary—the conversion of the heart, of the mind, and of the purse. Of these three [he continues], it may well be that we moderns [referring to the people of the 1500’s!) find the conversion of the purse the most difficult." It would seem, it has always been so. I suspect most if not all of us, upon first reading and reacting to this gospel story, do not hear it as good news (which is what “gospel” means) either, just like the man talking to Jesus. We don’t hear any call to “downward mobility” as good news. My generation grew up with the assumption that every generation was going to “do better” materially than the one before – it was virtually a birthright, an entitlement. Our parents and grandparents remembered all too well the Great Depression, and vowed that their children would have a far better life, materially. The myth was that people pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps – but when you really talk to them, you find out that most folks were all trying to help each other out; they knew they were all in this together, and the only way to get through it, was to get through it together. I have a wonderful book about those years. Do you want to know the title: We Had Everything…But Money. The man in this morning’s good news story misunderstood Jesus’ call just the way we often misunderstand. Jesus is not after our money, our possessions. He doesn’t want some of his children to be rich and some of his children to be poor. Jesus wants us all to simply be satisfied. He is not after our money; he is after our hearts. He wants to be the priceless treasure upon which we depend, as he says in Luke chapter 12: Do not be afraid, little
flock, for it is God’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your
possessions. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an
unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes in and steals, and
no moth can destroy. For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also.
Jesus invites the man to a richer, more abundant life, and is turned down. I suspect the man’s sadness as he walked away was nothing compared with Jesus’ sadness – because, Mark says, Jesus loved the man, not the man’s possessions. We are all living in a challenging economy. I doubt there is a single person in our congregation who has not been touched negatively by it, including my family. I know my own reaction when I am anxious and afraid: I want to hang on all the tighter to what I have. But when I spend some time in God’s Word and with God’s people – you – God reminds me that “what I have” isn’t really mine at all. It’s all God’s, given to me in trust to manage not just for me and mine but for the spreading of the good news of Jesus, for God’s love taking human form through the ministries of this congregation and the larger church. The belief that Jesus gave his life for me gives me courage to give my life back to him – goods and all. That’s why Merle and I have tithed from Day 1 of our marriage, starting when we had nothing! 10% right off the top, both in comfortable times and lean times. We have been tempted once or twice to cut back when things were tight, but just trade the deep, deep satisfaction it brings in exchange for a few more bucks in hand. Pay close attention to the Offering Prayer this morning. It’s one we pray often: God of majesty,
in your might you have created all things, and you entrust to our care what you have made. Receive our offerings, and make them a sign of our dedication to provide for the needs of all people and creatures, in the name of the one who sustains all things by his word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1Based on the story at luthersem.edu/stewardship/resource Rev. Joan Gunderman, Senior Pastor
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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