Sermon - The Rev. Leah D. Schade
Reformation Lutheran Church, Media, PA
Oct. 15, 2006
Text:  Mark 10:17-31

This is one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus, this whole passage in Mark about riches and wealth.  I especially struggled with this text in seminary.  I can remember sitting around with my fellow pastors-in-training trying to figure out what this text meant for us.  I can remember one person asking, “Do I really have to give up everything to be a pastor?  If this is what Jesus wants, I’m not sure I can go ahead with this.”  And another person said, “How can Jesus say something like this?  What about someone who is very poor and trying to raise a family?  How can they be expected to follow a teaching like this?”

But when we took our questions to our professor, she pointed out some very important things.  And I want to share them with you so we can set some parameters for dealing with this text this morning.  First of all, Jesus is not making a general commandment with these words.  He’s not addressing the crowd and saying that everyone has to give away all they own.  For one thing, it just wouldn’t be logical.  Plus, it would impose an undue burden on the poor, who are struggling just to put food on their table and keep a roof over their heads.  An instruction like this is not meant for everyone.

No, he says these words to one particular man on this particular day in this specific set of circumstances. You see, when Jesus is ministering to individuals, he always tailors his message to that particular person.  He meets them where they are, has great compassion for them, and then says the one thing that challenges them to live a life that will reflect being a Child of God.  Think of it - when he meets the adulterous woman at the well, as Pastor Smoose pointed out last week, he did not hammer her with a teaching about divorce.  He met her where she was - with a word of forgiveness.  And then he challenged her to “sin no more.”  When he when he meets a blind man, he doesn’t just assume he knows what the guy want.  He first asks what the man desires, and then gives him the healing he asks for. 

And when he meets this rich young man, who seems so eager to please, proudly assuring Jesus that he’s kept all the commandments, Jesus could have slammed him for his arrogance and told him he was a spoiled brat.  But instead, it says that Jesus looks at him and loves him.  And then gently tells him that with all he has accomplished, and all that he has, he does lack something.  Which must have been a shocker to the guy right there.  He was probably expecting Jesus to say, “Good job, my son.  You’ve worked hard enough, you’re a good enough person.  So yes, the door to God’s kingdom is swinging wide for you.  Come on in!”

But that’s not what Jesus says.  Instead he explains, “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.”  The man is left speechless.  The one thing Jesus challenges him to do, he cannot do - part with his possessions.

Now some people confuse this text with being a teaching about how to deal with the poor and economic equity, thinking that Jesus is some kind of socialist.  Others think that this is a hard and fast rule for anyone who want to follow Jesus - hence the vow of poverty that monks and priests and nuns make who enter holy orders.

But this teaching is actually not about the poor.  It’s not even just about giving away all your possessions and your wealth.  It’s about being honest with yourself about what is keeping you from being a follower of Jesus. It challenges you to ask the question, “What is the one thing that I lack?  What is it that is standing in the way of my having a more complete relationship with Jesus and fully entering the kingdom of God?”

We did a bible study on this text at the Council meeting this past week, and one of the people there said, “I’ve actually gone through this process of divesting myself of all my material possessions.  I’ve given most of my furniture and things to my kids. I was even able to part with some very valuable antiques.  But the one thing I find that I cannot let go are my books and my papers.  I know that I should be able to get rid of them - there’s nothing in them that I can’t have access to in other ways.  They take up a huge amount of space.  And I’ve gotten pretty much all I can from them.  But for some reason, I’m having difficulty taking them to the curb, so to speak.”

Now here is someone who is taking seriously this challenge from Jesus to go through this mental and emotional inventory and discover just what it is that you can’t let go.  What is it that you are worshiping more than God?  What is it that you’re clinging to for security that impedes you from being able to totally trust in God? 

The answer to that question is going to be different for each person.  But let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the rich man for just a moment.  Let’s take this text at its face value and talk about the money aspect of it.  Let’s just explore the possibility that maybe it is our riches that are standing between us and God. 

Let’s start by just doing a little experiment.  What’s your gut reaction if I say to you, “---, you are a rich man/women.” (asked to different people, young an old, in the congregation). 

I can tell you my initial reaction.  “No, I’m not!”  And my second response is to justify whatever income and wealth I do have.  So it’s a two-part thing for me:  first, denial, and then, rationalizing. 

Let’s talk first about the initial reaction - denial.  Very few people would want to admit that they are “rich”.  When it comes to talking about money, people get very sensitive and defensive.  They start splitting hairs.  If you compare anyone of us here to someone like Bill Gates, we’re certainly not as rich as him.  So, in a sense, being rich is all relative.  It depends on what standards you’re going to go by.  But if you look at the the country we live in, and the county we live in, and the address we occupy, you could make an argument that all of us here are rich - in comparison to our neighbors in Chester, or across the ocean in Tanzania.  And even the average resident of Chester is richer than their counterpart in Africa.  Again, it’s all relative.

But just for argument’s sake, let’s say that we’ll use the comparison to the average resident of Chester to measure our riches. Someone standing on the other side of the bridge on 252 looking north would be correct in calling anyone of us “rich.”

Well, then we immediately move to justify and rationalize our wealth.  Give me some good reasons to justify your having as much money as you do.  (wait for responses).

I can tell you mine:  1)  I’ve earned it.  2) I need it to pay my bills.  3) I need it for my kids.  You see, the younger you are, the more difficult it is to even think about parting with your wealth.  I mean, the whole point of working hard and getting a college degree is to get a job to allow you to have enough money to buy what you want and need, provide for your family, take a few vacations, and have a healthy retirement fund.  Speaking from personal experience, when you’re a young adult raising kids, you never feel like you have enough.

It’s even worse the younger you get.  How many here are in middle school or high school.  Do you feel like you have enough money?  Now I’ll ask your parents - are they satisfied with the family income?  Most of you are shaking your heads no. 

And isn’t it interesting that Jesus is directing his words to a rich young man.  Not a rich old man.  You see, from what I hear, from what people have told me, it’s a lot easier to get rid of your wealth when you’re older, because you don’t have nearly as many people or commitments competing for your resources.  Your kids are hopefully established on their own.  You’re not as interested in acquiring things anymore.  In fact, many of you are in the process of downsizing, moving into retirement communities with limited space, and you just don’t need all that stuff.  Sure, it’s difficult to make the decision how to do it, but most of you are happy to give all these things away.

Not so for the very young.  How many of you own an iPod?  How many of you, if your parents gave you permission, would be willing to give it away or sell it and give the money to a charity?  How about your cell phones?  Your computers?

“When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

Oh, and I can hear it now.  “Pastor Schade thinks we should all give away our stuff and sell all we own and give our money to the church.  I hate when she gives sermons like that.  Who does she think she is trying to make us feel guilty like that”

Let me just nip that in the bud.  I am not saying you have to give all your stuff away and give all your money to the church if you want to get to heaven, or even be a good Christian.  That is not in my place to say.  Jesus may be saying that to you, but not me - I am not Jesus.  Don’t shoot the messenger.

All we’re doing here is asking the questions.  And if this text is making you feel uncomfortable or defensive, then maybe, like the good doctor hitting that sore spot in order to heal it, you have indeed discovered what you need to work on.

I’ll be the first to admit, this is a difficult text for me.  I’ll give you every excuse in the book on why I can’t sell all I own and give my money to the poor in order to more closely follow Jesus.  I already know I’m not fitting through the eye of that needle.  So when I read a text like this, I’m wondering where the good news is in it.  What is in this text that gives me hope for my sorry state?

Well, I tell you what another person at the Council meeting said.  She said, “It’s not about me.  It’s not about things.  It’s about God.”

And she was right.  A text like this leaves us as astounded as the disciples, asking each other, “Then who can be saved?  Who is going to save us from ourselves?  From our inability to let go?”

Jesus says, very simply, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

So, God, we’re giving this one to you.  If Jesus is right, and it is indeed true that it’s possible for you to save us, then I’m going to ask, on behalf of myself, and whoever else is struggling with this, that you work on us.  I don’t know what that’s going to look like, or what form it’s going to take for each person.  And frankly, I ask this with a bit of fear, knowing that when we pray to unleash your power in our lives, we often get way more than we bargained for.  But I do trust you, God.  And I would lay odds that most people here trust you, too.  I mean, something brought us all here together this morning. So I grit my teeth, and I say, God - do what you gotta do.  Amen.