Job 23:1-9, 16-17, Psalm 22:1-15, Hebrews 4:12-16, Mark 10:17-31
Of all the come to Jesus meetings throughout the last two thousand and twenty-one years, this one was probably the first and maybe the most difficult. This earnest man wants to hear from Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Wouldn't you like to know that too? Wouldn't you like to sit down with Jesus and find out just exactly what you must do to have eternal life? No more guessing, no more praying that you do the right thing, no more "if I do this God, I'd like you to do that," but a clear and concise list that you can check off. Absolute certainty about what it takes to have life after death. And then when you hear it, you hide in the bushes and hope Jesus won’t notice you’re not capable of giving everything.
Jesus' first response to this young man is to tell him to follow the law. And this earnest man reminds Jesus that he is a good Jewish boy and has been following the law since his youth. At this point I imagine Jesus taking a deep breath and gathering his spirit together. Jesus looks at him and loves him and thinks this is not a bad guy. It is really important that we hear Jesus loves him, Jesus doesn’t humiliate him, or drive him to despair, this is an act of love on Jesus’ part. Jesus says, "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" because Jesus loves him. Jesus loves us.
The truth is that each one of us gathered here today is that earnest human, and there is no loophole. If we have a roof over our heads, if we have a car to drive no matter what shape it's in, if we have shoes for our feet, if we have food to eat for lunch, we are this earnest human, and this is really hard. Jesus says, use your wealth and security to empower others, and that causes shock and even sadness for the earnest man.
God’s economy is so much different than our economy. This isn’t to make us feel bad, but it is to say that all of us stumble, sometimes hide from God because this is so very hard. God calls us to a different way; a way of following with a different kind of economy and trying to live out a different kind of vision for what the future can hold. A vision that includes kindness, compassion, mercy, giving.
And then the disciples quickly ask, "who can be saved?" And Jesus answers, it isn't about you at all, it isn't about your wealth or even your poverty, your influence, or your social capital, it’s not about what you look like, it's not about who you're related to, it's not even about how much you give to or help others. Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God, for God all things are possible." What Jesus is saying is that rich or poor, old, or young, gay or straight, democrat or republican, and all of the places in between, we are all on this rock together, and none of us get out of this life alive. We can do absolutely nothing to earn, deserve, or in any way change the fact of God's amazing and abundant love. There is no checklist for salvation. Love wins. This is an invitation to not look for salvation in your stuff or your position. It is an invitation to be loved, and because we are loved we give, and we divest ourselves of the hold that our position has over us.
So in scripture, when we hear "give all you have to the poor," when we hear "clothe the naked, feed the hungry," we realize that that is how we respond to God's amazing grace, we pour out our love for all those whom God loves, we empower those who have no power. This is at the core of being a follower of Jesus, this is discipleship, and it is hard. The promise is that when you give it all away, whatever it is, you will not be bereft, you will not be left with nothing. The promise is that when you give it all away, whatever it is, Love fills the holes. When you give it all away, you are filled with that which only Jesus has. You will be soaked in God's love, you will be filled with the spirit, you will be re-membered in the body of Christ, you will be transformed. This is the good news. Stop trying to win God's love, stop trying to earn God's love, it can't be done, it is impossible for us. But all things are possible for God. The invitation is to live as God's beloved.
So what keeps us from giving it all away, what keeps us from empowering others? What causes us to ignore our history of using our wealth or our power to keep others disempowered? I think it is fear. We are afraid to risk, we are afraid of losing control, we are afraid to live our lives fully alive in the love of Christ. We protect what we have, rather than live as citizens of the kingdom in God’s economy. It’s not just us, it’s all of Jesus’ disciples that have gone before us, those who we read about in our bibles, those of us that sit in these seats, and those who are outside these walls and have yet to hear of God’s amazing and abundant love. But how can we be blamed? We live in a chaotic world, with a blustery, fractured political life, global pandemic, social changes, church attendance in a tailspin.
Even we are afraid that God somehow will not keep God’s promises.
We forget that we are already God's beloveds. Lay down your fear, your need to control, and live your live, fully alive, fully immersed in God's love. Many of you give and give and give. Jesus isn’t telling us to give more. Jesus is telling us earnest humans that we have all we need; we have God’s love. Find ways to respond to God's abundant and amazing love with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. Give God all that you are. For nothing is impossible in God. Amen.
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