Holy Triune God, Open our eyes to your holy presence. Open our ears to your holy call. Open our hearts to your holy love.[1]
Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
In the Gospel According to Saint Mark, the disciples are portrayed as blockheads. They never get it any time Jesus ever does or says something important. Like we heard a few weeks ago, they stopped others not part of their group from healing in the name of Jesus --- and Jesus castigates the disciples. Then, in the verse right before this one that Deacon John read; the disciples are speaking sternly to the little children keeping them away from Jesus. Go Figure. Of course, Jesus says “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of GOD belongs.” And Jesus took them up in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them.”[2] The little children are the ones who are receptive to the Kingdom of Heaven! And that is what Jesus has been doing, preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven and traveling from here to there with his disciples.
Then the rich man who has followed all the rules comes running up to Jesus and asks the GOOD teacher what must he do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven to inherit eternal life? And Jesus answers his question with a QUESTION! Don’t you hate when people do that? Answer a question with a question. Is your car the Jeep parked on the hill? Why do you ask? Because it is rolling down the hill. Jesus asks the man, “Why do you call me GOOD?” Jesus explains that only God is good. Either you recognize Jesus as from God and therefore GOOD or you do not recognize Jesus at all. But nonetheless here is a follower who is actually doing the right thing, asking the right question. For the last 7 chapters of Mark, Jesus has been surrounded by disciples who chase away children, shake in their disbelief, and argue over who is the greatest among them! Finally, here is a seeker who is asking the right question! He wants to know what is it going to take? What must he do? Jesus must be thinking, WOW someone who finally gets it.
So Jesus outlines for him the Old Testaments commandments – the ethical demands of the law, don’t murder, don’t cheat on your spouse, don’t steal or bear false witness; don’t defraud anyone, and honor your mother and father. And the seeker responds that he has done all those things since his youth! He has been a successful seeker. Then “Jesus, looking at him, 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 he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”[3]
Do you know what is really interesting in this passage is the phrase “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” In the entire Gospel of Mark, there is no other place where it says that Jesus loved anybody! Mark never says that Jesus loved Peter, or John, or James, or his family, or any of the other disciples. But here the author makes a point to say how Jesus is feeling towards this seeker (this lost sheep). Jesus loved him. Perhaps that is because the man sought the kingdom of God, and he did all that God commanded – almost. He tried to follow but fell short. But something just was not right. Not only is this the ONLY time in Mark’s Gospel that says Jesus loved someone, but it is also the ONLY time when Jesus invited someone to follow him and that person could not do it.[4] The reason is given in the text – “he went away grieving, for he had many possessions (Mark 10:22).” His possessions possessed him. He was not willing to give up his love of possessions and follow Jesus. Jesus loved him anyway. Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
His possessions possessed him. It is funny that we do not like to speak about our possessions. We also do not talk about money, and we have a lot of it. Before I was ordained a priest, I was a salesman. I spent 25 years selling high technology products. One of the first things we are taught as salespeople is to talk about money. I still am in sales just not management. We have more than we know what to do with. I remember a time when our sending Church in Indiana, St. Francis-in-the-Field, helped a Sudanese Refuge Family come to America. As it turned out, only the Father and the Son made it to America. We had them over to dinner at our house, which was a very modest two story, 4 bedroom, 2 ½ bath, with a two-car garage on a little less than one acre. After dinner, Paul the father of the family, told me I was a very rich man. I asked him why he thought so? He said you have a beautiful family, a beautiful house, food on the table and two cars! My thinking at that time was that I was covering two car payments and a huge mortgage. I did not feel rich. But from his perspective, I was a rich man!
Most pastors (clergy) quickly learn how to dance around the issue of money without ever naming it. A young minister (priest) went out to serve his first congregation. Early one November, he told the sexton to go out to the bulletin board on the street corner and put up the words, "Stewardship Sunday." He put together a stewardship sermon and preached it to the congregation. Afterwards someone came up and said, "Pastor (Father), thank you for that sermon. When I saw the bulletin board, I was a little anxious. But your sermon calmed my fears." The minister said, "I'm glad to hear it. Did I say something helpful?" "Oh, Reverend, it was better than that," the man said. "Today you said absolutely nothing at all."[5]
Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Because we are starting our stewardship campaign this month this is a stewardship sermon. John Neal has agreed to be our chairperson this year. This is not an easy job. You will be receiving a letter from him soon and hearing more about our continued work for next year. Please support him in any way that you can with your time, talent, and treasure.
Of course, the disciples are shocked in this gospel story. We should be too. If a law-abiding Torah-observant blessed man, he had to be blessed – God blessed him because he was rich – isn’t in, then who is? Jesus explains that this love project is indeed hard for people to follow. Attachment to things that warp our vision of the world have to be challenged. Peter offers himself as an example. And Jesus explains, “You are right: start the process of loving here and now and it bubbles out with rewards of all different forms here and now and in the life to come.”[6]
Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” AMEN.
References
[1] Adapted from The Rev. Jeanne Hansknecht. Occasioned by the 2014 Annual Convocation at VTS, Alexandria, Virginia October 7, 2014. [2] Harper Collins Study Bible, 1937. [3] Harper Collins Study Bible, 1937. [4] William Carter, Sermon – Love and Money https://sermons.com/sermon/love-and-money/216 Accessed October 8, 2021. [5]William Carter, Sermon – Love and Money https://sermons.com/sermon/love-and-money/216 Accessed October 8, 2021. [6] Ian Markham, Lectionary Levity, 167.
Attridge, Harold W., Wayne A. Meeks, Jouette M. Bassler, and Stephen L. Cook. 2006.
The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version, including the ApocryphalDeuterocanonical books. Fully revised update Student ed. San Francisco, Calif.: HarperSanFrancisco.
Bartlett, David Lyon, and Barbara Brown Taylor. 2009. Feasting on the Word. 1st ed.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
Episcopal Church. 1990. The Book of Common Prayer: And administration of the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the church: Together with the psalter or psalms of David: According to the use of the Episcopal Church [Book of Common Prayer (1979)]. New York, N.Y.; Harrisburg, PA: Oxford University Press; Morehouse Publishing.
Ian Markham – Lectionary Levity.
O'Day, Gail R., and David L. Petersen. 2009. Theological Bible Commentary. 1st ed. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press.