Loving God, there are times when earthly attachments get in the way of any sort of a relationship with you.  Help us to recognize the source of all that we have, and teach us to be faithful in our choices, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Imagine going up to the richest man in the world and asking him, “What do I need to do to inherit part of your estate?” (Stoffregen). How do you think he would respond to you?... [Most likely, get away from me – you’re crazy!]  In fact, most of us would never think of doing this, because you simply don’t ask to inherit somebody’s estate.  And yet, here we have this man in today’s gospel, who wants to inherit part of God’s “estate.”  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17)

         The simple answer would be: you can’t do anything to inherit anything.  An inheritance comes to you as a gift.  However, in Jesus’ case, he engages the man in conversation.  He questions why the man would call him “good” when only God is good, and then he names some of the commandments that teach us how to treat other people.

         Lo and behold, the man says that he has kept all of the commandments since his youth, an assertion that Jesus chooses not to challenge.  Instead, Jesus looks at him with love and tells him that he lacks one thing.  He needs to go, sell what he owns and give the money to the poor, for true treasure is in heaven, and then he needs to come and follow Jesus.

         Over the course of this little exchange, Jesus takes two popular beliefs and blows them right out of the water.  At that time, people believed that if you keep all the commandments, you get eternal life.  They also believed that personal wealth was a sign of God’s favour.  Jesus, however, sees that this man is far too attached to his possessions, and challenges him to go and care for the poor.  At this, however, the man goes away grieving, for he has many possessions and is not ready to part with them.

         When he came to Jesus, he sincerely wanted to do something in order to inherit eternal life.  He probably thought that keeping the commandments was a pretty good start.  However, when Jesus says that “no one is good but God alone” (Mk. 10:18), he is saying that this man, too, cannot be good.  And as for the possessions, Jesus turns everything upside down by suggesting that this man needs to get rid of them in order to care for the poor.  The interesting thing, though, is that even if the man had done exactly what Jesus said, he still would not have done anything to inherit eternal life.

         That’s the thing, isn’t it? The inheritance is God’s to give and not ours to earn.  So why would Jesus tell the man to go, sell what he owns and give the money to the poor if even that would not earn him eternal life?... It seems to me that Jesus is teaching what is important in the kingdom of God.  In the kingdom of God, those who have wealth or abundance hold it in trust for the good of all of God’s people.  It is similar to when John the Baptist told those who have two coats to give one to somebody who has none.  All that we have been given is for the good of all – especially those who are in need.

         However, in our extremely individualistic society, people value financial independence and rarely think about using what they have for the good of others.  In fact, many people live with the illusion of not needing God or each other because of their financial independence.  However, there is a reason that those in the early church sold lands and fields and brought the proceeds to the apostles.  They understood Jesus’ call to look after the “least of these”, which in those days included orphans and widows, as well as outcasts who were forced to beg.  They also understood that all things come from God and that we are part of a community when we put our trust in Jesus Christ.

         Now, it is true that it is not always easy these days to figure out how to care for the poor. There are scam artists who claim to be in need.  There are cases where aid never gets to the people who need it the most.  There are even some agencies that are more trustworthy than others.  And so each of us needs to figure out how we can best use what we have to the glory of God and for the benefit of those in need.

         You might recall that last week, it was worrying about money that was getting in the way of a life-giving relationship with God.  This week, it is grief – grief over parting with possessions or money.  In other words, if selling things or giving things away causes us grief, we are more attached to our possessions than we are to Jesus Christ. This, too, separates us from God, and even separates us from other people in our own sense of self-sufficiency.

         So where does this leave us today?... There are perhaps a few things that we learn from today’s gospel. We learn that having a large stash of possessions prevents us from inheriting eternal life – especially if getting rid of any of those possessions causes us grief.  We learn that it is difficult for everybody to enter the kingdom of God (not just those with wealth). In fact, it is impossible for any of us, but it is entirely possible with God.  For, eternal life is a gift that comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ – a gift that brings with it a life-giving relationship with God and a community of believers.

         Let us give thanks, then, for all of God’s gifts – and especially for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pentecost 14 (NL summer)                                    Mark 10:17-31

August 26, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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