Mark 10:17-31
We are just a few weeks away from our fall
stewardship campaign, so I want all of you to remember this lesson when that
process begins. Compared to Jesus’
radical insistence that the man in this story sell all that he has and give the
money to the poor, our stewardship committee’s proposal will seem quite modest.
There is even that great little trailer in this
story, the part in which the disciples speak of what they have given up in
order to follow Jesus. Jesus assures
them that whatever they give they will receive a hundred fold in return.
It was while Laura and I were serving as co-pastors
at Good Shepherd, Houghton that I attended a pastor’s study of the weekly
lessons and learned something about these lessons that will forever prevent me
from exploiting them as a simply a lead-in to the fall stewardship campaign.
We were all sitting around the table, licking our
lips and baiting our traps for our Sunday sermons on giving away all that one
owns when Olaf Rankenin, a well-seasoned and insightful pastor pulled us up
short. Never acquisitive or judgmental,
Pastor Rankenin did not accuse us of misusing the text - he merely reminded us
of the obvious. “Don’t you find it
interesting,” Pastor Rankenin said, “to notice which of the commandments Jesus
repeats to the young man and which ones he fails to mention?” I stopped and began to associate numbers with
the commandments Jesus lists. He quotes
the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, a rendition of the 9th & 10th, and finally the 4th commandment. Those commandments fall on
what is sometimes referred to as the second table. These are the commandments which instruct us
on how we are to live with one another.
When Jesus lifts before this man with many possessions these
commandments from the second table, the man replies that he has kept these from
his youth. He had has no problem doing
what God requires when it comes to his relationships with other people and
other people’s possessions.
“Don’t you find it interesting,” Pastor Rankenin
asked us, “to consider which commandments Jesus lists and which ones he knows
will cause trouble for this man with many possessions.”
Jesus’ list does not include the first commandment -
You shall have no other gods before me; the second - You shall not take
the name of the Lord your God in vain; or the third - Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy.
The young man was obedient “from his youth,”
of the 7 commandments which Jesus mentions first. But when Jesus introduces issues relating to
those first 3 commandments, the man turns and walks away grieving. The man is blameless in his relationships
with others; he falls apart when Jesus discusses with him his relationship to
God.
When reading this text, we have to be careful not to
move too quickly from the issues involved to the specifics of what is
said. It is this man’s wealth which separates
him from eternal life. But in this
story, those riches serve as little more than a reflection of his real-life
sin. This man has correctly understood
what it means to be obedient to the word of God, but he has missed the mark
when it comes to actually becoming a follower of God. He obeys, dutifully, the rules and
regulations of his faith system. But he
is lacking in the personal commitment which comes from dedicating one’s life
to God. He is an obedient believer; but
that does not mean that he is a person of faith. Jesus’ conversation reveals his eagerness to
obey the laws; but it also exposes his inability to become a follower of Jesus.
There is another way to get at this difference. How many times have you heard someone speak
of a non-church goer as a “really good person?” The implication is that someone with no
involvement in the church could be just as generous, just as caring, and just
as considerate as someone who is in church every Sunday. Of course they can be just as good a
person. There is no inconsistency in
describing a non-church goer as a really good person. You don’t have to be a Christian to be a “really
good person.” Non-Christians are
just as capable as Christians of living in accordance with the law. Many people will obey the commandments,
whether or not they are of any faith system.
There are many who will live their entire lives and never once break the
commandments not to kill, steal, commit adultery or bear false witness.
But living up to the requirements of the law is not
what makes us Christians. What makes us
Christians is living by faith.
The man in our gospel lesson - the one with many
possessions - was capable of living according to the rules and regulations. That which he found to be impossible was to
devote his life to God. He could follow
the rules that applied to how we interact with others he could even adhere to
the ones directing us as to how are to treat our property, but he was incapable
of living a life that was devoted to following God.
Maybe this sermon is a good lead-in to the fall
stewardship campaign. I will not forget
Pastor Rankenin’s insight. I will forever remember that the man in the story
had no problem when it comes to the legalism of giving and tithing. But this lesson calls upon each of us to
consider our own willingness to follow Jesus.
And if we are following Jesus then the way we use our resources will
follow him too.
Following Jesus means that we embark upon a journey. It means that as we travel we are never fully
aware where we will end up. We go where
God leads us and we do what God asks of us, this day. Following Jesus is quite different from
living up to some legal code of behavior.
Following Jesus means that we are always prepared for a departure, a
side trip, a readjustment of where we thought we were going. Following Jesus means we give our lives to
God in order that we might truly begin to live.
I do hope that you will respond favorably to the stewardship
campaign. I pray that you will take a
good honest look at what you are doing with the possessions God has entrusted
to you. But I am confident that if you
look first at your relationship to God the way that you relate to the church
will fall into perfect order. The man in
our story, the one with so many possessions, had looked at the rules and regulations, but he had failed to consider the role that a living God would
have his life. Don’t make the same
mistake. Hear and respond to Jesus’ invitation
to “come, follow me.”
Amen.
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