Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 13, 2024

Mark 10:17-31

Questions come in many varieties. I appreciate questions, most questions at least. Questions that young children ask are wonderful, because they come from a place of unfiltered curiosity. One time after a funeral, the eight-year-old granddaughter of the deceased woman asked me, “Dr. Mann, why did they put my granny in a new dress if she was just gonna be burnt?”

Some folks like to ask loaded questions. A loaded question assumes agreement with the facts stated in the question. I’ve had seventy years now to learn how to respond properly to questions, loaded or otherwise.

One time it was my day off. I never thought it was heroic to work through a prescribed day off. Sometimes on a day off someone would phone to say, “I hate to bother you on your day off, but …” I hate to bother you, fair enough. But one time when it was my day off, some fellows from the church were working on a church project. They were pouring cement for a new section of sidewalk.

I happened to live near the church. My car was parked in front of the house. I was home. Later on, one of the fellows who had been out there pouring the cement asked me, “Why weren’t you lending a hand?” He went on to explain that when people are volunteering their time at the church, the minister lending a hand is a form of encouragement.

Saying, “It was my day off,” made me feel petty and shallow. Which was the questioner’s exact intent. He was one of a gathering of people who for whatever reason, needed the minister to be “reminded of his place.”

One time I came back from a three-week vacation. I had driven out west to visit family in Oregon. When I returned home to Minnesota, this same fellow who had asked me why I wasn’t helping pour cement, said he was disappointed that I had missed an important funeral. Not as in, “so sorry you weren’t able to be here during a time of need;” but rather, “where were you when we needed you? Oh that’s right, off on ‘vacation’. We know how important your ‘vacation’ is.”

This experience was a variation on a theme that played out over the years. Sometimes it was subtle and sometimes it was crass. Sometimes it felt like a slap upside the head. More often than not it was death by a thousand cuts. An accumulation of little things, each one by itself not enough to inflict serious damage; the kind of thing that if one complains, people say, “Don’t be such a cry-baby.” But added up over time these little slices bleed you out.

There are people who go through life with a sense of their “place” in the grand scheme of things. Some people who take on a sense of privilege feel they are entitled to live on a level which allows them to look down on others.

Why is that? That’s a big question. Big questions don’t always have easy answers. That’s why we keep asking them and struggle for answers. The story of Jesus is often told using questions. Someone asks Jesus a question, and he answers. His answers often involve asking more questions. The stories usually raise even more questions.

One time his followers asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” He had told them, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to experience God’s realm.” We might join his friends in wondering “Then who can be saved?”

The story of Jesus and the rich man resonates with us not because we may be rich, but because we live in a culture where great importance is attached to wealth. In the realm of God that Jesus revealed and that his teachings point to, our attitude toward possessions is more important than the possessions themselves.

As the story goes, Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man came up to him and fell at his feet. “Good teacher,” he said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” answered Jesus. “Only God is good. But to inherit eternal life? It’s all right there in the commandments. You know, ‘do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and so on.”

“I know the commandments,” said the rich man. “I’ve kept them all since I was young.”

Jesus looked at the man and loved him. Perhaps in terms of breaking barriers in the realm of God, his love for the rich man was on a scale with touching the leper.

“There is one thing you can do,” said Jesus. “Liquidate your assets and give the money to the poor. Then come with me. Be one of my disciples.”

The rich man hung his head and said, “I can’t do that.” He received an answer to his question, but it was not an answer he wanted to hear. He recognized the truth of what Jesus said, but it was not a truth he could embrace. He went away sad.

Jesus said that camels pass through the eyes of needles easier than rich people get into God’s way of life. Who is he talking about? You, me, us? Or does he mean the truly wealthy, such as the people on the Forbes rich list?

Wealth is relative to our situation. Older folks in Glasgow would reminisce about how they felt like they won the lottery in the 1950’s when they moved from the old tenements into the new flats. Each new flat had its own toilet, instead the one per floor in the tenements.

The more that our standard of living rises, the higher our definition of wealth becomes. Statistically though, we would fall into a category of people who have it pretty good in comparison to many people in the world. We have all the basic necessities: Shelter, food, clean running water. We have access to education. By all financial measures, we have it pretty good. Is having it pretty good a barrier to eternal life?

What must we do to inherit eternal life? Is it a question that grows out of a sense of entitlement, meaning we somehow deserve eternal life? And what exactly is eternal life? I tend to think the question grows out of a need for security. The rich man in the story, even though he had everything money could buy, realized that he could not purchase authentic security; deep down in his soul security.

Is it possible to receive what God has to give, and to be absolutely sure of it? Jesus didn’t respond to the man by saying, “pray this prayer,” or “follow this formula.” He asked him about what he already knew, as in the commandments. He was pointing the man to a truth that already existed. Was Jesus saying that by following the law one can know God?

It’s interesting that Jesus quoted the last five of the Ten Commandments and one that’s not on the list. What is the essence of these laws?

Do not murder: the sanctity of life.

Do not commit adultery: loyalty in relationships.

Do not steal: honesty.

Do not bear false witness: integrity.

Do not defraud: justice.

Honor your parents: humility and obedience.

All these commandments are about defining relationships. In effect Jesus was asking the man to consider his relationships with other people, his community and family. The idea behind this is that our relationship relationship with each other is an important part of our relationship with God.

The one commandment Jesus mentioned that is not from the Ten Commandments was “do not defraud.” The case then as it now, is that some people get rich at the expense of other people. The rich man understood this, and Jesus knew he understood. He invited him to take an important step for his particular journey of faith – to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and follow him.

In effect he was telling the rich man: “You may keep your relationships in order, but are they in balance? I suspect you live your life like a rich man. Whenever you approach your world, it is through the comfort zone of your wealth. Step out of your comfort zone. Get rid of your props and be free.”

When Jesus told the man he would have treasure in heaven, he wasn’t saying, “Do that and you’ll go to heaven when you die.” He was telling the man, “If you do the right thing, you will never live to regret it.” But doing that right thing was not something the rich man was willing to do. And he regretted it.

Just because we know what the right thing to do is, doesn’t mean we always do it. The story isn’t about how much we have, but about where our loyalties lie. If there is anything we possess that is more important than our primary connections with other people and with God, then we can see that possession as a barrier to eternal life.

And it doesn’t have to be about things or money. We can be possessed by a hunger for power, a craving for success, or a habit of self-interest.

Think about the questions that inform your journey. Maybe, “What do I need to do?” is among them. A big question. Better not to answer it once and for all. For now, for today, do the right thing. Security is an illusion, but integrity is real. What lies beyond the grave is a mystery, but life is here and now. Eternal life is here and now. We live into it in the present moments of our journey. God is always here and now. From here, like he did the rich man, Jesus loves you. Follow him. Amen.