How R U?

Kate Thoresen October 11

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Mark 10: 17-31

Introduction:

Today we continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark. Last week we saw Jesus and the disciples travel from Galilee and head south toward Jerusalem. There, at Jerusalem, Jesus knew that he would meet suffering and death for the sake of others. So during this time before the Cross, he teaches about the Kingdom of God that is at hand and our need to enter it as accepting, dependent children.

In our story today, however, we meet a man who wants to have it all: a life of prosperity here and a life of eternal bliss in the life to come. In this encounter Jesus leaves no one undisturbed: the wealthy man, the disciples, and even many of his hearers today. Let us turn to Mark 10: 17-31:

This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Prayer

O God whose works astound us, whose words confound us and whose love has found us, open our eyes and hearts to understanding your Word and applying it to our lives today. In Christ's name, amen.

Lesson

Our Gospel reading today is one of those stories about Jesus that is meant to leave us scratching our heads! These 14 verses pack in many complex questions about living the good life and wanting to have it all. We see a wealthy man who enjoys the comforts of this world asking about the world to come. He wants to know what he has to do to inherit that life as well. But does one do anything to inherit something? Isn't this a contradiction in itself right there?

He is rooted in life on earth, but wants life in heaven as well. How does a person live in the present but also keep an eye on the eternal things? The man is rich in things. Jesus looks at him and loves him. He does not pat the guy on the back for keeping the commandments. Instead he confronts him. He tells him to store up treasure in heaven by selling all he has and giving it all to the poor.

Jesus turns the man's focus from himself and from his own well being. Jesus tells him focus his energies and resources to generous behavior for the well being of others. Jesus then invites him to follow him. In this way the man will discover the kingdom of God and taste eternal life.

The man is shocked. He goes away grieving. Many assume that the man grieves that he cannot give up his material wealth. But notice that the story does not say this. Perhaps the man's eyes were opened to his own self centered ways, and he grieves the many opportunities lost in helping and caring for others. Is he sorrowful in his recognition of the very real cost of following Jesus who turns his whole life upside down? Or, could he be grieving for the friends and even family that he will be letting go in order to put God first and foremost in his life? This remains unresolved.

The man is not the only one shocked. So are the disciples. Jesus turns to them and says how hard it is for those who have it all to enter the kingdom of God. There is so much that can bind a person to the things of this world. In a touch of humor Jesus compares a person with wealth to a camel with so much on his back that he cannot enter into a particular gate of the city of Jerusalem. The disciples ask in dismay, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus responds with words that still come down to us through the centuries, "With human beings it is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Peter turns to Jesus and exclaims that the disciples have indeed left everything behind to follow Jesus. And Jesus responds with another perplexing statement. He says that whoever leaves everything for him will be rewarded a hundred times-in manifold relationships with others, in goods, a life with God, but also with persecutions. To enter the kingdom of God, one must put God first above all else.

Kingdom life is a life of freedom from the common burdens that many of us carry. To taste this life is to taste a bit of heaven. Then Jesus states another startling aspect of kingdom life: "The first shall be last and the last first."

The life in the Kingdom of God reverses our everyday, worldly values. It transforms us and the ways we see things. To get a taste of the eternal life in the here and now changes our attitudes and our actions. To follow Jesus gives us faith that God is indeed in charge of this world, although we often cannot directly perceive what God is doing at times.

It gives us hope for a future life of drawing closer to God, to others and all creation. And it gives us love - the unifying force that our scriptures throughout the Bible consistently witness to: "God's steadfast love that endures forever."

Even in all the perplexities of this story which are left unresolved, we can center on one brief statement here. And this statement is often overlooked. Yet it is the foundation of all of the dealings which Jesus had with people. It simply says that Jesus looked at the man and loved him. Jesus did not look with hardness of heart. Not with dismissive judgment. Not with contempt, but with a kind of love that longs deeply for the man's wellbeing. It is a love that is full of blessings - just as the love Jesus had for the children who came to him.

Have you sensed that kind of love that simply wants the best for another? Many tell of their unabashed love for a child: perhaps a son, daughter, niece, nephew or grandchild when they are born, or a child in their classroom or on a team, or a spouse or a dear friend. Some experience that kind of freely given love when they go on a mission trip and are simply serving others. Or maybe you experience it with people in the choir or in the school. It is the kind of love that propels people to walk together on the annual CROP walk on behalf of hungry people.

It is a kind of non rational love that just IS! The person does nothing to earn it or even try to win it from you. You simply delight in doing something for that person. You feel this positive energy to want to do something positive that will enhance their life.

For some, it may be a love for a cause. Or it is a love caught when just freely giving to others. It is a love that transcends self centered boundaries and simply flows out to another. This kind of joyous, generous love refers to what the New Testament calls agape love.

I've seen that kind of love pouring out through people here as they work on projects together, pray for one another, sing together, or serve together. It is that "tie that binds our hearts in Christian love."

When we experience this love of Christ, we get a taste of heaven. This love lifts our sights to a greater reality in which we can give our very real concerns and cares over to Jesus. We know that he cares. We know that we are not alone in whatever we face or whatever we need to change in order for him to rule in our lives. We find that we begin to see others and even ourselves through His eyes of love.

Karl Barth, a leading theologian, was asked to summarize the Gospel in a few words. This great man of learning smiled and simply quoted a children's hymn, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Henri Nouwen said it another way, "Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply."

When I was in seminary, a visiting preacher summarized the Gospel in a similar way. He said that we can interpret the scriptures and our lives through the lens of these two questions:

"Do you know how much God loves you? And, how do you love God back?"

Did the wealthy man have a clue about how much God loved him? Did he hear the words of Jesus as a tough love approach to free him from all that would blind him and bind him from accepting that freely offered gift?

Did the disciples really "get it" when they were traveling with Jesus? Or did they show a kind of blindness as well?

And, do we? What may be blinding us or binding us to the amazing gift of eternal love that God in Christ offers? What do we need to let go of so that we may lift our hearts unto God and be able to freely receive the blessings of this life that God is giving, even if our circumstances are hard or even frightening? How might we lift up our sights to see the tremendous needs around us and be the free flowing vehicles of God's grace in this hungry and hurting world?

This story may speak to many of you in different ways and stir up your own perplexing questions, as it is supposed to. Yet we glean from it a basic message that people now send over their cell phones and instant messaging. It reads in the title of this sermon "How R U?"

How R U aware of God's regard and love for you this day? And, how R U loving God back?

Thanks be to God in whom we live and move and have our being.

Amen.

©Kate Thoresen 2009