Oct. 11, 2015

Mark 10:17-31

Jesus isn’t making this easy on us. Last week it was divorce. We waded our way through challenging words about a reality of broken relationships that either directly or indirectly affects us all into what I hoped you heard as a message of hope and life not in the face of one particular “sin according to the law,” but rather, in the face of humanity’s frailty and our very natural dependence on a divinity other than our own for wholeness, peace, and purpose.

I said, because I heard Christ say it, that the greatest sin, the one that really matters, is getting in the way. Getting in the way of our own inclinations to be the better self God is calling us to be. Getting in the way of our soul’s desire to find meaning in something beyond our own egos. Getting in the way of another’s hope of doing the same. Getting in the way of the kind of transformation that gives us tastes and visions and moments of salvation – new life now – even as we await the day that all is on earth as it is in heaven.

Well, today the passage is on wealth. This rich young man comes to Jesus wanting to know how to obtain eternal life. Jesus says, “You know the instructions, right? It’s no secret what the law tells us to do. Have you been doing that? ‘How’s that working for you?’ in the words of Dr. Phil.”

“It’s not working for me,” the guy says. “I’ve done all that.”

“Well, here’s what you do,” Jesus says, “sell what you have, give it to the poor, don’t worry about your wealth, and follow me.” And at that, the guy goes away sad “because he had many possessions.”

No doubt, this is not the favorite passage of Christians in Fairfield, CT. If divorce was an uncomfortable topic I suspect the notion of giving over all of our possessions is equally, if not more, so.

Here’s a reflection from author David Howell, which I thought was fairly insightful. “Christian tradition has assumed that [the rich young man] went away sorrowful because he was unwilling to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. Another possibility is that he decided to sell all he had and follow Jesus. That bold action would have not been emotionless. That would have been a decisive step into the future, resulting in an emotional letting go of all that he had and the relationships that came with his possessions.”[1]

Howell continues, “In any event, the disciples are privy to just how painful steps into the future can be (whether the man did or did not give away his possessions.” What we are forced to admit here is that while getting in the way is a serious sin, getting out of the way is often easier said than done. Saying goodbye to our old friends, such as wealth in this guy’s case (you can name your own friend) even if it is the right thing to do comes with a cost.

If you are my age or older you’ll remember a TV show called “All in the Family.” I was never a huge fan; the humor of it was often lost on me. But, it was on a lot when I was a kid, so I’d watch from time to time.

One episode in particular gripped me, captivated me actually, and I’ve never forgotten it. All these years later I was pleased to find that it took me all of two seconds to find it again on Youtube, and when I get this sermon online you’ll see a link to it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bON_UKpLug4)

Archie (that famous racist) and his son in law, whom he calls “Meathead” for his various liberal views, are trapped in the cold cellar of a local pub. They make the most of their time by sipping on whiskey and talking about all sorts of stuff. Toward the end of the show they are slurring their words and sitting real close to stay warm. And, that’s when the magic happens. That’s when you learn why it is that Archie is the way he is.

Archie tells meathead about the teasing he got from all the kids at school because during the depression all he had was one shoe and one boot to wear on his feet to class. He said that all but one of the kids teased him. There was a black kid who didn’t. Meathead was shocked. “A black kid liked you?” “No! He used to beat the stuffing out of me!”

“Why did he do that?”

“Because he said that I called him an N-word.”

“Well did you?”

“Yes! But, what was I supposed to call him. That’s what everyone called him. I couldn’t call him a W-word because that’s what we called the Italians. Everyone called those people that. My dad called those people that.”

Meathead said, “Archie, your dad was wrong. My dad used to say those words too, but he was wrong.”

But, to Archie that was blasphemy. “No, he was not wrong. He was never wrong. My dad loved me. He was a man who worked for his family. He was the breadwinner. He took care of me and put food on the table. He came home and gave me candy. He took me to the baseball field and threw the ball to me. He held my hand. He even broke his hand on me once teaching me to do right, because he loved me. My dad loved me, and how could a man who loved me so much ever be wrong?” Before passing out Archie turned to meathead and put his hand just above his shoulder and said, “You’re supposed to love your father, because your father loves you.”

And there he was, Archie Bunker in the raw – the product of his father’s own broken love.

It wasn’t so simple for Archie to let go of his racism. Letting go of it would have meant letting go of his father, or so it felt. And, you couldn’t do something like that. Not to a man who loved you so much.

The rich young man wants eternal life. He wants heaven. He’s got everything else, which of course he understands to be favor from God, divine validation for his righteous living. However, we get the impression that he’s not quite ready for heaven – at least, not the kind of heaven that has much to do with anything beyond his own care and comfort. Jesus says, “Drop your treasures and drop your notion that they mean anything to God. Follow me. Do the work of my kingdom and you’ll know the kingdom of God.”

Rob Bell, in his book, Love Wins, writes, “It’s very common to hear talk about heaven framed in terms of who ‘gets in’ or how to ‘get in.’ What we find Jesus teaching, over and over and over again, is that he’s interested in our hearts being transformed, so that we can actually handle heaven. To portray heaven as bliss, peace, and endless joy is a beautiful picture, but it raises the question: how many of us could handle it, as we are today? How would we each do in a reality that had no capacity for cynicism or slander or worry or pride?”

Imagine being a racist in heaven? That stuff just couldn’t survive. That stuff has to be abandoned. Our false gods can’t live there either. Neither can our pride. Neither can envy or our selfishness or our indifference to the lives of others. Heaven will take some getting used to. It will be a big adjustment.   And, I’m afraid that if we dwell on in too much we’ll realize that the adjustment might be a bit more than we can handle.

“Then who can be saved?” asks the disciples. For once it seems the bumbling disciples get the point exactly. “It is impossible with human beings, but not with God. All things are possible with God.”

We have help. That’s the good news. We have help every step of the journey.

[1] Feasting on the Word, Year B Volume 4, page 166.