Sermons Archive

Sell…Give…Follow
The Rev. Janice Robinson
October 15, 2006

Over the past several weeks we have been traveling with Jesus and his disciples as he makes his way to Jerusalem. Along the way we have listened as he taught the crowds that inevitably gathered around him, and teaching his disciples a well. He was clear about his destination and the greeting he would receive there. He went anyway, as his allegiance was clear, obedience to God. HE had set his face toward Jerusalem and he wouldn’t turn back.

We too are asked to “set our faces towards the kingdom of heaven, with an understanding that we will have to traverse our Jerusalem before we reach our destination. Today we meet Jesus traveling through Judea. He has been approached by a wealthy young man who in his search for God, realizes that there is more to living as God commands than simply following the commandments handed down through Moses. He seeks an answer from Jesus. Why him? What is different about him? The young man kneels in front of Jesus and calls him “good”. First Jews did not kneel before one another, and secondly the use of the term “good” was reserved for God.

What ever it was, the young man recognized something in Jesus, or at least in his words, which prompts him to ask Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus sees in the young man an earnestness and a desire to be obedient to God’s will, and he responds in love for the young man. When Jesus tells him he must give up his attachment to all that he has, the young man walks away sorrowful. Mark says the young man was, “shocked and went away grieving.” Why should the young man be shocked? Perhaps because the common myth was that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing.

The wealthy were communal benefactors of the synagogues, and the Temple. As God was the Divine patron, the wealthy were seen as those touched specially by God to provide for the religious needs o the people. The wealthy were seen as close to God. Jesus in his interaction with the wealthy young man explodes this myth, causing much consternation among his friends. “Then who can be saved?” one of the disciples asks.

Our attachment to things, and relationships, and positions and status, etc will come between us and our God. Jesus has once before been quoted as saying, “You can not serve two masters. You will serve one and not the other.” We must choose. We can obey the letter of every commandment and not know eternal life. We must be ready to let go of it all. Think for a minute what it would be like if everything you currently have were lost, what might your reaction be?

Now Jesus did not say that it was impossible for the wealthy to enter the kingdom, but that it will be hard for them to enter; as hard as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. What is impossible for humanity is possible with God. A person can be quite wealthy, but hold it loosely. I don’t mean to be foolish with their wealth, but to use it in service to others, to do good. It is seen as a tool and not something to be hoarded, for fear.

If we are to be like our Creator we must practice generosity. As I reflect on the relationships that Jesus had with people and his response to others, it was with a generous spirit. It was as if there is abundance and not a scarcity. If God has helped provide for one day, why do we think that God will not assist us to receive what we need for the next and the next?

Through out Jesus teachings one of the things that he was most aware of with people, and his disciples in particular, was their fear. Fear of loss seems to make us hold on tighter and tighter. We put ourselves in a position of thinking that if we but practice the letter of the law we are fine. Yet we sense that there is “something more”. We go in search of it. The volumes of books on Jesus, God, the spiritual life, prayer, the commandments, etc that have been sold in the past decade could probably circle the globe several thousand times, yet our world and our faith communities don’t seem to help us feel we can trust that God will provide sufficient for our need.

We see the increasing number of panhandlers on the streets of our cities and towns. We see the thousands of people who have lost everything due to some natural disaster, to war, to some human act, and we become afraid. That is understandable, we are human. However, if we simply leave it at that and do not work at trusting God, even when we disappoint each other, we lose our way. We are the ones through whom our God works. The world looks to us who say we believe for some sign that our God is alive and not dead, or some figment of our imagination. What can we show this world of God’s abundance, of love, of resources, of forgiveness, of hopes and dreams in the face of tremendous odds against us, of courage, and of strength?

One of the things that we say we believe is that we have been saved through Jesus’ supreme act of love poured out for us on a lonely and barren hill, overlooking Jerusalem. If we have been saved, how is it we are more often seen as citizens of this world, but not as citizens of the kingdom of God also? Do we too often walk this earth with closed fists rather than open hands and open hearts and open minds?

The rich young ruler lacked imagination of what it would be like to let go of all that was weighing him down and holding him back from the “something more” that he earnestly sought. His real allegiance seemed to have been to the things that he was taught in this world rather than the spirit that was behind the commandments, the spirit of freedom. Jesus also said that there is not way that we can give up anything for God and not receive benefits multiplied beyond what we have given. To sell, give, and follow, the three things Jesus asked the young man to do would bring a whole new family, so that any relationships we might have lost are replaced by many more deep and abiding relationships. What ever we have given of our material resources, are replaced with whatever material resources we might need.

But Jesus also warns that to follow also means that we will also have persecution. We will have troubles when we speak up for the sake of the gospel and for Jesus’ sake. As a matter of fact we should expect trouble when we do this because by simply living and speaking about the things that Jesus taught we make others uncomfortable and no body likes to be made uncomfortable. I don’t mean trying to force our belief and/or understanding on others, but rather sharing it with others who would like to see and know something about our God. Jesus saw no needs to force, but rather laid out God’s word and will for us and allowed the listener to respond. We can accept, reject, question it, reflect on it, but the choice is always left for us to make, without coercion.

Two examples of what it might be like to speak up for the gospel. The first is our modern day experience of the “whistle blower”. Someone tells the truth of what is really happening and is punished with loss of job, attacks on their character, and being branded as one who has an agenda, or some “score” to settle. Another example is the main character in Henrik Ibsen’s play “Enemy of the People”, now playing at the Shakespeare Theatre in downtown D.C. A physician discovers that the waters that feed the baths which people come to for cures from their illnesses is polluted, and represent a health hazard. He seeks to tell the community and is stopped by the town’s leadership. He is branded a liar, his actions are labeled duplicitous, he loses his job, and his home and children are attacked all in an effort to keep the people from knowing that he is telling the truth. Should the truth become known could mean a major loss of revenue to the town, and of its newly minted image as a spa and a healthy place to go for vacation, and to get the “cure” by using the baths.

All of this reminds us of Caiaphas’ words about Jesus, “It is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” (John 11:50). Having that one man destroyed may say a lot more about those who allowed it, than it does about the man who was killed. Fear can get in the way of our following Jesus. Jesus said to sell, give, and follow. The work we are called to requires all of the energy we can muster, and we cannot allow ourselves to be weighed down by things.

Clearly then to practice good stewardship is not to have nothing, but to place part of your bounty in service to God. Ministry through the Church, the Body of Christ is a way to do this. Sharing the load with our sisters and brothers in Christ makes the load so much easier. Perhaps the real thing that we get exercised about is the power and influence we perceive giving up when we give over the material things of our lives. We may well resent Jesus saying “sell, give, and follow.” Perhaps it is unconscious on our part, but sometimes we put strings on our gifts. We give them as long as we can control the way in which it is spent, or used. We may not want to admit it to one another, but surely we know that God is aware of this.

Remember we begin the service with the prayer, Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.” So how do we square it with God? Allowing God’s Word to so penetrate our hearts and wills that the needed change of heart can be made, is essential to this process. While we will not lose God’s love, for which we can give thanks, we can disappoint God. We may need to go and reflect on Jesus’ command, as the wealthy young man did. The story does not say that he never returned to follow Jesus; he very well may have done that after some reflection. Therein lies hope. We can change, and with God’s help. We can make our way through the eye of a needle, and on to Jerusalem, knowing that as citizens of the kingdom of God we have done what we could, with all that we had, holding back nothing from the One who provided it for our needs and for our use in service. Being a citizen of the kingdom requires work, thoughtfulness, generosity, and trust. Like the way God trusts us with creation. No attempt to take it away from us, even after we have made mistakes, but to help us change sp that we can fulfill God’s command to be good stewards of creation.

Amen