Scripture Mark 10:17-27 NRSV
10:17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
10:18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 10:19 You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’" 10:20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 10:21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
10:22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 10:24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."10:26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?”
10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
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I always feel a little bad for the rich man in this story. I mean, it is possible that he goes away shocked and grieving because he simply doesn’t want to give up the lifestyle of the rich and famous 1st century style. But given the culture of the time, it is unlikely that this guy is a young, single billionaire buying fancy chariots, maintaining bachelor pads in Jerusalem, Athens and Rome, and frittering away the wealth that was given to him by dear old dad, like good old Joe Camel here. Chances are that a wealthy man of Jesus’ time is married with children, and is responsible not only for his immediate family, but also his widowed mother and any unmarried sisters, all the servants in the household, and all the clients and employees who depend upon him for their income. We might think of him as the owner of a small manufacturing company or a ranch upon whom his extended family and many employees, as well as contractors and suppliers depend for their livelihood. He has to weigh his desire to serve as Jesus has asked him to against the consequences that would befall all of those people if he just walked away from it all - sold everything and gave it to the poor.
It is pretty much a given that this particular man, a man who followed the Law of Moses, tithed. It would have been unthinkable for him NOT to give 10% of his income - and not just 10%, but the very best 10% of what he had. Not for him the gift of used clothing, dented cans of peaches, and those shoes that somehow never looked as good on my feet as they did that day in the store. No. He gave the strongest of his lambs, the choicest cloth his maidservants wove, the juiciest grapes, the most blemish free grains, plus 10% of any cash that had come into his household. He gave his best - first - before he took any for himself. Not for him questions of whether to give 10% of his gross or net income. Because, and this is the part that we usually miss somehow, that 10%, the tithe, is the minimum required giving. Not the “try to work up to it” giving. But the minimum required giving. Quite literally, the Temple tithe was income tax. The rich man of our story most likely also made gifts and offerings over and above his tithe - clothing for the priests and the poor, incense, money. And then there were the required sacrifices for himself and his household - doves and rams, cakes of purest flour, jars of extra extra virgin olive oil, and so on. A Law abiding Jew would have done all of these things.
So it isn’t like he just popped a check in the offering plate once a month. But what is being demanded of him now is that he give more. That he give up everything he holds precious to follow Jesus. And that was going to be too hard. So he walked away, grieving.
This is isn’t the only time Jesus has said that people need to give up everything they care about in order to follow him. He said, “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29). And even, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
Yet, we know from the stories of Jesus’ life that he didn’t hate people with money. In many ways he depended upon them. The women who followed him, for the most part, had independent incomes and were able to buy food and so on. He had friends who owned houses and who put him and his disciples up for the night and fed them all. Joseph of Arimathea was very rich, and he donated his own tomb to be Jesus’ resting place after the crucifixion. So if Jesus didn’t hate rich people, what is he really asking of us here?
You know, most of us are rich people. I know, we don’t feel rich. When we think “rich” we look at Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg and the Kardashians and folks like that - and Joe Camel here. But we, most of us, are rich. We have enough to eat. We have a place to live. We have transportation that gets us where we need to go. We have families, friends, jobs, hobbies - things that are important to us. We dedicate our lives to causes that are meaningful to us - Animal Shelters, Cancer funds, children’s programs, feeding programs, literacy programs, prison ministry, social justice work of all sorts. We do things to help benefit those who are not as well off as we are - and that is pretty much the definition of rich. What if suddenly we walked away from our parents, grandparents, spouses, children, grandchildren, and walked off our jobs and sold our houses and cars and gave all the money to the poor? How would we serve Jesus then? How could we support the church and its ministries? How could we help the homeless and feed the hungry, if we ourselves became homeless and hungry?
We couldn’t. Period. So what do we do? How do we, as rich folks, follow Jesus? Because he said “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” And while there are all kinds of rationalizations about camels and needles - some scholars say Jesus really meant it was hard (but not impossible) for a camel to get through this one very narrow gateway into the city of Jerusalem, thus rich people could get into heaven if they were really really good - I believe he meant exactly what he said. It is easier for a camel to go through the literal eye of a needle than for those who are attached to their lives and their stuff to be part of the kingdom of heaven. If you look at all those other things he said, they all boil down to this - if any person or any thing is more important to you than following Jesus is, then you cannot live in the kingdom of heaven.
First, I guess, it’s important to consider that when Jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven he was not usually talking about in the sky by and by after we die heaven that we usually think of. He was talking about living on earth as it is in heaven. Living here, in the world, as if we were sitting at God’s feet with all the citizens of heaven. Caring for and loving one another - friends and strangers and even enemies. Reconciling with those who have hurt us or whom we have hurt. Because I’m pretty sure that in heaven, folks who lived as enemies on earth are no longer filled with the hatred and anger that drove them before. Living like that here, on earth, in our daily lives, that is living in God’s kingdom. And it’s really hard to live in God’s kingdom if we are attached to stuff and people more strongly than we are attached to God.
For example: A customer service rep was helping a customer activate a new phone for a family member. In the background he could hear much screaming and carrying on by another family member who thought they should get the new phone, and kept threatening to break it so no one could have it. That person is not living in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God, if one person receives a blessing, her friends and family rejoice for her. In the kingdom of God, we are grateful for what we have, and we want to share the blessings we have received with others.
It’s hard to give up our attachment to stuff. Even if we really want to live simple, uncluttered lives, dedicated to Christ - there’s always that really cool thing, that new piece of tech, that upgrade to our game, that shiny sparkly new something wonderful, that book, that piece of music, that new kitchen gadget, that new power tool . . . and let’s face it, that new sparkly thing is much sexier than putting the money in the collection plate at church. Cause we like stuff, and we can see stuff, and use it, or eat it, or wear it. It’s hard to see where the money in the plate goes.
The money in the plate keeps the lights on, so we can see each other in here. It pays all the boring, unsexy, bills and expenses that you have at home - water and gas, property tax, and insurance. It pays salaries and buys the day to day necessities that come with running an office. Those are ongoing, all the time, month to month, regular boring expenses that never go away - like you pay at home. The money in the plate also supports missionaries overseas, church camps in our Region, help agencies right here in Selma, and so much more. The money in the plate keeps this little part of Christ’s family doing his work in the world. The money in the plate helps us bring the kingdom of God to earth.
What would happen if we all behaved like the rich man in the story? Not the going away grieving cause he couldn’t give up his life part - but the tithing and gifting part? Carolyn Winfrey Gillette wrote a song that speaks to that question. My brothers and sisters, please stand and sing with me “Giving God, We Pause and Wonder.”
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Hymn Giving God, We Pause and Wonder
Tune: “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
Lyrics: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor 2009
Used with permission
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