Mark 10:17-31
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?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 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.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 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.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 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!” 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! 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.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
“When he heard this he was shocked.” Why?
We have to presume that he was shocked because he assumed that material riches signified God’s blessing. And it’s not just him. The disciples were also perplexed, confused, disoriented by Jesus’ words. So apparently it wasn’t just this man who was shocked but all of them. All of the people of his day, that is, assumed that material wealth was a sign of divine blessing.
Of course, when we say it that way – “the people of his day” – we make it sound peculiar, odd, a historical relic. But are we really all that different? Do we not assume — at least on some tacit, unconscious level — that people who have a lot of money or fame or power (which amounts to more or less the same thing) are, if not divinely blessed, at least special. More special, certainly, then the unemployed dad looking for a handout or the mom on welfare stretching her food stamps or the retiree whose pension took a dive and is now bagging groceries at the local super market?
Of course we do. Why else would we care what rich and famous people say? We assume that if they’ve been rewarded for one thing – whether it’s being able to read lines in a sitcom or being born into a wealthy family – they must have worthy opinions about other things. They’re different, special, blessed.
Part of the shock, I think, is not simply that Jesus asks this man to give away his riches and in this way seemingly denigrates the cultural status of the rich. Part of the shock is that he invites us to look at the poor as deserving – deserving of our regard, deserving of our abundance, deserving of our care and respect – and in this way elevates them and declares that the poor, rather than the rich, are blessed of God.
(Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God blesses people by making them poor or advocating a romantic view of poverty as a state of blessing. I’m simply saying that God, like a loving parent, gives particular attention, love, and blessing to those children of God in greatest need.)
So I guess I think that the only reason we’re not as shocked as this man and Jesus’ disciples (and, as we’ll soon see, the rest of the crowd) at what Jesus says is that we don’t take him all that seriously.
But what if we did?
What if we believed that God loves us enough to strip us of all the artificial securities that we’ve built to protect our lives but are really only choking them? What if we believed that God loves us enough to invite us to surrender all the things we look to for status and identity but that demand our soul in return for the ephemeral status they convey? What if we believed God loves us – and all people! – enough to draw our gaze away from the momentarily rich or fleetingly famous and look instead upon the most vulnerable and discover in them who we really are?
What then? Would we also be shocked and leave grieving?
Because here’s the thing: God does love us this much.
And, take note, God doesn’t make this a demand. Jesus tells this man simply that he lacks one more thing – he should go and give what he has to the poor and follow him. It is an invitation. The man came asking what he could do to find the peace that has thus far eluded him, and Jesus tells him. It was his choice to come. It was his choice to follow. But he is shocked – all his assumptions about wealth and blessing and even who and what he is have been shaken – and he goes away grieving.
We don’t know, of course, whether this is the end of the story. Perhaps he has a change of heart. Perhaps he meets someone just a few miles down the road in such need that he can’t help but give of what he has to care for him and discovers the truth of Jesus’ invitation. Perhaps he returns at some later point to follow Jesus.
But whether any of those things happen or whether, as perhaps most of us assume, he goes away grieving only to try to console himself with his riches, we just don’t know. And, to be honest, it’s not that important.
What’s important is how we react when Jesus invites us to do the same.
Prayer: Dear God, your tremendous love for all people is shocking. It is not what we expect. It is not what we deserve. Help us recover from our shock that we might look upon ourselves and those around us through your eyes and follow you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
It is possible, too, that Jesus knows when our possessions have become obsessions, thereby preventing us from “following Him.”
I have a dog, and am unable to travel as often or as frequently as I’d like because it requires finding a dog sitter to do so.
I think Jesus is saying that to this young man…your possessions and wealth are causing you problems and worries and preventing you from focusing on what would really make you happy.