The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell the story, of the rich man who asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Of course the story varies some in each Gospel. For example in Matthew’s version he’s a “young” man, in Luke he’s a “ruler,” but in today’s Mark, he’s just “a man.” Another thing that’s unique in Mark’s telling is the part about, how Jesus “looked on him and loved him.”
The Love gives us a context for understanding Jesus’ tough demands of this man. Jesus knows the man does not feel the closeness with God that he desires, because he asks for eternal life, life with God. Jesus also knows the man lives an upright life, and, Jesus knows what is needed.
After Jesus names off the commandments, the man says he has never murdered, committed adultery, stolen things, lied, defrauded anyone, and he had always honored his parents. He is a good man in his relations with others. Jesus knows that already. It’s interesting, though, when Jesus lists these commandments, he only lists 6 of the 10—the ones about human relationships. Jesus leaves out the ones about loving God, putting nothing above God, respecting God in thought, word and deed, and setting aside time to worship God. For some reason, Jesus leaves those off the list. Maybe Jesus knows the man can’t answer “yes” to the commandments about his relationship with God. But, “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.’”
Now this is TOUGH LOVE. Jesus “loved him” enough to ask him for what the man apparently valued most: His wealth and many possessions Jesus asked for these not because wealth and possessions are bad in themselves, but because these are the things that got in the man’s way of his experiencing life in God, Eternal Life. His material possessions had become the man’s idols, the things he placed above God. They’d become an end in themselves, instead of a means to an end.
I think this story focuses us on the commandments about having no other gods and about not making idols (even though Jesus didn’t explicitly list these). Jesus knows our human tendency to put wealth, material things, power and prestige at the top of our lists. By our actions, our schedules, and our checkbook stubs, many of us may show these material things to be the most important things in our lives. And although I don’t think God despises this material world (After all, God made it!) or our human tendency to enjoy material things (After all, God made us like we are!), God knows we cannot find spiritual contentment when we make these our #1 priority. When we do that, it’s like we’ve built an altar to them, and they become our idols, what we really worship.
As Jesus longed for the rich man to find his true heart’s desire, God longs for us to find ours. God looks on us with love and invites us to give away, get rid of, give up anything that weights us down spiritually. God wants us to finally get inside and learn the true essence of keeping God’s law…God wants us not to be so concerned with the Letter of the Law, but with the Spirit of the Law, which is always LOVE.
Maybe that’s why Jesus suggests to the rich man that he sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. This would not only free him of his idol, but also such sharing of wealth would embody LOVE and the Spirit of the law. This would give the man the life with God he longed for.
As we begin our Stewardship Season, I hope each of us will look at our priorities, and we can easily do that by looking at our checkbooks and appointment calendars. Where we spend our time and our money tells us about our priorities. In a sense, the discernment process we’re in as a parish community at St. James should include this kind of “Priority examination” as well. As individuals, families, and parish family, what are the things that keep us from life with God/eternal, abundant life?
A preacher from Virginia tells the story of how his daughter asked “What would you do if you won the $526 million VA State Lottery?” . . . “Give it all away?” The preacher deflected the question, “I don’t buy lottery tickets. I don’t believe in the lottery. So we don’t have to worry about what I’d do if I won.” Over the next hours and days, the daughter’s question haunted the preacher. He confessed to himself he thought he might quit his job, even though his vocation meant the world to him. He mused he could travel, attend seminars, explore Christianity all over the world, all at his leisure. And he wouldn’t have to worry about money to put his children through college or for retirement. He could just preach and pastor when and where he wanted to, not because he had to. Oh yes, and he’d be generous. He’d give lots to the church. He’d share. And with so much, he’d hardly notice all he gave away. ‘Wouldn’t really have to sacrifice. The preacher admitted he had these thoughts. Then he realized what a creature of our consumer, materialistic world he really was.
He realized his daughter was not really asking about money but about priorities and the real point of life. So he pondered: Are we here to have as many enriching experiences as we can? To accumulate all the wealth we can? To buy all the things we can? What about service? What about making a contribution? What about being responsive to the great needs of others in the world? What about sacrifice?
So the preacher said to himself, “It’s God’s mercy that I don’t play the lottery, for I don’t know if I could face the temptation if I won.” Then he concluded, “Thanks to my daughter’s question, I know what answer this particular Christian soul needs to give, ‘What would you do if you won? Give it all away?’ YEP!…Give it all away.”
(J. Christopher Price, quoted in Synthesis)
God looks on us and loves us. God wants us to be free and to love deeply, serve others, travel light in this life, so that we can enjoy life with God both now and always. Amen.
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