Don’t Walk Away Grieving
A sermon preached by
The Rev. Janice Ford
October 11, 2015
Mark 10:17-31
Money. Everybody wants it. It’s tough to live without it. Jesus talked a lot about it, and
St. Paul referred to it as “the root of all evil.” (1Timothy 6:10) Money has been used to
save lives and destroy lives; to enhance the earth, and destroy the earth; to serve
some, and to enslave others. Money, it whatever form or incarnation, has been at the
root of nearly every good thing that has happened in human history, as well as every
evil thing. Money is a chameleon. It changes even as it changes hands. What is an
opportunity for a better life for one person is an opportunity to assume misguided power
for another. Money has a short shelf life. No one wants to be without it, but no one can
take it with them when they die.
Money is what we use to ascribe value to something. Most of the time we think that a
thing is valuable based on what it cost, or what it can be sold for. This seems more
than a little inconsistent and arbitrary to me. Yesterday I paid $1.93 for a gallon of
gasoline. Did my car run better when it cost nearly $3.00 a gallon one year ago?
Jesus saw money for what it really is—a means to an end. In other words, he didn’t
care much about money itself. He only cared about what it was being used for. In the
Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray “give us this day our daily bread,” not “give us
this day everything we want to make us happy.” Jesus knew that “our daily bread”—
what we absolutely need to survive—was the only way we would keep money and
possessions from getting us into trouble.
The man who ran up and knelt before Jesus asking him what he must do to inherit
eternal life was probably a good and faithful man—that’s probably one reason why
Jesus “looked at him and loved him.” The trouble for this man, however, was wide and
deep, and had everything to do with money and possessions. First, the man asks about
inheriting eternal life. We inherit something because someone leaves it to us after they
die. Jesus knows that he will die so that this man, and everyone else, has the
opportunity for eternal life. However, even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, we still
have to live our lives so that we are making the choices reflective of someone who
deserves such an inheritance. In other words, Jesus’ death and resurrection makes our
salvation possible, but we still have to do the work to achieve it.
Jesus knows that the man is wealthy, and he knows that his wealth stands in the way of
the man really being his disciple. He wants the man to understand that material wealth
will not help him achieve eternal life, so he challenges him by telling him he has to give
up everything in order to be his disciple. What’s important to understand here is that
Jesus is not just trying to be difficult. He’s not telling the man to dump his possessions
in the river. Rather, he tells him to sell what he owns and “give the money to the poor.”
In other words, it’s what this man does with his wealth that matters, not the money itself.
1
Sadly, the man goes away “grieving, for he had many possessions.” What we don’t
know is what the man actually did in the end. Did he give his money to the poor and
follow Jesus? Or was he held hostage by his wealth, and unable to do as Jesus asked?
Jesus follows his encounter with the man by telling those around him how difficult it is
for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The people with Jesus are confused by
this because their understanding is that the wealthy are those truly favored by God. In
other words, if a person has land and riches, they are being rewarded by God. The
money and possessions were signs that God thought they were living a good life. That
was truly the line of thinking in those days, so the people ask, “Then who can be
saved?” Jesus’ response is simple. No one can be saved on their own. Only God has
the ability to save, and that salvation comes through discipleship.
Discipleship comes in different ways for people. For the rich, it often means using their
wealth to help others. The lesson is clear. It is not money itself that is valuable. It is
the manner in which the money is used that determines its value. If a person has only a
dollar and gives it for a worthy cause, and another person gives one thousand dollars
because that is what they have to offer, both have given equally in God’s eyes, and both
are demonstrating discipleship.
People have said that the reason they do not give more to charity or to their church or
other ministry is that they don’t think God would want them to take money away from
their families to give to someone else. I admit that’s a difficult decision. However, it’s
usually not so black and white, and we should never assume that we know what God
thinks! God has been known to throw us a few curve balls every now and then.
However, I think it would be a really odd thing for God to expect us to take food out of
our children’s mouths to feed another child. It’s rarely ever that serious a sacrifice that
God asks of us. But do I think God expects us to consider what we give to our church
or other charities in light of the totality of our resources? My answer is a resounding
“YES.”
What I am referring to here is being honest about how much we really do have to give.
If a person or family can truly only give a few dollars a week to the church because to
do more would put them in debt, then they are truly doing all they can. They are being
responsible with what has been given to them. On the other hand, if a person or family
comes up with an arbitrary amount to donate to the church without really considering
the bigger picture of their resources, then I doubt they are really being honest about
how they are using what they have been given. For example, if they justify what they
are giving based on what is “comfortable” for them, or what won’t take away from the
money they use to going out to dinner, or be entertained or travel, then they may walk
away “grieving” like the man with many possessions.
At the conclusion of today’s Gospel, Peter tells Jesus, “Look, we have left everything
and followed you.” I’m not sure if Peter was looking for an “atta boy,” or, perhaps,
justification in case Jesus had any doubts about his discipleship, but it seems clear that
Peter wanted to be sure Jesus knew what he and the others had sacrificed. Jesus both
2
reassures Peter, and throws him one of those curve balls with his response. He tells
Peter and the others that everyone who has made sacrifices in his name will have
eternal life, but he also says that they will receive one hundred fold in this life—to
include persecutions. Yikes! That doesn’t sound too good! Well, before we get too
wound up over the word persecutions, we need to consider the intent of Jesus’
message. I think Jesus is saying that when we make sacrifices, we know we are doing
a good thing, and we feel good about it, even though the sacrifice may sting a bit. As
disciples, we are rewarded with eternal life, as well as blessings in this life, but
sometimes those blessings may come with some hardship. I remember my mother
telling me, “Nothing good ever come easily.” I would add to that that every good thing
we do takes a little bit out of us, but in some strange way we end up feeling the better
for it.
Truth be told, I hate talking about money. I find it embarrassing and intensely personal,
and more than a little intrusive. However, I know that God puts before us things that will
challenge us so that we can grow. With that in mind, I stand before you as your priest
and Pastor, to ask you to enter into a deep and honest conversation with yourself and/or
your family to determine if you are doing all that you can to help financially support our
church. Keep in mind that it is NOT about the money—rather, it’s about how the money
is used, and this parish has a wonderful history of using its resources to enhance the
lives of God’s people around us. We need funds not just to pay the light bill, or the
heating oil, or the pastor’s salary. Those things are necessary, yes, but we primarily
need funds for ministry-- to keep our Food Pantry stocked, our Help with Homework
program going, our aid to South Sudan consistent, as well as all the other kinds of
outreach we do in the name of God.
My friends, let’s not walk away grieving over our possessions. Rather, let’s do the
difficult thing—the thing that stings a bit, but leaves us with a feeling of goodness and
righteousness with God. May God bless us in our effort. Amen.
3