Encounter with Grace

Mark 10:13-27; 12:28-34

What is it that God expects of us?  Christ tells us in his wonderful Sermon on the Mount:  we are to be like salt; we are to be the light of the world; we are to be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees if we’re to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Now there’s a challenge – to be more faithful than those significant religious leaders. 

Jesus then clarifies just what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.  Over and over again Jesus repeats the phrase, “You have heard it said…but I say to you.”  “You have heard it said ‘You shall not murder,’ but I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.”  You have heard what people have told you in the past, but now I’m telling you something more.  Jesus demanded something extra.

Little wonder then that someone finally decided to ask Jesus directly, “What is it that you’re really asking us to do?  What is it that God really requires of us?”  It’s ironic that this question should come from a scribe, a stickler for detail, a teacher of the law, and in the context of the passage, perhaps someone who wanted to trap Jesus rather than truly seek more clarity in what is required.  Nevertheless, he asks, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” 

Jesus replied that everything rested on two key elements:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind – this is the greatest and most important commandment.  The second commandment is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  The teacher of the law heartily agreed with Jesus, “Yes, indeed.  These things are far more important than burnt offerings and other sacrifices to God.”  Jesus noted his wisdom and said, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Not far.  I’m sure he and the others around him thought he’d knocked the ball out of the park, got a slam dunk, scored the winning touchdown.  Yet this man hadn’t quite got it, though he was not far. 

Scottish minister Robert S.T. Allan notes that, like his Sermon on the Mount, here too Jesus was looking for that something extra:  “Even when one managed to boil it down to these two commands on which everything else depends, still there’s something more.  It’s not another rule or regulation.  It’s not something we can see or touch.  It’s not something we can do or put in place.  It’s a puzzle.  On the face of it, we have things all wrapped up with these two greatest commandments, yet Jesus says, ‘Not far.’  What will it take to get us there?  What extra is required?  The search is on.”  (Robert S.T. Allan, sermon preached at Princeton Institute of Theology, 6/19/2000)

In our first passage this morning, we come across a man who asks the question, “Good teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”  The word used for “good” can mean either good or kind, so it’s possible this account ties in to the prior incident where Jesus welcomes the little children.  The man may have witnessed Jesus with the children and been struck by his kindness.  So here it’s not a matter of trying to trap Jesus; it seems that this man is more curious to find out more about someone he admires.

Now it’s interesting how the gospels differ in their description of the question-asker here.  Matthew says this was a young man; Luke calls him a ruler.  So this is often referred to as the story of the “rich young ruler.”  But Mark just calls him “a man.” 

William Willimon says: “I would rather him be a ‘young’ man or a ‘rich’ man, since I am neither.  That way I can reassure myself with, ‘This is not my story. It is a story about some of you!  I’m always grateful, particularly in the Gospel of Mark, when I can get a story that is about you and not about me.  Mark says simply that he was a ‘man,’ that is, just a guy off the street, an ordinary person with no particular pedigree, one of us.  Later in the story, we are told that he ‘had many possessions,’ but who among us doesn’t fit that description?  We may not be rich, or young, but we all have lots of stuff, a great many things.  So right off the bat we have a sneaking suspicion that we may not be able to keep this story away from us.  It may be a story about us.”  (William Willimon, Pulpit Resource, Oct. – Dec. 2003, 10)

At any rate, Jesus answers the man by giving a brief narration of the 10 Commandments.  Evidently, the young man interrupts him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.”  But after being interrupted, Jesus gives an answer at last.  Jesus looks at him and loves him, and then he says he lacks one thing – “go sell what you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.”  By the way, notice that Jesus doesn’t say sell all you have and bring the money to him; he doesn’t say bring it to the church.  Today is Stewardship Sunday, and perhaps that’s a message you were expecting to hear.  

But Jesus doesn’t say sell what you have, bring it to me, and then my disciples will handle it in good stewardship fashion; no, he says to the young man, “You decide what to do with your money, but make sure you do good with it.  Give it to the poor.  You be the steward!  Give it to the poor, and you’ll have treasure in heaven, and then come, follow me.

Well, the man was rather sad to hear this, and truthfully, who wouldn’t be?  Money may be one of those things you either have or don’t have, but isn’t it still better to have it? (Fiddler on the Roof – Tevye says to God, “Oh, dear Lord!  You made many, many poor people.  I realize, of course, it's no shame to be poor.  But it's no great honour either.  So what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?”). 

If this man gave up his wealth, he would not only be poor, he would be mixing socially with completely different people.  He had much more to lose than just his money.  And though I’m far from rich it doesn’t appeal to me in today’s world, and I suspect for you too, to sell everything I have and give it to the poor.

Yet I can’t deny that giving away money seemed to work for that scoundrel of a tax collector named Zacchaeus.  He gave away bags of the stuff, even paying back four times as much to those he had cheated.  And Jesus declared, “Salvation has come to this house today.”  Zacchaeus gives away his wealth and he gets salvation. 

Yet we know that salvation cannot be bought with gold and silver.  There was something more – rich Zacchaeus found it, but it seems the other man didn’t.

What is it that God requires of us?  What is it above all else that God is expecting of us?  “It’s to love him, and to love our neighbors,” and yet, Allen notes, “this requires more than lip service or knowledge or going through the motions.  It requires that something extra – a continuing search of our hearts.”  (Robert S.T. Allan)

Continuing is an important word.  I’m sure when you profess Christ as Lord you do much heart searching, but it doesn’t end there.  Nor does love end when two people get married – that’s simply a point along a longer continuing journey.  So too our Christian Education doesn’t end after we become confirmed or join a church – in many senses it’s just the beginning of lifelong learning. 

To follow Christ is not a one-time decision, but “a resolution to continually search our hearts for the love required on the journey with Christ through life” (Allan).  It’s so easy for us to take God’s love for granted and to assume that our hearts are right with him.  Heart searching is required continually.  And yes, that will affect our actions – how we use our time, talents, and money.  Turns out this is a stewardship passage after all.

I believe that Zacchaeus undertook that search, and salvation came to his house, not as a result of a generous giving away of money, but as a result of a heart that was touched and changed.  And the man in Mark’s story today went away with sadness when Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor, for the search does bring us face to face with our real selves.  The search brings us to the reality of what we really treasure in life.  What is most important in our lives?  What takes the highest priority?  Is it power?  Your job?  Your family?  Your money?  Or is it the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ?

Thankfully, this search is not something that we do alone.  We have the community of faith that joins us on our journey.  And we have God himself who accompanies us on our search, who is able to see past any barriers we put up to the truth.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart today,” says the psalmist.

It’s a well-worn phrase, but the book should not to be judged by its cover.  Allan tells a story of a Scottish minister – on one visit to a home, he was met by a mother and her 4 year old son.  And the mother went to make a cup of tea in the kitchen, and the little boy sat in the lounge with the minister, and he sat at the other end of the couch.  And the little boy said nothing, but stared intently at him.  And eventually the little boy blurted out, “You’re not good looking.”

Taken aback, the minister thought he’d make light of it.  When the mother came back into the room, he said, “Your wee boy was telling me I’m not good looking.” 

“Oh, gosh,” said the mother, “You do get the truth from children, don’t you.”

One rather deflated minister, but I think he was wise enough to realize that it’s not the surface that matters.  It’s what’s inside that’s the key.  It’s great to be generous, but is it generosity of the heart?  Keeping the commandments as rules or regulations all of your life is commendable, but there’s more to following and loving God. 

Loving God is easy in a sense, for he loves us so much, and gives us so much.  But it’s not so easy in the sense that to really know and serve that loving God, Christ says to us, “Pick up your cross and follow me,” and that is demanding.  Loving our neighbors is easy, in a sense, for some are so nice, so supportive, so good to us.  Not so easy in the sense that some are so selfish, so rude, so unloveable. 

Again, the commandment itself is simple.  It’s following it that’s hard.  The difficulty is expressed in this rather honest prayer:  Dear Lord, so far today I am doing all right.  I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self-indulgent.  I have not whined, complained, cursed, or eaten any chocolate.  I have not charged on my credit card.  However, I am about to get out of bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot more help after that.

What is it that God requires of us above all else?  To continually search our hearts for love, hour by hour, day by day.  That is what is required of us; that is what God demands.  With it, our faith is continually growing and our lives are enriched, never to be the same again.   Amen.