October 14, 2012 20th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:17-31
 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 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.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”


“The Impossible Possibility”

What is going on in this story is a battle of the wills, not just the pocketbook.  A confrontation with addiction and a call to surrender.  It is your story and mine!

The question is sincere for the man is sincere.  But he wanted to be in control.  He wanted to do it his way.  “Just tell me and I’ll do it!” might well be a correct paraphrase of his dialogue with Jesus.

Jesus loved him.  What follows comes out of love not judgment.  He enters the man’s life at the one place where he does not want God to be, the one place he does not want to surrender.

This is always where God seeks entrance into our lives.  For until we surrender where we least want to surrender, we are still in control and doing it our way.  We are still seeking to be saved by good works rather than grace.  We have to reach the place where we know we can do nothing, then God can do everything.

By grace we are saved, not works!  Let go and let God!

“Be Godly, Not Just Good”

We try hard to be good; when we are called to be godly.  We set our sights on the good life; when we are called to live the godly life.  We work hard at being moral, upright citizens; yet our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God.

What ever that means - to find our rest in God - it is more then being good, moral, or even religious.  It means to “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  All things!

A lot of badness results when we measure our godliness by our goodness.  To stand with the Rich Young Ruler is to stand in the presence of our own hypocrisy and start being honest with the goodness which keeps us from being godly.

Jesus words to him (and us) were (are) spoken out of love, not anger.  There was so much in him that was good; yet so much that missed the mark in his life.

We are called to be godly not just good.  What ever that means it does mean not only dreaming the impossible dream but also daring to believe the impossible gift of grace is ours.  Then it is to dare try make a difference in the world we live in , knowing as we do so, in the words of Reinhold Niebuhr:

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.  Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;l therefore we must be saved by faith.  Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;l therefore we are saved by love.  No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint.  Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”

With God all  is possible!