“Jesus looking at him, loved him and said….” Mark 10:21
You got to love the young man in today’s Gospel. He’s earnest, good and honorable. He runs ups to Jesus and kneels before him. He correctly answers Jesus’ question. He obviously paid attention in Confirmation for he knows the commandments, and not only that, he’s keeps them! He’s the pride of his parents and community. Not only that, his running, his kneeling shows that he actually has a clue about who Jesus is – that he is a good teacher, worthy of deep respect and that Jesus knows the way to eternal life. Behind the young man’s seeking is honesty. For in spite of his wealth, something is missing, something deep, down in him that wonders if this is all there is. It’s a restlessness that leaves him dissatisfied, and instead of denying it pretending it doesn’t exist, or self-medicating to squelch it, he’s comes to Jesus seeking what is real and asks what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. No wonder Jesus looked at him and loved him. We love him too for who among us cannot see in him our children, our friends and if we dare to be as honest as this wonderful young man, even our very selves?
Jesus looks at us and loves us too. Maybe we didn’t run to worship this morning, some moved slowly with a walker or cane arriving early for quiet prayer while others dashed in during the first hymn and found their pew, and just about every week, there are a one or two who opened the church door for the first time and slipped in wondering if this place might bring them to eternal life.
(8:00 am — Then just like the young man, we kneel before the Lord seeking mercy and forgiveness for our sins, our brokenness, our failures and guilt, all that separates us from God, others and the whole blessed creation. We do so because we want eternal life…)
(10:45 am – That’s why our newcomers knocked on the door and asked to let in – not because we are so wonderful and kind, but because as we so joyfully sang, here in this place the new light is shining, now is the kingdom, now is the day. Here in this place is eternal life….)
…life that is more than the little buzz we get when someone clicks “like” on our facebook page or the dopamine rush we experience when buying something new, both of which fade so quickly usually well before we get the credit card We seek life good and rich and full, now and forever. And Jesus loves us for this – loves you and me and this whole community of faith. Loves that we are here singing the hymns, hearing God’s word, praying together, sharing peace, giving offering, coming to the table of grace, being blessed and then going out to serve in God’s name.
Did you notice how Jesus uses the ten commandments as a check list for the young man? This can be a very helpful thing as we seek to live a good moral life. My spiritual director in seminary asked me to reflect upon the commandments and the Beatitudes before hearing my confession. In the commandments the law is laid out, what not to do. In the beatitudes, it’s the gospel, what to do. He did this because it was only when I acknowledged my sin that I could know the blessed mercy and grace of forgiveness. Martin Luther’s explanation of the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism brings both law and gospel together in much the same way. We see this in the first commandment: You shall have no other gods. Luther asks, “What does this mean?” The response is “We are to fear, love, and trust God above all things.”
Ah, here’s the rub, the sticking point both for the young man and for us, because so few of us fear, love and trust God above all things. We might declare we do, but our actions reveal something else. We confuse our will for God’s will. We run after lesser gods and then get angry or depressed which is really internalized anger, when they don’t bear eternal life. That’s why Jesus asked the rich young man to sell all he has and give the money away to the poor so that he might fear, love and trust God above all things. God first, everything else second. We struggle with this, forever asking God to bless our idols, to take second place and then blaming God when it becomes ashes and dust.
Jesus was right, 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, and dare I add someone who is Republican or a Democrat or a Communist or a Libertarian…or anyone who puts themselves, their politics and beliefs or lack of them in the place of God. On Thursday afternoon I spent some time other pastors of churches similar to St. John’s. The subject of preaching and politics came up. I wasn’t surprised because ever since the garden of Eden when the serpent ran against God and got the vote of both Adam and Eve, it’s been an issue. Each of us had a story of someone who complained because something preached, including the very words of Jesus, offended them politically. One shared that both a liberal Democratic family and a conservative Republican family left the congregation over the same sermon. Go figure that one out. Do you see the problem? Put this alongside of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods” and its explanation, “We are to fear, love and trust God above all things.” For when parties and politics, when money and possessions, when work and recreation, when looks and status come first, they take over, becoming not the kingdom of God, but our own fruitless and failed attempts at salvation. As the old country western song puts it, we’re constantly “looking for love in all the wrong places.”
What Jesus wanted for the young man was for him to fear, love and trust God above all things and in doing so discover eternal life. And even though the young man couldn’t let go of his many possessions, Jesus still loved him. Perhaps later the man became part of the WAY, what the followers of Jesus originally were called. Maybe then he gave all of his money and possessions away or maybe he didn’t. We don’t know. But we know that after he went away grieving, Jesus looked around at his disciples, the ones who’d left everything to follow him, and blessed them with the promise of eternal life. Note, he didn’t promise a life without hardship, for he speaks of persecutions, but a life worth living, one filled with the promises of God.
So how do we do this? First know, Jesus looks at you and loves you! Unconditionally loves you! You did nothing to earn this love or deserve it. It is a gift. Then believe and trust that love to the core of your being. It can be hard to do, for we can feel unworthy, that we don’t measure up, that we are not good enough and rightly so. When you struggle with this, as did Martin Luther, make the sign of the cross and declared, “I am baptized.” Remember Jesus died for you, went to hell and back for you, so that you may know eternal life, life full and rich and real, now and forever. Then make your best guess at living life, knowing we’ll never get it completely right, that we’ll come up short, will need to run back to Jesus and fall on our knees.
Then trust God for whom all things are possible. Be kind, especially to people with whom you disagree. Give generously to others to those recovering from the hurricanes and other disasters. Care about the ones left behind, children yet to be reunited with their parents and all those in foster care waiting for a forever family. Feed the hungry by heling with the meal at St. Peter’s this week. Volunteer. Vote. And know, always know, goodness is stronger than evil. Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote a beautiful son with this title. Let’s sing it #721 – we’ll do it twice. Amen.
