Mark 10:17-31
Just over a week ago I flew to Tasmania for a short holiday. I am a Qantas Frequent Flyer, so I clicked the button where I could ask to be upgraded to business class for each flight. It’s always a bit of the roll of a dice, but now and then you can use your points to move out of cattle class and sit amongst the beautiful people.
Now, I don’t want to upset anyone, or brag, or big note myself, but I can report that I was upgraded on my flight from Perth to Hobart, AND I was upgraded on my flight from Hobart to Perth.
I should tell you that COVID has ravaged business class flying, and the cuisine and wine list have been greatly diminished. Business class is not what it once was. I’m sure that you are full of sympathy for me.
Being rich is wonderful, isn’t it? Sometimes we get a little taste of it. You know, a posh meal somewhere or a fancy hotel room, or flying business or first class? It’s terrific. Christianity, of course, arose among the poor and for the early centuries membership was predominantly drawn from the poor. But since at least the time of the Emperor Constantine, there have been Christians among the most wealthy and powerful. But most of us – most of you – aren’t really in the 1%. I don’t think there’s anyone in this congregation who would describe themselves as rich.
So when the gospel of Mark introduces a man who ‘has many possessions’, and goes on to say ‘how hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ most of us don’t think ‘oh that applies to me’. Most of us perceive ourselves neither as poor or rich. Like Goldilock’s porridge, we are just right.
Now, you probably know where I am going with this, and you’ve probably already worked it out for yourself. The truth is that all of us are here today, by global and historical standards, rich. The rule of thumb is, if you have access to a clean flushing toilet, you’re rich. And I know that some of you even have TWO flushing toilets. So, when the Jesus of the gospels talks about riches or wealth, he is not excluding us. We are included.
The man with many possessions was confident that he had followed all the commandments. He was almost dismissive of Jesus’ invitation to consider his life in the light of the commandments. ‘I have kept all these since my youth’ he declares – which is a fairly brazen thing to say. I mean, would you feel confident saying you’ve kept all the ten commandments flawlessly since you were a kid? I wouldn’t. Crikey, I wouldn’t be confident saying I’ve kept the commandments since I got out of bed this morning. But this fella thinks he’s the cat’s pyjamas, and is entitled to entry to the new world that Jesus is proclaiming.
Jesus has a different view.
This guy is probably a perfectly nice guy. He’s probably hasn’t murdered his grandmother or drowned kittens, but he’s also not perfect. His sense of entitlement is pretty strong. He’s arrogant. So Jesus makes it clear that there are no minimum standards to be met. You can’t just tick the boxes and enter the kingdom, it actually requires a sacrifice and change of life.
The man with many possessions is essentially asking ‘what is the least I can do?’. ‘What’s the absolute rock bottom bare minimum I can do to get the good thing you’ve got? Jesus’ response, to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor, make it clear that this is not a process of meeting minimum standards. The deeper we get into the kingdom, the more we learn, the more we grow, and the more is asked of us. We never reach a point of perfection. We are never complete, we are always a work in progress.
So if you and I are works in progress, the question today is not ‘should I flog all my stuff and give it away’ but rather ‘what is the next step on my journey towards the kingdom’.
So what is your next step? Is it something to do with possessions, and your relationship with money? Is it something to do with prayer? Is there some unresolved resentment or conflict you need to work on, or some harm of which you need to repent? Is there something you’ve been putting off, or something you know you need to do (or not do)?
We must never rest on our laurels, and think we have ‘made it’. We never get to the point of saying we are fully mature, fully grown, fully spiritually healthy. There’s always another step to take on the journey. The good thing about each step is that it is not just taking on more work, more duties, more tasks. We in fact take on more freedom, more hope and more opportunity for love and compassion. The many with many possessions was shocked went away grieving. But we don’t have to be like him. When God invites us to let go, to change and to grow, we can embrace this opportunity whole-heartedly.
It will never be easy, but it will always be good, and draw us closer to the kingdom of God.
The Lord Be With You
