“You’ve Got to be Kidding?”

A Sermon Preached by

The Rev. Paul Debenport

October 18, 2009

+     +     +

          OK, I hadn’t really planned to do what can only be perceived as a stewardship sermon this month; that’s usually in November.  And I surely hadn’t planned to use this lectionary, Gospel text for this month, as I’ve successfully avoided it for decades.  It just made me so uncomfortable knowing how discomforting it is for all of us.  And when it popped up as a lectionary text for this month, I’m not sure why I couldn’t just skip over it as easily as in other years.  Maybe it’s because I’m older now, at least a little more trusting, and a little more able to trust God to let the deep and even joyous truth of it into my life and into our church’s life.  And maybe it’s because I’m not as intimidated by the complaints, rationalizations, really, of many church folks who say they don’t come to church because we’re always talking about money.  And along that line, it’s probably a story from James McCord, the president of Princeton Seminary when I was there that I ran across recently that prompted me to take this text on, or more accurately, to be taken on by it.   McCord tells about a Scots pastor who called on a delinquent member.  The man said that he had been absent because, when he attends church, all he hears is “give, give, give.”  The thoughtful minister responded, “Well, I cannot think of a better definition of Christianity than that.”1.

Which is clearly true in Jesus’ proclamation in Mark 10: 17—27:

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus said to him, “Why do you

 call me good?  No one is good but God alone.  You know the commandments:  `You

shall murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear

false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and mother.’”  He said to Jesus,

“Teacher I have kept all these since my youth.”  Jesus, looking at him, loved him and

 said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  When he heard this,

he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.  Then Jesus

looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have

wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were perplexed at these

words.  But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the

kingdom of God!  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.” 

They were greatly astounded and said to o ne another, “Then who

can be saved?”  Jesus looked at  them and said, “For mortals it

is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

          “You’ve got to be kidding!” is what I think the disciples nervously exclaimed to Jesus upon hearing Jesus telling this story of the rich, young ruler who couldn’t let go of his attachment to his wealth.  The text says the disciples were “greatly astounded,” but can’t you just hear Peter, especially, blurting out “You’ve got to be kidding?”

          Which down through the centuries has often been the response of many Christian preachers, finding some rather clever ways to try to soften the impact of this passage to make us less uncomfortable with it.  For instance, some Biblical Greek scholars think the way around it is that the word we translate as “camel” would be better translated as “rope.”    And, yes, it would be easier to get a rope through the eye of a needle than a camel, which might make it remotely possible, anyway.

          Others have proclaimed that the issue is our understanding of the phrase “the eye of the needle.”  They proclaimed that the “eye of the needle” was actually a city gate in Jerusalem which was very narrow and low.  To get a camel through it would have been almost impossible.  The key word here being “almost.”  Some preachers even turned this view into a nice, pious story by saying that a camel could get through the “Eye of the Needle” Gate on its own, but to do so it would have to drop to its knees; hence, if we’ll drop to our knees in prayer, it’s possible for us wealthy Christians to enter the kingdom on our own.  When I was a teenager—and youth do hear sermons more than we may think— I actually remember hearing a sermon that proclaimed this view.  I also remember how relieved I felt, knowing that even I was rich by Jesus’ standards.   I think I, too, concluded that Jesus was only kidding.

          But by far the most common solution to the problem this passage raises in us is to suggest that it is an example of hyperbole—an exaggeration on Jesus’ part to make his point.  “You know how hard it will be for a wealthy person [or a wealthy church] to enter the kingdom of heaven? Why, it would be easier for Ralph Nader to win a presidential election or for the Lobo football to win the national championship.”  So, many have proclaimed, Jesus is just using poetic license here.  He’s just kidding, right?2.

          Wrong.  I believe the key to this encounter between Jesus and this rich, but sincerely Godly man is the text’s poignant phrase that Jesus “loved him.”  And because Jesus loved him, because Jesus saw his anguish, saw his enslavement to his possessions, saw his yearning to truly be close to God, Jesus simply spoke the truth in love to him—truth about the man himself, about human nature itself, and the truth about trusting God and about following Jesus into the kingdom of God.

          Human nature.  As Jesus is simply, if bluntly proclaiming here, it’s just a fact that those of us with the most money seem to have the hardest time trusting God.  Research into church giving statistics surely bears this out.  Consistently across denominations and even across faiths, the people and the churches with the least give by far the highest percentage of their resources and actually seem to feel more joyful about it.  Why is this, I wonder?  Well, maybe it’s because they’ve had to learn to trust God more.  The rich young ruler had never had to really trust God for his daily bread or anything else, really; he could always buy what he needed.  But the one thing he really needed he found he couldn’t buy.  “How can I inherit eternal life?” he sincerely wants to know.  To which, because Jesus loves him, he responds with the simple truth:  “By letting go.  By learning, as the poor have learned, to put all your trust in God, and follow Jesus into the kingdom of eternal life.”

          Eternal life, abundant life, kingdom of God life.  You see, Jesus isn’t just talking about life beyond this earthly life.  He’s talking about beginning to live the kingdom life now, a life of giving and serving, of trusting God and of following Jesus.  That life can begin right now and extends eternally.  Jesus is offering the man [and us, as individuals and us as a church] a joyful life now, the life that trusts God completely and exclusively.  For Jesus does not just say “Give all your money to the poor” and you will have purchased life after death for yourself, like some cosmic insurance plan.  Jesus isn’t offering a commercial transaction here, which would demean them both.  No, Jesus wants a relationship of mutual love and mutual trust, so Jesus also says “Come, follow me” into the kingdom life now, and your life now and forever will have the meaning, the purpose, the joy, the peace you so want and so need.  This is not possible for you all on your own, but it is totally possible with God.  Put your trust in God and in God alone and all things are possible!”

            Jesus loved him and loves us.  Thus Jesus spoke the truth in love—the truth of how absolutely hard it is for those with much to entrust themselves to God.  Jesus loves us too much to kid around.  Rather he offers us all, the opportunity to follow him into the joy of the kingdom life now and forevermore, for with God all things, all good things, are indeed, possible.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.