Grace and peace to you from God our father and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ Amen
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
This man has run up to Jesus as he and the disciples are on the road
He knelt at Jesus feet and asked this question
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
He seems like a righteous person because
We hear how he has kept the commandments all his life
Jesus says he is lacking in one thing
"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."
But that one thing Jesus asks of him
Goes completely against the culture of his day
And to a certain extent today as well
You see in this man's day
People who had many possessions were assumed to be blessed by God
And those who were poor must be so because God has cursed them
We may not say it the same way today
But the attitude is the same
In America the idea is that someone who is successful
Has achieved the American dream!
We judge people by their economic status
Those who are rich must be smart and savvy
And we admire them
But the poor
Well they just aren't trying hard enough
They need to pull themselves up by their own boot straps
And we think less of them
It's funny what this gospel reading does to us
The temptation to explain it away somehow is so great
Isn't it?
We turn on the rich man
And say he was greedy
That's why he couldn't let go of his stuff
Or we say he was rich
Jesus was only making a point about rich people
And since I'm not rich (at least not as rich as him!)
This saying does not apply to me
Or we try to say Jesus was just talking hypothetically
He didn't really mean that the man had to sell everything
Did he?
We are shocked by what Jesus says next too
As the man is walking away Jesus says
"How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
And he says it again!
"Children, how hard it is 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."
When the disciples freak out and say "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus response takes us right back to the beginning of our reading
"For mortals it is impossible, but not for God;
For God all things are possible."
Wait, what?
What about what you said before??
Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor,
And you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
Jesus do you mean we don't have to earn our way into heaven?
What about all our stuff?
What about all our money?
You mean.....
"For God all things are possible."
Why didn't you say that in the first place??
Being wealthy doesn't get us in
Giving up everything doesn't get us in
So what does?
How can we attain eternal life?
"For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
All that striving for perfection?
All that work?
I can't work my way into heaven?
It doesn't matter what you have
Whether you have a lot or a little
God loves you
And that is how you enter the kingdom of heaven
Does this mean that we do not have to be good?
No
We love because God first loved us
And God gives us a template
Or how we are invited to respond
Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself
Amen
Love God, love your neighbor, be the body of Christ in the world Rev. Marie Meeks Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church preachymarie@gmail.com