The Blessing of Choices

Ah, the story of the only person Jesus invites to follow him who says, “No.” Nobody likes this story. In scholarly study, the least comfortable passages are accepted as the most accurate. Over time, we see that the monks as they copied the manuscripts made corrections that helped passages make more sense, edits that were surely what was meant because what was there had to be wrong…it was just too harsh. So, even though we may not like this story, we can be sure that it happened. The Gospel writers would not have told this story if it didn’t really happen. There are some slight variations, Matthew tells us that he was a young man with much wealth, while Luke tells us he was a very wealthy ruler. Mark, the earliest of the Gospels to be written, tells us the least about the man. All Mark tells us about him is that he had great wealth. He may have been a ruler. He may have been young. Mark, though, knows that this story is important for people who are not rulers and people who are not young. Everyone with great wealth needs to hear this story and realize that they could be this man, and they have a choice to make.

We need to hear his story. First, this man is the type who says “please” and “thank you” without thinking. He shows respect and honor to Jesus as he rushes to meet him in the road and falls to his knees, addressing him, “Good teacher,” without even thinking because that is how you address a Rabbi.

Jesus knows his address was habitual, “Why do you call me “good?” and he shifts the man’s focus, “No one is good except God alone.” And then he addresses the man’s question, “What should I do to inherit the eternal life?”

Now, I think it is extremely important for us to understand what he is asking. The man is not asking about heaven, or life after death, or life in an alternate universe or another dimension. The man is asking about the time they commonly termed “The Age to Come” on earth, the sometimes they called it the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. All of those terms they used to describe the time when the world will be ruled according to God’s will. The Jewish people knew that the way the Romans were ruling was not the way God wanted life to be. People were oppressed, good people suffered, injustice seemed to prevail, lying and sin were prevalent, and people who were just wicked seemed to get away with it. What he is really asking is, “What should I do to inherit the life God wants for me?”

And Jesus says, “You know the commandments.” You see, when God gave Moses the Commandments when God’s people had escaped slavery in Egypt and were forming a new society, a new way of life, God gave us the rules for life that will result in the Age to Come, when God’s Will being done on earth. Jesus’s list, though, is interesting, “Don’t kill. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t swear falsely. Don’t defraud. Honor your father and your mother.”

The man doesn’t seem to notice that Jesus knows which ones he has kept, “Teacher, I’ve kept all of them since I was little!”

But, what about the ones that Jesus didn’t list? Can you think of them? Don’t defraud is extra from another part of the Exodus story. Jesus leaves out 5: I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me, you shall not make idols, you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, and you shall not covet your neighbor’s possessions.

Jesus looked hard at him and loved him. The man didn’t even realize those were missing. This man lives in a world of inheriting and rights. He doesn’t ask what he can do to bring about the Age to Come. He doesn’t ask how to enter the Age to Come. He uses “the language of property and economic privilege” – what must I do to inherit eternal life! He thinks as long as he hadn’t hurt anybody, that that’s really what matters.

His line of thinking wasn’t unusual for someone who was wealthy. There was a widespread cultural assumption that wealth was a sign of God’s favor. Prosperity gospel, the false teaching that faith and success are linked by God’s will, that God rewards those who are good with health and wealth, has its insidious roots much deeper than healing revivals and televangelism. Jesus stood there, looking at the man, loving him, and if Jesus had been from the South, he would have said, “Bless your heart.”

“One more thing, go and sell whatever you possess and give the money to the poor. Then, come and follow me.” Crestfallen, he walks away sadly.

Jesus answered his question, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” “Come on! Follow me!” I think the reason that we don’t like this story, the reason it bothers us is not just because we don’t like his choice. We realize Jesus’s invitation is a blessing. And it echoes down through the ages to us, “Come on! Follow me!” This story bothers us because we have to choose as well. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.