“One More Thing” 

Mark 10:17-31

Hebrews 4:12-16 

I've heard it said that you should never listen to a faith healer wearing a bad toupee.  Today, I am asking you to listen to a sermon on the rich young man by a preacher who drives a sports car.  You'll have to decide what that means after the sermon. 

I'd like to start by telling you what the sermon is not about.  In old Jerusalem, there was a pedestrian gate set within a larger gate.  It was short and narrow; a camel would not be able to get through it standing up; a fully loaded camel would not be able to get through at all.  Many a sermon has been preached about how much you must remove from your camel, how many of your riches you remove, before you can get the camel through the gate.  Perhaps the idea is that once you have unloaded enough from your camel you can get your camel through the eye of the needle and then you can get into heaven.  Of course, these sermons continue with the idea that if you are having difficulty getting rid of your riches and need some help, we could always ask the ushers to pass the collection plates around again, just to help you get into heaven. 

Unfortunately, such a gate doesn't seem to have been built until the middle ages, many, many centuries after Christ.  Further, there is no record of this gate ever having been called the eye of the needle or the needle gate.   Still, if you have some riches you would like to get rid of .... 

Turning to the Scripture, this man came running up to Jesus; in Luke and Matthew he is called the rich young ruler.  Mark concentrates on the individual and his wealth, not his social status.  Rich men did not run back then; did not run up to any wandering teacher on the street.  Yet this one seemed to know of Jesus, must have heard enough about Jesus to run, seeking him out, kneeling, and addressing Jesus with a rather inflated greeting as he asked “What does it take to inherit eternal life?” 

Jesus asked him if he knew the commandments: Thou shall not murder, Thou shall not commit adultery, or steal, or defraud.  This man was able to answer that he knew the commandments and had kept them from his youth.   

I wonder what I would say if Jesus asked me if I knew the commandments?  If I had kept them from my youth? And you? 

You might have noted that there was a slight change in one of them: instead of “Thou shall not covet” Jesus reworded this as “Thou shall not defraud”.  Many rich people of the time acquired wealth through perhaps less than ethical means; or, even if ethical, many did so at the expense of the poor.  Still, the rich man could say that he had kept all the commandments from his youth.  Jesus accepts this statement, does not question the man's honesty; Mark even comments that Jesus loved him. 

And then Jesus asks him for just one more thing: sell what you own, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me.  The man went away shocked, the disciples were shocked and dismayed.  It had long been assumed that the rich were rich because God had blessed them for their obedience and faithfulness.  If these riches were a gift from God, why is Jesus saying to give them away?  Perhaps there was also some practical concerns on the part of the disciples.  Here is someone who wants to join them, someone rich who could help support them, and Jesus is turning him away.  Clearly, Jesus is saying, asking for something, that is different than what the culture assumed; different than what the religious culture assumed. 

Needless to say, the disciples wanted to know more about this.  And Jesus again stated that there is a problem with riches.  The repeated use of this riches, wealth, money makes it very hard to generalize this passage as applying to whatever we hold too dear to our hearts, too dear to give up for Jesus.  Jesus repeatedly states that this is about riches.  With money we think we are independent, we believe that we can trade money for anything, put a price on anything.  All of our advertising bombards us with the message that everything, to include happiness, can be bought.  Jesus is calling us to dependence, to a realization that all that matters can not be bought regardless of our riches.   

There seems to be a need for an attitude adjustment as much as a financial adjustment.  Yes, it is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than getting a camel through the eye of a needle, a common idiom of the day.  It did not express difficulty, it expressed impossibility.  It isn't difficult, it is impossible.  And the disciples, and probably us, were left wondering: who then could be saved? 

The part we often miss is the next line:  For mortals, it is impossible, but not for God.  For God, all things are possible.  Whether we expect to inherit heaven, buy our way in with riches or beg for entry as a poor person, it is impossible for us to save ourselves.  But it is not impossible for God to save us. 

As Jesus continues to explain we find that those who give up riches, and mother and brothers and spouses and fields for Jesus sake will receive a hundredfold more.  Before you start to multiple today's offering by a hundred, I should mention that hundredfold is used to denote an abundance of riches, a great blessing, and is not a precise accounting term.  I'm not sure about you, but I love my spouse.  However, I am not positive that I want to be blessed with a hundred wives. 

And, oh, there is just one more thing.  Not only will you receive all these blessings, greatly multiplied in return for what you have given up for Jesus, but you will also receive persecution along with the blessings.  Persecution?  People get nervous when they see others doing things that they do not understand.  Giving up all your riches does not make sense to most people.  Giving them to the poor in the name of Jesus makes less sense.  To see people actively and visibly living their faith can bring out great things in people; it can also bring out negatives such as jealousy, embarrassment, even persecution. 

Oh, there is one more thing: in the age to come you will have eternal life. 

Reviewing this Scripture, we hear that it is impossible for the rich to get into heaven by their own efforts, but it is also impossible for any mortal to do so.  We are to give away what we have, but then we will be blessed with more of what we have given away.  And we will be blessed with persecution in this age.  And eternal life in the age to come. 

This passage has been a challenge to Christians throughout the ages.  It has been explained away so that the rich may remain rich.  It has led others to give away all they have and join monasteries and convents, dependent upon the rich to provide support for their next meal.  It has caused despair.  It has driven some rich people away from church doors, shocked as they walk away grieving, just as the man in this passage, unable to give up what they had and convinced that they would never see heaven. 

It is a challenge still today.  Perhaps a story will help.  A minister was leading a conference of Native Americans.  After the final talk, an individual came forward and offered the minister a beautiful, big belt buckle.  The minister refused saying that it was too beautiful for him to accept, that the intricate hand crafted design was worth far more than he could take.  Again, the offer was made.  This time the minister refused, trying to make light of the offer, saying that with the very ample size of his stomach, such a belt buckle would only draw attention to what he considered one of his faults.  The Indian offered yet again with the question “Why do you assume that you must hold onto a gift, that you must keep it for yourself?” 

I believe that this passage is about how tightly we are holding onto our wealth, what we expect our riches to buy for us.  The rich man in Mark thought that he was entitled to inherit the kingdom of God; if not, he was perhaps ready to bargain for it.  He was holding tightly to his money; Jesus told him to let go of it.  For it is impossible to receive a gift, to have open and accepting hands when they are grasping something else.  It is impossible for a camel, or us, to get through the eye of a needle.  But it is possible for God to give us such a gift.  We need to let go of our riches so that we can receive God's gift. 

And when we do, when we are blessed with a hundredfold increase, then what?  Well, when we realize that those blessings are a gift from God as well, then we are less likely to hold onto them as our own; more likely to pass them on to others.  As with the belt buckle, there is no reason to assume that we have to, or even should, keep them for ourselves. 

On the practical level, how much do we give away?  When are we no longer rich?  Is giving 10% to God enough?  Sorry, there are no easy answers here.  It talks of all of our wealth.  Yet we know that the disciples were not rich beyond measure; nor were they reduced to poverty.  Peter kept his house in Capernaum, perhaps even the fishing boats that Jesus taught from.  There were followers of Jesus who supported him and the disciples out of their personal riches.  There is an unanswered tension here; a tension between having much, giving away all, and then having even more.   I can not give you a simplistic formula that will assure you that you have given enough to Jesus; that you are poor enough to inherit the kingdom of God. 

But I can share with you my struggle on this topic.  The five year old sports car I drive is from a previous life, one in which I was focused on getting my share of riches.  It is comfortable, fun, gets good gas mileage and is paid for.  Back then, I did give to the church and other charities; but I sure grasped onto the rest with a very tight fist.  I have tried to open my fist, to let go of what I have so that it can be used by God.  I am still trying, still resisting the tendency to regard money as mine.  I desire to view all that I have as a gift from God; like the belt buckle, a gift to be passed onto others.  Part of the reason that I have entered interim ministry is that I want to be reminded, time and time again, that God provides each new opportunity to serve; each position, is a gift of God.  I stand in tension between the old life represented by the sports car and the new life represented by short term ministry.  A positive future and a reminder of past attitudes; a reminder not to slip back into those attitudes.  I find that there is a great blessing in acknowledging that God is providing for my needs. 

My only advice for you as you struggle with this passage is the idea of one more thing.  To know and keep the commandments is important; but Jesus asked for one more thing: give away your riches to the poor and come, follow him.  When you do give away your riches you will be greatly blessed by more riches; and one more thing called persecution, for this world does not understand and even fears such actions.  And after that, there is one more thing: the greatest gift ever given to mankind: in the age to come the gift of eternal life.  My prayer for each of us is that we might open our hands, let go of our wealth, so that we can receive this most wonderful gift. 

October 15, 2006

Rev. Al Hammond

First Presbyterian Church

Logan, Utah