"American Idol"
Mark 10:17-31
Sermon Presented on October 25, 2008
At St. Paul United Methodist Church
By Mike Smith
Although the title of the sermon, American Idol, may invoke visions of three celebrities setting in judgment of some one who believes they have talent, this morning we will not be subject to a host of contestants hoping their talent will land them a moment in the spotlight. If you will admit to watching the television program "American Idol", you know the program does not suggest we worship the personalities appearing on the program. It would be foolish to believe intelligent Americans would lift the winners, the American Idols, as beings worthy of our devotion and praise. How ridiculous to think we would place our faith in the likes of Carrie Underwood or Clay Aiken.
Are we as Americans guilty of idolatry? We are not primitive enough to dance around a lifeless, human formed, object; working ourselves into frenzy, hoping that the powerful object will grant us happiness, security, longevity, or prosperity. And we would never offer a human sacrifice to achieve any of those desires.
But is our life really a form of idol worship? Too often we place money and possessions in the center of life and dance around that object filling our lives with emotion to the point of frenzy, hoping we will gain a little more stuff. We sacrifice the quality of our life and those we love daily as we focus our energies on accumulating just a little more, always wanting the same happiness, security, longevity, or prosperity of those primitive idolaters. What is our American Idol?
The author, theologian, and Harvard Law School graduate, William Stringfellow, served as a street lawyer in East Harlem, and believed all Christians are called to give their lives away. He believed idolatry "represents the enshrinement of any other person or thing in the place of God". Idolatry, says Stingfellow, "embraces some person or thing, instead of God, as the source and rationalization of the moral significance of this life."
We are reminded of the early Christians who suffered persecution and death when they refused to worship Caesar. Many courageously gave their life as a testimony to their faith. How would we respond if we were asked to choose between vowing loyalty to an idol or following the example of Jesus?
In our gospel lesson this morning, we find a young man facing that very dilemma. He had identified himself with his possessions, his stuff, to the point that he could not "unstuff" himself for the sake of the poor or for his own sake. When faced with the possibilities of an unknown life as a disciple of Jesus or to remain in his comfortable, secure, in-control, in-charge self, he chose the life of power and control. He put his trust, his faith, and his security in the temporal, in that made by humans.
Notice the interaction between the young man and Jesus, and the response of the on-looking disciples. Immediately, we see genuine piety, as the young man runs to Jesus, kneels, and addresses Jesus as "Good Teacher", demonstrating the young man's respect for Jesus. Then he asks a question that demonstrates sincere interest in the most important aspects of the teachings of Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus looking beyond all of these outward gestures, examines the young man's heart, and responds with a portion of the law that speaks to relationships with others. The young man feels confident that he has not broken any of the "big commandments". It looks like he is in; he has always kept the commandments.
But Jesus always finds a way to challenge us when we get to feeling a little too self-righteous. He wants the young man to look at his motives and priorities before moving to the next level of commitment. Jesus responds to this ego-centric thinking, not out of condemnation, anger, or ridicule, but with love. Some scholars believe the Greek word used by Mark here portrays Jesus touching the young man as he speaks to him, perhaps placing his hands on the shoulders of the young man, and with just a few inches separating their eyes, Jesus looks into the young man's soul and lovingly reveals what is lacking in his life, the young man's relationship with God, an attachment to his stuff.
Jesus said there is one thing you lack. Sell all you have, give to the poor to have treasure in heaven, and follow me. If he lacked one thing, why did Jesus tell him to do three things? Was Jesus making it more difficult for the young man who had everything? Was he giving him a multiple choice question? Of course not, he was asking the young ruler to take a three-fold step leading to one action. It is the same he asks of us today; remove the idol in your life, the thing, person, object, job, or possession that stands between you and God. What is the thing you worship? Give it to someone who can benefit from it, someone in need, and someone whose life will be changed. By this action, you have demonstrated that you have moved the priorities and focus of your life from a self-centered, short-lived, type of existence to one of the eternal realm. Only at that point, can we become a disciple of Jesus. Jesus makes it clear that nothing less than a complete commitment to God and God alone will enable a believer to inherit eternal life. In the mind of Jesus all three actions were needed to inherit eternal life. We can't walk with Jesus dragging our idols behind us.
The ministry of Jesus began with the poor, those society had overlooked, those who were oppressed by the structures of the Roman Empire, as well as the religious isolation of Judaism. The first century Jew believed that wealth was a sign of divine favor of Jehovah and the law actually restricted almsgiving to the poor. The gospel of prosperity preached today is similar to this belief, but is simply a secularization of what Jesus taught. If this young man could give to the causes most dear to the Savior, it was precursor to a life of commitment. We see in the story, the young man walked away shocked and sorrowful, for "he had many possessions." Some translations say "his face fell" or "his countenance fell." The point is the enthusiasm that once filled the face of this young man now was one of dejection and disappointment. The sense of worth he ascribed to his status, power, security, and abundance were revealed for their true eternal worth.
Perhaps there were tears in the eyes of Jesus as he turned to the disciples and said, "You have just witnessed how difficult it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God." Then again he repeats his statement, he says, "Do you understand what you just witnessed? Realizing, from experience with these twelve, they never understood things the first or second time around, Jesus said something remarkable and unbelievable. He said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Don't you know that cleared it up for the confused disciples
Now he had their attention, but they were still tied to their understanding of riches as being a sign of God's blessing. One of them asks, "If it is that difficult for those who have plenty, how can anyone be saved?" That was exactly what Jesus wanted to hear. That question indicated the disciples were not accepting the standard of the day as the answer to peace and fulfillment, they were asking for an understanding of what they had experienced while following this one who was turning all popular notions up-side down.
To understand the significance of their question, we need to examine the social context of the time. During the New Testament times, there were, generally speaking, only two social classes; the rich and the poor. Jesus spent much of his ministry with the poor, seldom criticizing them for their belief or lack belief, as he did the rich and the prominent religious leaders. Since there were only two classes, if one was not poor, then that person was rich. Being rich meant having a place to live and having a vocation with enough income to feed your family. Many believe James and John were wealthy when they left a successful family owned fishing business and Luke was a prominent physician. Therefore, if you place the words of Jesus in this context, he was saying, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that it is for a person that is not poor to enter the Kingdom of God." Was Jesus saying the poor have a free pass? No, he was saying the poor do not have obstacles, stuff, possessions standing in their way.
But does Jesus really expect us to sell all we have, that is difficult enough, but to give it away, that doesn't seem practical or responsible. We don't simply sell what we have or give away what we have to receive the favor of God, it is unmerited love. God loves us regardless of our actions, it is God's prevenient grace. But if we want to be a disciple of Jesus, to walk in his ways, to love as he loves, to see beyond the temporal as he does, then removing those barriers allows us to freely follow without the "chains that bind us", as Charles Wesley describes in his hymn.
It is possible for a person to have resources and not be mastered by them. Resources, when used properly, can free rather than limit, neither do possessions have to define a person. When Jesus responded to the question of the disciples by saying with humans it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God, but with God all things are possible, he was speaking not only of how the rich come to God, but how all humanity enters into a relationship, only through God's action. The impossibility leaves only one possibility, that with God all things are possible.
Speaking from a global perspective, America is a wealthy nation. We spend more on lunch than some earn all month. 1.3 Billion people in the world live on a dollar a day. From that perspective we are rich. Even in this country, there are millions who are trapped in poverty and suffer the alienation, stigma, hopelessness, frustration, and physical needs accompanying poverty. From that perspective we are rich. But we are skewed; we are a people influenced by overconsumption. Commercialism tells us the more we have, the happier we are. We are brainwashed to selfishly believe that fulfillment comes from gaining the latest electronic gadget, obtaining improved home furnishings, purchasing the newest fashions, living in nicer homes, or driving newer vehicles. The average North American consumes five times more than someone from Mexico, 10 times more than someone from China, and 30 times more than a person from India. Americans comprise only 5% of the world's population but consume 30% of its resources.
The founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, believed so much in helping the poor, he taught that one was not a Christian if that person did not perform works of mercy for the poor. He called it sanctifying grace. These were acts of gratitude based upon what Christ has done for the believer. Wesley determined what he needed to live, what he called the necessities of life, and gave away all the rest. Some believe Wesley gave away over $250,000 in his lifetime, a sizeable sum for the eighteenth century. In Acts we are told that the early church gathered together all of their possessions, sold them, and distributed the money among themselves and to those in need.
If Wesley so passionately believed this, and Jesus lived and taught this, and the early church practiced, I believe there is application and meaning for me, and for all of us.
So, I ask again. In order to follow the instructions Jesus gave the young man, do we sell what we have, give the money to the poor, and only then begin to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? Or do we determine what we need; our basic necessities as Wesley called them, give the rest away to the poor, and then follow Jesus? What is that ties us so strongly to our possessions? My wife, Nancy, and I are struggling with this in our life and are still seeking an answer. We have been engaged in some interesting dialogue.
I am confident there is a clear message for us, that as long as our life is focused on acquiring possessions and gaining more "riches", we are not following Jesus at the level he wants, expects, and demands. Our lives are full of clutter, stuff that clutters our homes, our lives, our minds, and our souls. Removing that clutter is the first step in understanding discipleship. We have to drop what limits us in exchange for what frees us. The greatness of this principle is that giving away our possessions makes a difference on two levels, for the giver and the receiver. Sometimes it is difficult to determine who is the neediest and whose life is most changed as a result of the action. The author Jim Wallis says, "The question to be asked is not what we should give to the poor, but when we will stop taking from the poor. The poor are not our problem; we are their problem."
We hear the word stewardship used most frequently when we talk about financial giving to the church. However, the concept is much broader. Stewardship involves the understanding that the things we own are God's, we are only looking after them. This is a difficult concept, but essential in understanding following Jesus. We are actually giving everything we have back to God. Our houses, our cars, our health, our relationships, our abundance, everything; we give up with the belief that we do not have a right to these things, in fact; even our next breath is not ours. If possessions and resources are not ours, they cannot define us or limit us.
Author Evy McDonald says, "Freedom from the idolatry of money is a freedom from dependence upon the pursuit, acquisition, or accumulation of money for the sake of justifying oneself or one's conduct, actions, or opinions. It means freedom to have money, to use money, to spend money without worshiping it, as well as the freedom to do without money if need be or having some to give away to someone in need."
When I look at how God has abundantly blessed me and then examine how much following Jesus has cost me, I am embarrassed and convicted. But when I read this story and see the way Jesus loved this young man, I know that as I genuinely seek to become a disciple, Christ will lovingly and mercifully guide me. I must be willing to count the cost and be obedient, and not sadly walk away. I invite you to join Nancy and me in this journey in understanding the cost and meaning of discipleship.
The story of the rich young ruler occurs in the context of Jesus moving toward the cross. Earlier he said, "If anyone wishes to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." In the shadow of the cross, Jesus was aware of sacrifice and commitment, and what would be necessary for one to follow his life and teaching, fulfilling the mission he would leave for believers.
The familiar hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" presents the message in a convicting manner with the words, "my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride" and "all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. Is our Christianity costing us anything? What have we given up to follow Jesus? May God speak to us as we examine our hearts and consider our faithfulness as a disciple.
God, we ask that you speak as we evaluate our response to your call for discipleship. Although we are on this journey together, we realize you speak to us individually, in much the same way Jesus spoke to the young ruler. Give us the courage to do what you ask, to be obedient, and not walk away in sorrow. Amen.
Benediction
I believe I came face to face with this difficult understanding of the role possessions play in my life a few weeks ago. One of the professors in my class asked us to give away a valuable possession. Normally when I give something to the poor, usually through an established organization, it is something that I no longer want, doesn't fit, is out of style, or never liked, sort of the stuff that fills our Ice Cream/BINGO Social tables. But this assignment was to give away something of value to us. As I looked through our home, I found many things that were of value to me, not necessarily of any market value. I realized I could not explain my obsession or my need to cling to those lifeless objects, which were in them selves incapable of giving what I wanted from them. I came face to face with my self centeredness and my lack of understanding of those with less, and unfortunately, my weak commitment to being a disciple. That was one object. It was the most difficult assignment I have ever received. If you want to grow as a disciple, I challenge you to the same assignment. What you may discover may not be too pretty. But it is at that point, I believe we are only beginning to understand what Jesus was telling the young man in the Gospel, and telling us at St. Paul.
Now, may the Lord who gave us everything to watch over, and loves us so much He patiently waits for us to respond, guide you and bless you as we journey together in discipleship. Amen.