Sermon Tone Analysis

Normal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'>I speak to you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - Amen 

This morning we are mixing things up a little bit,

The first two hymns were changed from what is in your bulletins, as the choir felt they could better lead you in praise and worship filled song with something a little more familiar

And as you likely have noticed I didn’t read the Gospel reading earlier in the typical place in our liturgy

The reason for the change in the latter was because I want to approach the Gospel with a certain framework

I wanted to suggest how you might approach hearing this story in the life of our Lord Jesus which I will read momentarily

 

First – right before our situation that we have today the Pharisees have been part of the crowd that has been following Jesus around

They have infiltrated those disciples and have taken the opportunity to ask difficult questions of this Rabbi that has attracted the attention of the whole region

            Why the Pharisees have done this we don’t know

But Jesus has just faced questions on divorce, and if you think it is a problem for us these days… at Jesus’ time, it was practiced far more frequently and carelessly, and usually at the whims of men looking for any excuse to shed responsibility

Second idea to keep in your head as I read the gospel story today – is that all the questions that people pose to Jesus reveal a deep heart desire – a deep search

            Thirdly and finally, Jesus responses are caring, loving, pastoral responses

                       

Prior tricky difficult questions, followed by deep heart searching questions, with pastoral loving responses

 

The Holy Gospel:              Mark 10: 17-31                    (page 40, NT)

  Leader:          The Lord be with You

*  People:          And also with you*

  Leader:          The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark

*  People:          Glory be to Thee, O Lord*

* *

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

18 Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?

No one is good but God alone.

19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’”

20 He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing.

Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

22 At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples were amazed at his words.

So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.

All things are possible for God.”

28 Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.”

29 Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

30 who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

31 But many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first.”[1]

* *

/(After lesson)/               Leader:                        The Gospel of Christ

*                                                People:                        Praise be to Thee, O Christ.*

As you can see in our gospel story we get faced head-on with one that is seeking God – One that is looking at his life, and asking the question of our Lord – /“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17b)/

What is happen in the moment is that this seeker longs for something deeper, and at the least, longs to be affirmed for his duty filled life – his life which due to his wealth appears to be blessed

This man kneels before Jesus, and then lays his life out for judgment

Jesus, fresh off a few testing questions of the Pharisees trying to trick him, responds carefully at first, with a question and statement – “/why do you call me good, only God is good”(Mark 10:18)            /

                                          Then Jesus reinforces the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments)

                                                      The man states boldly that he has keep the law his whole life

                                          To which Mark reveals to us that /“Jesus looked at him and loved him”/

These are an interesting few words that St. Mark has included - and in my imagination I have Jesus in that moment, Sharing a comforting, pastoral look

A look like a kindly wise Grandparent might have when they share with their grandchild a look of love and pride for something good that the child has done.

The man in this moment is all exposed – he is longing for the Lord’s blessing – he is seeking help

            In fact St. Mark clearly states that he came to Jesus and knelt before Him.

The only other times that someone came to Jesus on their knees was when they were sick and in the need of healing

            And, so too, it is for the rich young man

He too, is longing for healing for what he deep down knows is out of place, for his dis–ease

Although he does not know what it is that troubles him, he comes in need of help and guidance

Not of physical illness,

Obviously not of outward prosperity, as prosperity was commonly understood as God’s blessing – and this young is not identified by name or appearance or even whose son he was or his companions – but he is solely identified by his wealth

No, *what* Jesus identifies as needing healing is - “Priority sickness”

 

Many years ago Rudyard Kipling made a commencement address at McGill University in Montreal.

He said one striking thing which deserves to be kept in remembrance.

He was warning the students against an over concern for money, or position, or glory.

He said: "Some day you will meet a man who cares for none of these things.

Then you will know how poor you are."

That has happened on a grand scale.

Jesus cared for none of these things.

Perhaps that was why the rich man was so sorrowful when he walked away from Jesus; he saw how "poor" he was, contrasted with the life of Jesus.[2]

You see, Jesus looks and loves him for his achievement of faithfulness, but He asks for more

            Jesus asks him to sell all he has and give to the poor, Jesus directly challenges his priorities

                        This call of discipleship is a costly one…More than we might imagine

                                    It certainly means the loss of life’s creature comforts

But it also means a loss of the outward appearance of blessing

                                                            It means the loss of status …money, then as now, is power

                                                                        Well, at least worldly power

It means, no less than, the complete loss of identity

And it is too much

 

Our Lord never put discipleship in fine print in the contract.

He called on us to forsake all, take up our cross, deny self, love Him more than anything else.

We are not our own, we are bought with a price, the personal property of Jesus Christ with no right to anything.

“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”—Vance

Havner[3]

 

It is worth noting that this is the only time in the gospels, when Jesus calls one to discipleship – to follow Him….And he does not

The would be disciple selects life as usual over the offer of a transformed life

 

The press chronicled the trial of Claus von Bulow, the Newport, RI, aristocrat convicted of attempting to murder his wife, Martha (Sunny) von Bulow, with insulin injections.

You remember it better from the movie “reversal of fortunes” starring Jeremy Irons & Glenn Close.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle carried this summary comment:

"The characters in this story — Sunny, Claus and their friends — don't worry much about how to make the world nicer for others;

They worry mainly about how to preserve every cent they have inherited, how to increase their fortunes and how to have as much pleasure as possible.

The trouble is, in the end none of it seems to have given them much pleasure."[4]

The word “Intelligence” is derived from two words — inter and legere meaning "to choose" and "between."

An intelligent person is one, who has learned to choose between good and evil,

Who knows that trust is better than fear, … love than hate,

Gentleness than cruelty, …. forebearance than intolerance,

Humility than arrogance, ….

Truth than falsehood.[5]

Maybe as we consider this story we might look to the age of the rich man – he is often described as the ‘rich young man’ – and although not stated in Mark version, when Matthew tells the same story, he is clearly described as young

And maybe we can attribute that this would be disciple rejects our Lord’s offer to follow Him because he is young and therefore not wise

I like personally like to think that it is in fact his youth that causes him to not choose the Lord

My image of the Lord Jesus was that He was so dynamic, so compelling a person in all other stories that it would take some big factors not to follow him

Like youthful indecision and a lot of distracting world wealth

I also like to think that he will get a second chance – and with wisdom will choose differently – but that is my own neurosis

 

We should not lose sight of the power of money to influence our lives