The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, October 11th: Wisdom 7:7-11; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30)

RICH MAN CHOOSES FLEETING WEALTH RATHER THAN ETERNAL LIFE

In this week’s gospel reading, a rich man asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus listed some of the Ten Commandments, and the man quickly replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.”

Jesus then told 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.”

The Bible explains what happened next: “At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

This man probably lived in luxury for the rest of his life—another three or four decades, perhaps. He seemed to have been very sincere, so I bet the words of Jesus haunted him during each and every one of those remaining days, making it impossible for him to enjoy his wealth anymore. Can’t you just see him, putting on a fancy robe and getting ready for a big banquet with all his servants scurrying about, attending to his every need, and then Jesus’ voice echoes in his head, “You are lacking in one thing…” The guy’s heart surely sank every time he heard it.

We can learn a number of important spiritual lessons from this week’s gospel reading. First, we learn that the Ten Commandments can give us eternal life. The man specifically inquired about eternal life and Jesus specifically answered, “You know the commandments.” So, it’s simple: if we follow the Ten Commandments perfectly, we’re in.

Secondly, we learn (if we didn’t know it already) that keeping the Ten Commandments perfectly is really not so simple after all. Jesus showed that even someone who THINKS he is following all the commandments, actually is not. Even though the rich man never killed, stole, committed adultery, etc., he was breaking the commandment against idolatry. He worshiped his wealth more than he worshiped God.

Thirdly, we learn that the Ten Commandments really were not designed to produce eternal life since it’s impossible to keep them perfectly. Instead, the Ten Commandments are a mirror, designed to show us our sinfulness. When we realize we can never be holy enough on our own, we understand how desperately we need a divine Savior.

Next, we learn that we do not save ourselves; it is God who saves us. After Jesus explained that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, his disciples asked in amazement, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus answered, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” If we try to earn eternal life on our own, we’re sunk. We must have faith that God can do it for us.

Finally, we learn this week exactly how God does save us. The key is the three little words Jesus uttered, the last three words the rich man heard from Jesus’ lips: “Come, follow me.” Actually, I take that back. I doubt the rich man heard those words. As soon as Jesus said, “Sell what you have and give to the poor,” the man’s head probably began swimming. “What?! Sell all my wealth?” he most likely said to himself. “I can’t do that! People will think I’m crazy! I’ll be poor! I’ll starve! I’ll end up dead!”

Instead of affirming that the rich man was holy and good, and destined for eternal life, Jesus nailed him right where he lived, like a surgical laser beam zapping a cancerous growth. The man’s wealth was his personal stumbling block, the very thing he cherished most. Jesus’ words were so unexpected, the man was stunned. When Jesus said, “Come, follow me,” it probably went in one ear and out the other.

By the way, if the man had simply expressed a willingness to give away his possessions—demonstrating that his wealth was not his idol—I suspect that Jesus would have said, “Nah, that’s all right. You can keep it all. I was just testing you.” But as we know, the man did not pass this test because he was not willing even to consider parting with any portion of his wealth. He truly was “possessed by his possessions.”

The rich man in this week’s gospel reading was one of the wealthiest men in his community. We must be careful not to assume that this week’s lessons apply only to those who are the wealthiest in our communities. Wealth is a relative concept. For example, after hearing this week’s reading, I might be tempted to say, “Hey, Jesus, wait a minute, I’m not rich! I’m just a middle-class schlep. My wife and I struggle to pay the mortgage. We’re paying college tuition. Our cars are more than ten years old and have close to 200,000 miles on them. I’ve got news for you, Jesus, I ain’t rich!”

The man who talked with Jesus might have been considered wealthy in his day, but if he became nearsighted, do you know what he did? He squinted a lot. If he developed a toothache, do you know what he did? He suffered in agony for weeks on end until he finally had someone yank out the bad tooth, with a jug of wine as the only available pain-killer.

Do you know what the rich man did if his wife had difficulty delivering a baby? He buried them both. Do you know what he did if his appendix became inflamed, or if bronchitis moved down into his lungs, or if a cut on his leg became infected? Very simple: he died.

Those of us living in America today—even we middle-class schleps, and despite the lousy economy—are richer than the rich man in this week’s gospel reading. We have more clothing than he had; we have more and better food; we have clean running water, hot showers, and flush toilets. We have all kinds of electronic gadgets and recreational opportunities; we can control the level of heating or cooling in our homes and workplaces. And our cars, even older rust buckets with close to 200,000 miles, are more comfortable and luxurious and can travel a whole lot faster than the rich man’s horse-drawn coach. Middle-class Americans have abundantly more wealth than anyone who lived 2,000 years ago, even kings and queens.

Which means those of us living today have far more stumbling blocks to our faith than even the rich man who spoke with Jesus. The temptation to worship our possessions rather than worship God is actually much greater now. The likelihood that we are “possessed by our possessions” is far greater in this modern age. Today, we have many more things to distract us and keep up from hearing the words, “Come, follow me.”

When the rich man did not heed Jesus’ words, he went away sad and apparently did not receive eternal life. The same thing can happen to us if our hearts are not focused on the one true source of happiness and life: Jesus, the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God.

©2009