Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle B
Revised Common
Job 23:1-9, 16-17 or Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
Roman Catholic
Wisdom 7:7-11
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30
Episcopal
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Hebrews 3:1-6
Mark 10:17-27 (28-30)
Theme For The Day
Beware of wealth, which is frequently an obstacle on the road to faith.
Old Testament Lesson
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Job Yearns To Bring His Case Before God
Job answers Eliphaz the Temanite, who has insisted that the reason for Job's sufferings must be that he has somehow offended the Almighty by his wickedness. Job replies, "Today my complaint is bitter" (v. 1). He insists that, if he could only find the way to come into the Lord's presence, he would present his case: "He would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge" (vv. 6b-7). But Job does not know where the Lord may be found: "If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him ..." (v. 8). The result, he says, is that "the Almighty has terrified me; If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face!" (vv. 16b-17). One of the most frustrating aspects of a season of suffering is that often there is no tribunal in which to argue our case before God. The Christian answer is that Christ is our mediator, who makes intercession for us.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Amos Cries Out For Economic Justice
"Seek the Lord and live," says the prophet (v. 6). The way to seek the Lord, he continues, is through righteous living. For those who do not -- for those who "trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain" -- the day will come when they will no longer enjoy the splendid houses and vineyards they have built with their ill-gotten gain (v. 11). Amos is referring specifically, here, to the way wealthy landowners would often extort exorbitant rents from their tenant farmers, then bribe the judges so the tenant farmers would have no legal recourse. "Seek good and not evil," he continues, "speaking again to the landowners: that the Lord will be gracious and you may live" (vv. 14-15).
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 4:12-16
Jesus, Our Great High Priest
Beginning with the admonition that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword" (v. 12), the author continues, presenting the image of Jesus as the great high priest. This high priest -- unlike others in times past -- is "not ... unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." This is seen in the fact that "in every respect [he] has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (v. 15). Consequently, we are able to "approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (v. 16). The image of Jesus as high priest has been mentioned before, earlier in the letter (2:17; 3:1). The time has now come for the author to explore this metaphor more fully (although today's lectionary passage presents only the first part of that lengthier treatment, which will continue for many weeks of lectionary selections). The accent here is on prayer: because we have a high priest, we have -- through prayer -- access to the throne of grace. In the words of Thomas Long, "The preacher wants them to move past fearful prayers, tidy prayers, formal and distant prayers toward a way of praying that storms the gates of heaven with honest and heartfelt cries of human need. He does not want them to pray like bureaucrats seeking a permit but like children who cry out in the night with their fears, trusting that they will be heard and comforted. What the preacher wants to say is gathered up in words of the old hymn, 'Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged: Take it to the Lord in prayer!' " (Hebrews, in the Interpretation commentary series [Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997], p. 63)
The Gospel
Mark 10:17-31
The Rich Man And Jesus
A rich man comes up to Jesus, asking, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus testily responds, "Why do you call me good?" then directs him to the Ten Commandments, which the rich man insists he has faithfully observed all his life. "Jesus, looking at him, loved him" -- that love is important to remember, as we observe what happens next -- "and said, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me' " (v. 21). The man is shocked at this hard teaching, and goes away grieving: "for he had many possessions" (v. 22). This encounter sets up the famous teaching that follows, which has to do with money and possessions: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (v. 25). The disciples are as baffled and upset by this as the rich man was: "Then who can be saved?" they ask (v. 26). Jesus' only response is the cryptic "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible" (v. 27). When Peter protests that he and his comrades have, in fact, done just as Jesus has instructed, leaving everything behind to follow him, Jesus promises that all who have done so will receive "a hundredfold now in this age" ("with persecutions" is added -- a note to the Markan church, no doubt, who were beginning to feel oppression), as well as eternal life. Jesus' gospel is a gospel of reversals: "many who are first will be last, and the last will be first" (v. 31). The disbelief with which both the rich man and Jesus' own disciples receive the news about the necessity of leaving everything behind to follow him shows how deeply ingrained is the theological view that God will reward the good in this life. Many of the psalms express this view: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). It is a view that is common enough today, and Jesus' words are equally jarring.
Preaching Possibilities
There are some fundamental assumptions that most of us, in our culture, accept uncritically as true. They include the beliefs:
¥
that progress is invariably good;
¥
that more wealth is necessarily better;
¥
that it is the nature of financial indicators -- be they the Gross National Product or the Dow Jones Industrial Average -- to grow; and
¥
that to proclaim anything else is unpatriotic at best, and heretical at worst.
Yet, here we have this difficult teaching of Jesus, delivered to a certain rich man. This high-roller steps right out of his BMW and runs up to the popular preacher: Gucci loafers on his feet, the latest cell phone at his belt, a gold Rolex gleaming on his wrist. "Teacher," he asks, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus gives him a Sunday school teacher's answer: "Follow the Ten Commandments."
The man gives him a Sunday school student's answer, in return: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all that stuff already. I go to church; I work hard; I play hard; I keep my nose clean. I set my parents up in that luxury condo in Fort Lauderdale. I've never robbed a liquor store, or run off with another man's wife. But still, I feel empty. Somehow I feel this isn't living. There's got to be more!"
As Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus' further response: "Jesus looked him hard in the eye -- and loved him! He said, 'There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.' "
Peterson concludes: "The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go." (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language [Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003])
This seems, at first glance, like such a harsh story! Who, indeed -- as the disciples ask -- can ever make it into heaven, if the entryway is tiny as a needle's eye?
Yet Jesus is not condemning the man: far from it! Mark tells us that, when the Lord first cast eyes on him, he "loved him." This is a challenging teaching, to be sure, but one that is framed in gentleness. Jesus really wants the young man to come over and join him -- to sell all he has, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and hit the road with him and the twelve.
We need to make it clear, in preaching this passage, that Jesus is not condemning the man. This story has been used too often, over the years, to induce guilt in those who have an abundance of material goods. Remember who initiates the encounter: it is the rich man. It is he who comes running up to Jesus. It is he who is worried about how to attain eternal life. It is he who fears that something in his life is broken, something he doesn't know how to fix.
It's as though the young man is standing in flood waters up to his neck. The river is rising, and he can't swim. There's Jesus, on the bank, and in his hands is a life preserver. Jesus rears back and tosses it to him, with all his strength. But the young man just lets it sit there. "Take it!" Jesus cries; "It's right there!" But the young man just stares at the life preserver, bobbing on the waves in front of his face -- and, with a mournful look in his eye, he turns away.
A key to understanding this passage is the list of commandments Jesus gives. Back in the beginning, when the man first addresses him, Jesus answers, "You know the commandments." Then he goes on to list a few. But strangely enough, Jesus doesn't list all the Ten Commandments. He only lists five (well, six, actually, but "you shall not defraud" is really a part of "you shall not bear false witness"). Jesus lists the five commandments having to do with human relationships: murder, adultery, theft, lying, and failing to honor one's parents.
The rich young man has no trouble with these. Nor do many Christians today, whose list of the most important ethical issues begins and ends with human relationships. Sexual ethics is on the list, to be sure -- but economic justice? That's nowhere to be found.
Jesus isn't so concerned with these five commandments, numbers four through nine. He knows the young man has kept them, for the most part. It's the others that are a little more problematic. Specifically, number one: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol...."
There's one thing the rich young man loves -- more, even, than God. He loves his material comforts. They are the object of his worship: and when he finds himself in deep spiritual waters, the weight of that golden idol will drag him down for sure.
Prayer For The Day
Great God, you have charged us to have no other gods before you. We want to keep you first in our hearts, but it seems that every time we look around, there is another gleaming idol attracting our attention. The one we cannot seem to look away from is the god of wealth. Give us the courage to let go of whatever weight is holding us back from full devotion to you -- golden, or otherwise. Amen.
To Illustrate
Theologian Søren Kierkegaard tells the story of a flock of geese in a barnyard. One of the flock used to speak to them, every seventh day, on the greatness of their ancestors. These ancestors, he told them, were wild geese, strong and mighty. They could take to the heavens whenever they wished, and enjoy the sheer pleasure of soaring among the clouds.
All the other geese would nod their heads solemnly, and tell one another how wonderful was their heritage: but none of them ever did a thing about it. For the corn the farmer fed them was tasty, and the security of the barnyard was unparalleled. Who were they to set off on a fool's errand, into the dangerous skies?
No, it was enough (they told themselves) to hear the tales of their ancestors -- and to dream of what it might have been like to fly. In this way, the timid geese sold their birthright of freedom for a small measure of security.
It is always tragic when Christians, called to give with glad and generous hearts, abandon their birthright of stewardship -- and chase off (with the rest of the world) seeking the elusive idol of wealth.
***
Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world's golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, Christian, love me more.
-- From the hymn, "Jesus Calls Us, O'er The Tumult" by Cecil Francis Alexander, 1852
***
Those who love money will not be satisfied with money.
-- The Talmud
***
The truth is that life in America has improved so much in the past century that we have forgotten what it is to struggle. We hear whines that schools are overcrowded today. Actually, the ratio of students to teachers has gone from 30:1 in 1955 to 19:1 now. We hear whining about pay. Yet total compensation, adjusted for inflation, has tripled since 1947, and the cost of necessities has plummeted. Food in 1950 represented about one third of a family's total expenditures; today, it's one seventh.
America's Gross Domestic Product is greater than the next five countries combined. Our unemployment rate of 5.7 percent -- while higher than it was before the 2001 recession -- is still lower than the average U.S. rate in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Unemployment in France is 9.6 percent. In Germany, 10.4 percent. And we're complaining!
Two-thirds of Americans now own their own homes. We have more cars, more children in college, more cultural institutions. We work shorter hours ... On the whole, we're more prosperous than any other nation in history -- and far better off than we were in the past.
-- James K. Glassman, "Whine, the Beloved Country!" in The American Enterprise, June 2004, p. 48
***
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this.
-- Garrison Keillor, "We're Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore," from Homegrown Democrat (New York: Viking, 2004)
***
If thou art rich, thou art poor, for like an ass whose back with ingots bows, thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, and death unloads thee.
-- William Shakespeare
***
G. K. Chesterton once said something to the effect that it may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies. That could be a rather interesting argument. However, said Chesterton, there is no point to a debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble. There is just too much evidence.
-- William Willimon, "Jesus vs. Generic God," in Leadership Journal Online, Winter 2002
Job 23:1-9, 16-17 or Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
Roman Catholic
Wisdom 7:7-11
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30
Episcopal
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Hebrews 3:1-6
Mark 10:17-27 (28-30)
Theme For The Day
Beware of wealth, which is frequently an obstacle on the road to faith.
Old Testament Lesson
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Job Yearns To Bring His Case Before God
Job answers Eliphaz the Temanite, who has insisted that the reason for Job's sufferings must be that he has somehow offended the Almighty by his wickedness. Job replies, "Today my complaint is bitter" (v. 1). He insists that, if he could only find the way to come into the Lord's presence, he would present his case: "He would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge" (vv. 6b-7). But Job does not know where the Lord may be found: "If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him ..." (v. 8). The result, he says, is that "the Almighty has terrified me; If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face!" (vv. 16b-17). One of the most frustrating aspects of a season of suffering is that often there is no tribunal in which to argue our case before God. The Christian answer is that Christ is our mediator, who makes intercession for us.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Amos Cries Out For Economic Justice
"Seek the Lord and live," says the prophet (v. 6). The way to seek the Lord, he continues, is through righteous living. For those who do not -- for those who "trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain" -- the day will come when they will no longer enjoy the splendid houses and vineyards they have built with their ill-gotten gain (v. 11). Amos is referring specifically, here, to the way wealthy landowners would often extort exorbitant rents from their tenant farmers, then bribe the judges so the tenant farmers would have no legal recourse. "Seek good and not evil," he continues, "speaking again to the landowners: that the Lord will be gracious and you may live" (vv. 14-15).
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 4:12-16
Jesus, Our Great High Priest
Beginning with the admonition that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword" (v. 12), the author continues, presenting the image of Jesus as the great high priest. This high priest -- unlike others in times past -- is "not ... unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." This is seen in the fact that "in every respect [he] has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (v. 15). Consequently, we are able to "approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (v. 16). The image of Jesus as high priest has been mentioned before, earlier in the letter (2:17; 3:1). The time has now come for the author to explore this metaphor more fully (although today's lectionary passage presents only the first part of that lengthier treatment, which will continue for many weeks of lectionary selections). The accent here is on prayer: because we have a high priest, we have -- through prayer -- access to the throne of grace. In the words of Thomas Long, "The preacher wants them to move past fearful prayers, tidy prayers, formal and distant prayers toward a way of praying that storms the gates of heaven with honest and heartfelt cries of human need. He does not want them to pray like bureaucrats seeking a permit but like children who cry out in the night with their fears, trusting that they will be heard and comforted. What the preacher wants to say is gathered up in words of the old hymn, 'Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged: Take it to the Lord in prayer!' " (Hebrews, in the Interpretation commentary series [Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997], p. 63)
The Gospel
Mark 10:17-31
The Rich Man And Jesus
A rich man comes up to Jesus, asking, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus testily responds, "Why do you call me good?" then directs him to the Ten Commandments, which the rich man insists he has faithfully observed all his life. "Jesus, looking at him, loved him" -- that love is important to remember, as we observe what happens next -- "and said, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me' " (v. 21). The man is shocked at this hard teaching, and goes away grieving: "for he had many possessions" (v. 22). This encounter sets up the famous teaching that follows, which has to do with money and possessions: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (v. 25). The disciples are as baffled and upset by this as the rich man was: "Then who can be saved?" they ask (v. 26). Jesus' only response is the cryptic "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible" (v. 27). When Peter protests that he and his comrades have, in fact, done just as Jesus has instructed, leaving everything behind to follow him, Jesus promises that all who have done so will receive "a hundredfold now in this age" ("with persecutions" is added -- a note to the Markan church, no doubt, who were beginning to feel oppression), as well as eternal life. Jesus' gospel is a gospel of reversals: "many who are first will be last, and the last will be first" (v. 31). The disbelief with which both the rich man and Jesus' own disciples receive the news about the necessity of leaving everything behind to follow him shows how deeply ingrained is the theological view that God will reward the good in this life. Many of the psalms express this view: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). It is a view that is common enough today, and Jesus' words are equally jarring.
Preaching Possibilities
There are some fundamental assumptions that most of us, in our culture, accept uncritically as true. They include the beliefs:
¥
that progress is invariably good;
¥
that more wealth is necessarily better;
¥
that it is the nature of financial indicators -- be they the Gross National Product or the Dow Jones Industrial Average -- to grow; and
¥
that to proclaim anything else is unpatriotic at best, and heretical at worst.
Yet, here we have this difficult teaching of Jesus, delivered to a certain rich man. This high-roller steps right out of his BMW and runs up to the popular preacher: Gucci loafers on his feet, the latest cell phone at his belt, a gold Rolex gleaming on his wrist. "Teacher," he asks, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus gives him a Sunday school teacher's answer: "Follow the Ten Commandments."
The man gives him a Sunday school student's answer, in return: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all that stuff already. I go to church; I work hard; I play hard; I keep my nose clean. I set my parents up in that luxury condo in Fort Lauderdale. I've never robbed a liquor store, or run off with another man's wife. But still, I feel empty. Somehow I feel this isn't living. There's got to be more!"
As Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus' further response: "Jesus looked him hard in the eye -- and loved him! He said, 'There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.' "
Peterson concludes: "The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go." (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language [Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003])
This seems, at first glance, like such a harsh story! Who, indeed -- as the disciples ask -- can ever make it into heaven, if the entryway is tiny as a needle's eye?
Yet Jesus is not condemning the man: far from it! Mark tells us that, when the Lord first cast eyes on him, he "loved him." This is a challenging teaching, to be sure, but one that is framed in gentleness. Jesus really wants the young man to come over and join him -- to sell all he has, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and hit the road with him and the twelve.
We need to make it clear, in preaching this passage, that Jesus is not condemning the man. This story has been used too often, over the years, to induce guilt in those who have an abundance of material goods. Remember who initiates the encounter: it is the rich man. It is he who comes running up to Jesus. It is he who is worried about how to attain eternal life. It is he who fears that something in his life is broken, something he doesn't know how to fix.
It's as though the young man is standing in flood waters up to his neck. The river is rising, and he can't swim. There's Jesus, on the bank, and in his hands is a life preserver. Jesus rears back and tosses it to him, with all his strength. But the young man just lets it sit there. "Take it!" Jesus cries; "It's right there!" But the young man just stares at the life preserver, bobbing on the waves in front of his face -- and, with a mournful look in his eye, he turns away.
A key to understanding this passage is the list of commandments Jesus gives. Back in the beginning, when the man first addresses him, Jesus answers, "You know the commandments." Then he goes on to list a few. But strangely enough, Jesus doesn't list all the Ten Commandments. He only lists five (well, six, actually, but "you shall not defraud" is really a part of "you shall not bear false witness"). Jesus lists the five commandments having to do with human relationships: murder, adultery, theft, lying, and failing to honor one's parents.
The rich young man has no trouble with these. Nor do many Christians today, whose list of the most important ethical issues begins and ends with human relationships. Sexual ethics is on the list, to be sure -- but economic justice? That's nowhere to be found.
Jesus isn't so concerned with these five commandments, numbers four through nine. He knows the young man has kept them, for the most part. It's the others that are a little more problematic. Specifically, number one: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol...."
There's one thing the rich young man loves -- more, even, than God. He loves his material comforts. They are the object of his worship: and when he finds himself in deep spiritual waters, the weight of that golden idol will drag him down for sure.
Prayer For The Day
Great God, you have charged us to have no other gods before you. We want to keep you first in our hearts, but it seems that every time we look around, there is another gleaming idol attracting our attention. The one we cannot seem to look away from is the god of wealth. Give us the courage to let go of whatever weight is holding us back from full devotion to you -- golden, or otherwise. Amen.
To Illustrate
Theologian Søren Kierkegaard tells the story of a flock of geese in a barnyard. One of the flock used to speak to them, every seventh day, on the greatness of their ancestors. These ancestors, he told them, were wild geese, strong and mighty. They could take to the heavens whenever they wished, and enjoy the sheer pleasure of soaring among the clouds.
All the other geese would nod their heads solemnly, and tell one another how wonderful was their heritage: but none of them ever did a thing about it. For the corn the farmer fed them was tasty, and the security of the barnyard was unparalleled. Who were they to set off on a fool's errand, into the dangerous skies?
No, it was enough (they told themselves) to hear the tales of their ancestors -- and to dream of what it might have been like to fly. In this way, the timid geese sold their birthright of freedom for a small measure of security.
It is always tragic when Christians, called to give with glad and generous hearts, abandon their birthright of stewardship -- and chase off (with the rest of the world) seeking the elusive idol of wealth.
***
Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world's golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, Christian, love me more.
-- From the hymn, "Jesus Calls Us, O'er The Tumult" by Cecil Francis Alexander, 1852
***
Those who love money will not be satisfied with money.
-- The Talmud
***
The truth is that life in America has improved so much in the past century that we have forgotten what it is to struggle. We hear whines that schools are overcrowded today. Actually, the ratio of students to teachers has gone from 30:1 in 1955 to 19:1 now. We hear whining about pay. Yet total compensation, adjusted for inflation, has tripled since 1947, and the cost of necessities has plummeted. Food in 1950 represented about one third of a family's total expenditures; today, it's one seventh.
America's Gross Domestic Product is greater than the next five countries combined. Our unemployment rate of 5.7 percent -- while higher than it was before the 2001 recession -- is still lower than the average U.S. rate in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Unemployment in France is 9.6 percent. In Germany, 10.4 percent. And we're complaining!
Two-thirds of Americans now own their own homes. We have more cars, more children in college, more cultural institutions. We work shorter hours ... On the whole, we're more prosperous than any other nation in history -- and far better off than we were in the past.
-- James K. Glassman, "Whine, the Beloved Country!" in The American Enterprise, June 2004, p. 48
***
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this.
-- Garrison Keillor, "We're Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore," from Homegrown Democrat (New York: Viking, 2004)
***
If thou art rich, thou art poor, for like an ass whose back with ingots bows, thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, and death unloads thee.
-- William Shakespeare
***
G. K. Chesterton once said something to the effect that it may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies. That could be a rather interesting argument. However, said Chesterton, there is no point to a debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble. There is just too much evidence.
-- William Willimon, "Jesus vs. Generic God," in Leadership Journal Online, Winter 2002
