Passing the Test

Sermon Text for September 10: Mark 10:17-31

In the Book of Ecclesiastes (3:11) we are told that God has “put eternity into our hearts (or minds).” And we are forever restless until we are satisfied that we are on the road to eternity. This need to live into eternity is probably at the heart of most religious longing and it has probably inspired most of the great human endeavors throughout history. The desire for eternal life is at the center of the gospel lesson for today.
The lesson centers on a rich man, who has everything going for him and he should be happy. He is young, wealthy, and devoutly religious. But there is a feeling of emptiness at the center of his soul because something important is missing.

I think that most of us know the feeling. It may be the reason that we have achieved so much. We enjoy the respect of our peers, and we’ve achieved success in education, business, and the professions. But sometimes when we’re alone with ourselves we have the nagging feeling that something is missing. It’s like having an itch that we can’t scratch and we know that something is not right.

Years ago when I was in my late teens I was in the middle of a religious awakening. It was odd because I was already a faithful Christian, a Sunday School teacher, and youth leader, but something wasn’t right. I was engaged in a tremendous inner struggle which I defined as having something to do with God. I talked with my pastor, my parents, my friends, but no one could help me fill the void I was experiencing. I knew instinctively that it had something to do with God. Something was missing and I did not know how to become full.

One night I took the car and drove into the mountains and parked in an area often used by young couples looking for something different than I was. I looked out over the city lights and I prayed. My prayer was interrupted by a sharp knocking on the driver’s side window. It startled me and I was surprised to see two Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies shining flashlights in my face. They looked in the front seat and then in the back and were surprised when I said I was parked there by myself. They asked me what I was doing there and I told them I was searching for God. They walked away shaking their heads as if I were crazy.

I have never stopped searching. I am still trying to find continuity between the way I live and the eternity God implanted in my heart. Most Christians would say the same thing. The way we search may be different, we might look in different places, but our search is life long. It will only end when God bids us to move into eternity.

I think that’s why most of us can identify with the rich man who knelt before Jesus asking, “Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” His wealth had undoubtedly bought him a good life, but it could not fill his deep seated need for eternal life. He was smart enough to know that he could not buy it or achieve it, he could only inherit it as a member of God’s family. So the question really has to do with relationships. How can I become a part of God’s family?

Jesus’ answer surprises us. It feels like Jesus got it wrong. We want him to say something like, “Just believe in me and you will have eternal life.” But instead he refers the man to the Ten Commandments and says, “Obey these”. But the man counters saying, “I have kept all of these since my youth.” He was apparently telling the truth because Jesus does not challenge him, the seeker was deeply religious. The bible says, “Jesus looking at him loved him”. It doesn’t say that about anyone else. This is a man whom Jesus loves and with whom he wants a relationship. “You lack just one thing”, Jesus said, “Go and sell all that you own and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.” The bible says, “he was shocked and went away grieving for he had many possessions.”

Christians have felt uncomfortable with this story from the very beginning, even the disciples were amazed when they heard it. They believed that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing and if anyone had eternal life it would be someone like the rich man who knelt before Jesus.

And many of us have a similar belief. We look at all of the material things that we have and we believe that they are blessings from God, for which we need to give thanks. But what if what we have is not a blessing, but a test that determines faithfulness? What if God gave us wealth just to see what we would do with it; to see if it will be a barrier to a relationship with God; or if it inspires us to greater depths of faithfulness? When we think about wealth as a test, then our relationship with what we have is likely to change. I think that wealth is a test for the rich man in our gospel lesson. He walked away from Jesus because what he had was more important than what he might receive.

In some of the parables of Jesus the use of wealth is a test that one either passes or fails. He told the story of a nobleman who entrusted his wealth to servants – that is he made them stewards – while he went on a journey. One steward invested the money and increased it ten fold. Another invested and increased the money five times. One hid the money away to protect it and made no return. The nobleman praised those who invested his money and made a return, but cursed the steward who returned only what he was given. In this parable the use of money is clearly a test of faithfulness.

In a few weeks we will be asking you to be good stewards of the wealth that God has given you. We will ask you to invest in the piece of God’s work that happens here because God said, “I need Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Greenwood Village” Think of the invitation to invest as your own personal test which will help you measure the depth of your faith. If the request makes you angry or defensive, it might mean that you are not ready to move into the eternal life that God has prepared. Or it might mean that you need to give as a spiritual discipline. Just because God commands us to give. Think how differently we would feel about the story of the rich man if instead of walking away grieving he had said to Jesus, “That’s the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do. But Jesus I am yours. I want to follow you.”

Copyright © 2006 by Dwight R. Blackstock