Good Only
Mark 10:17-31

October 15, 2006


Nearly 40 years ago one of my professors wrote a book with an intriguing and curious title, “A Theology of Things.” It was the time when there were theologies of everything floating around: theology of hope, theology of peace, theology of humour, theology of animals, theology of justice, theology of women. But things? Rocks, trees, jewelry, clothing, food, money. Money is a thing, after all. In other words, how do you relate to the inanimate objects in your life that keep trying to define who you are? People can be a joy and hell can be other people, but how you deal with things speaks louder about your spiritual state of being than you want to hear.

It’s all about your things, and before we can catch our breath a young man comes running up to Jesus’ caravan, breathless no doubt, intercepts Jesus and kneels at his feet. A little bit of a show, but it appears this young man is used to being at the centre of a show, nor afraid of embarrassing himself. But, the first thing to note about him, is that by our standards he is a very good man.

He uses the right language as well, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Not how to acquire or get, but how should I act to be given life that has another tone of quality. Not just more life, but a different kind of life.

“Good teacher,” he addresses Jesus, perhaps buttering him up. This is not just the deference of a polite man, but the sign of a successful person who knows how to accord peers terms of respect. Did he, in fact, think he was dealing with a peer in that Good Teacher, who simply was in charge of another commodity?

Jesus answers the man’s question in an odd way. He begs to differ about the young man’s language and picks a fight about it. Then he responds with good Reformed theology that even Karl Barth would have been proud of. Goodness is not something anything created possesses as a result of its own makeup; something, someone is good because of the grace bestowed upon it by God. “And God said that it was good.” When God says a word in the Bible, it becomes what God says. All very true, but it seems more than a little arcane at this point. Yet we know by the end of the episode that this was a rich young man who had all the advantages and privileges and education possible. He had always been good at whatever he had done, and he most likely had always been told that he was good.

He even had been successful in his moral progress, hence his final question. Jesus suggested the usual, though difficult to fulfill commandments. “All these things I have done since my youth.” There were extremely few people who could declare that with simplicity and honesty. By our standards this was a good man. See that Jesus had just finished embracing the children previously rejected by the disciples; is this young man an alumnus of that blessed club?

It is Mark’s Gospel alone that adds the phrase, “and Jesus loved him.” Love is nice, but considering the whammy Jesus will lay on him in a few seconds, it is an odd kind of love. Jesus loved him, discerned in a minute where the young man’s soul had wandered, and so knew him deeply. Today he would be a smart, affable, handsome fellow from suburbia or at least the best side of town, privileged and not wanting to stop on his progress as a human being. It didn’t take much to realize that somewhere along the line his wealth and comfortableness would get in the way. At issue is more of his upbringing’s sense that he is entitled to success - education, popularity, vocation, even his spirituality. Somewhere his good looks and pedigree would not suffice - and you cannot buy a stairway to heaven.

The young man immediately knew what Jesus meant, because that’s why he was here asking Jesus for affirmation. He thought too that he was good as a result of his own merits. He lacked one thing, and that is precisely what Jesus asked him for. Jesus wasn’t so much asking him for something, he was calling him to commit everything about him to the service of God and the children of God.

The disciples weren’t rich, but they were stunned. This fellow was the kind of successful person everyone wanted to emulate and have on their side. He is the guy who is supposed to get ahead.

Jesus, however, has to repeat the obvious to get the point across, but his disciples do not quite get the point (when did the disciples ever get it?). They moan and whine, “Who then shall be saved?” He’s one of the best we’ve got. How high is this standard anyway? The imagery was baffling - camels going through the eye of a needle - but they had no doubt about what Jesus was saying. Wealth and riches are things that keep getting in the way of a soul, always have and always will. There is no way around it, money is the golden calf. Yet, as much as Jesus is openly talking about money, he is not just talking about money and possessions. The opposite of wealth is not poverty, but freedom. No one can follow Jesus who is not free.

Peter again is the disciples’ spokeperson, “But we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus reassures them that they have done it right, but his answer asks for more than we can bear to hear. “No one who has not left house or brothers and sisters and parents and children or property for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred fold of the best kind of reward, that eternal kind of life.”

It is a different way of life, there’s no doubt. Jesus’ way is not the natural progression towards success and fame - and frankly wealth - of which every society has its own particular variation. “But many that are first will be last, and the last first.” With human beings, with our ideas about goodness and success, this is impossible and ludicrous, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.

Those are marvelous proverbs, but we can ignore them if we try hard enough! Jesus intuitively loved this man, saw his sincerity and how he had devoted his life to the religious quest, but there it was, One Thing. Jesus’ love compelled him not to forget or ignore that one thing of wealth and possessions; he had to make it a requirement for going on the pilgrimage, for walking to Jerusalem.

There are a lot of people in the world for whom wealth and possessions are not an issue, but they too will lower their head and go away sorrowful because of that one thing. We won’t get away from money, but what one thing would Jesus discern in you and me is holding us back, not allowing us to be free? I knew a monk once who was a difficult person, and one of his brother monks once said to me, “Poverty, chastity, obedience - for him two out of three ain’t bad!”

It just might be that Jesus would come to us and to our governments and say, “You lack one thing, go and be subjected to another super power, and lose your freedom. Then you will no longer go around believing you are the saviour of the world, and will be free to follow me.” After all, the Jews to whom Jesus spoke were not free, subjugated to the godless Roman Empire, just like we were afraid we would be to the Soviet Empire, barely 20 years ago. Time and again, some of the most creative and faithful churches arose out of the constrictions of the Iron Curtain or the domination of a majority religion not terribly friendly to Christianity.

Now I cannot really imagine this happening; it is our unthinkable thought. Yet will you and I ever really understand the power of freedom until we really know what it means not to have our version of this ideal? With societies and governments on this side of the Atlantic this is impossible, but with God nothing is impossible.

It just might be that Jesus would insist that we finally let go of our conceptions of race and justice, gender and ethnicity and language, because unless we know and act like all of God’s children are equal and that justice is God’s way of existence and freedom, how can we possibly walk anywhere with Jesus? Look at our world today after the fall of Communism and all its freedom, all the ethnic wars and religious crusades (a sad Christian word), and we mumble, “With people and races and ethnic societies, it is impossible.” But, with God - and that’s why we are here this Sabbath Day - all things are possible.

Preached by Robert Kitchen
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan