Mark 10:17-31
“But…”
October 10, 2021
The story goes that there once was a rich man who was close to death.
He was really sad because he had worked so hard for his money, and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven.
Determined, he started to pray that he might be able to take some of his riches with him.
An angel heard his prayer and appeared to him and said “Sorry, but you can’t take your wealth with you.”
The man begs the angel to speak to God to see if God could bend the rules, just this once.
The man continues to pray that his wealth could go with him.
The angel shows up again and lets the man know that God has relented and decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him.
Overjoyed, the man finds his biggest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and puts it right next to his bed.
Soon afterward, the man dies and ends up at the Gates of Heaven to check in with St. Peter.
St. Peter, seeing the suitcase says, “Hold on, you can’t bring that in here!”
But the man explains to St. Peter that he has God’s permission to bring it and asks him to verify his story with the Lord.
Sure enough, St. Peter checks and comes back saying, “You’re right. You are allowed one suitcase, but I’m supposed to look to see what’s inside it before letting it through.”
St. Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the treasured worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, “You brought pavement?!!!”
This story in Mark’s Gospel has been hard for we mere humans to hear throughout history.
So much so, that some newer – and I use that term loosely – writers or interpreters of the Bible softened the blow in the King James Version by changing the words, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God” to “How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.”
The writer interpreted it in such a way so that the problem is not being rich but instead putting their faith in the riches that person has or wants.
And that infamous eye of the needle that the camel was having such a hard time getting through?
There was an interpreter in the ninth century who made up the idea that there was a low gate to get into Jerusalem and that camels could only pass through it if they stooped low enough and got rid of anything they might be carrying on their backs.
This was done so that it could be seen that only those overly proud rich folks or those rich folks who were not determined enough would not get into the kingdom of God.
No such gate existed.
Before we start trying to figure out if we’re too rich – I know don’t laugh but we must be aware that compared to much of the world we have plenty –
we have to recognize that the Mark’s Gospel interpretation of being a disciple is all about staying with Jesus and imitating Jesus and bearing our crosses until a bitter and humiliating end.
I’m guessing most of us do not live our lives exactly that way – I know I don’t.
While we may not purely be on the way, we can be beside the way.
We take two steps forward and one step back, hopefully in the right direction.
Sometimes we shrink out of sight and hope that our slacking off on our commitment to follow Jesus just doesn’t get noticed.
While we may be busy examining what exactly is meant by wealth, we could miss one small and yet vital detail in the telling.
The rich man earnestly makes a point of asking Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, maybe wanting a pat on the back for all the things he has done.
Jesus recounts the 10 Commandments, and we have to imagine this guy is like, “Yessss – I’ve had that lifestyle down pat since I was a kid – I’m golden.”
He’s probably pretty proud of himself while waiting for the big reveal.
Then we hear, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” and with these words we are given a rare glimpse behind the curtain and hear not just Jesus’ words and deeds but his motivation.
Most of the rest of Mark, the shortest and tightest of the Gospels, is all about Jesus ushering in the reign of God and with it the neutral and all-encompassing idea of God’s universal love.
Mark makes the point, though, that even this rich guy so full of himself, the one it’s so easy for the rest of us to write off as being so different from all those that Jesus typically sides with – the outcasts, the meek, the poor, the hungry, those in heavy need of justice.
Mark is worried that we might be too eager to have Jesus pull the rug out from someone who is like the people we love to hate or at least really resent in those fancy clothes with his uber confidence.
Jesus looked at him and loved him but that did not translate into leaving him as he was.
Jesus instead tells him the hard truth.
He doesn’t try to let him down easy by watering down expectations.
He doesn’t join him in patting his own back for following the commandments and recognizing Jesus as good and thus as God.
Jesus doesn’t cut the rich man some slack by easing him into a life of sacrifice by letting him write a small check to a local charity this time and allows him to slowly increase his giving each year.
No, Jesus lays it out there in love and what does the rich man do?
He responds with utter shock and goes away in grief not able to let go of the wealth that defines him.
Rather than holding onto him, Jesus lets him go.
Jesus doesn’t manipulate him or plead with him or judge him.
He freely allows him to walk away.
There is love in the letting go.
Such a love continues, even in the absence.
Maybe the rich young man will reconsider and turn back toward the discipleship that Jesus described.
It could happen. We just don’t know.
What we do know is that hope remains a vital part of love. “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Let us then offer up this prayer in love, from the Rev. Katie Hays:
O God who so loved the whole world that you sent your own child to redeem it, thank you for your gracious estimation of us as lovable. We’re relieved not to have to earn your affection. We ask the help of the Holy Spirit to help us love our neighbors in the same way – without qualification, without condition. Forgive us when we don’t get there. And may our church{es} be a learning lab{s} where we practice our love, so that we may export this still more excellent way to the world you still love. This we pray through Jesus our brother and teacher, and through the power of his living Spirit among us. Amen. (https://day1.org/)