Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
In 1978, Andrew Gold recorded his third album All This and Heaven Too. The single off this album was by far his greatest hit, reaching number 25 on Billboard and topping at number 7 on Canadian charts. According to Gold, however, the song was never meant to be a hit. It was just a little ditty that took him about an hour to write. It was in fact ranked as the 98th biggest hit of 1978. Ok, that doesn’t make it sound like such a hit does it? Well, in 1985 the song was re-recorded by Cynthia Fee and became theme song for one of NBC’s most successful sitcoms, “Thank you for being a friend, Traveled down the road and back again, your heart is true you’re a pal and a confidant.” Do you know the show? My rendition didn’t help? It was the theme song for The Golden Girls, a sitcom that ran from 1985 until 1992 about four older women sharing a home together in Miami, Florida. Often the episodes dealt with the fact that these four women, while only two were related by blood, were in fact a family, with all the dynamics, debates, and difficulties that comes with being a family. But like most sitcoms, within the half hour all of that was forgiven and they went back to being pals and confidants, with words of thanks for being a part of that family.
Today is all about gratitude and saying thank you. For many it is about gathering with family, either related or chosen, and if your thanksgiving table was anything like mine when I was young, it is about all those dynamics, debates and difficulties as well as fun that comes with family gatherings. Perhaps there are those important traditions of turkey and pumpkin pie or simply saying what we are thankful for. Thank you for being a friend to Mike and I. But our Gospel passage directs us down a difficult path and demonstrates that saying thanks just isn’t good enough. In fact, there is a cost- both literally and figuratively- to discipleship and to being a family of God, with all of its dynamics, debates and difficulties.
Our passage opens with a man running up and kneeling before Jesus. At this point in the story all we know about this person is gender and because he kneels we can figure out that he is approaching Jesus with respect. This point is driven home when this man addresses Jesus as “good teacher” and asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” and we know by his actions and through his address that this man is asking the question with all sincerity. It sets him apart from all the times when the Scribes or Pharisees asked questions to trap Jesus. This is a genuine question with a genuine hope that he will be given an honest answer. Although, he obviously gets more of an honest answer then he would like.
Jesus quickly states that he is not good but rather only God is good. This is actually a tricky narrative technique in Mark. As we have heard throughout the past weeks those who are the least are usually the ones who identify Jesus as the Messiah first. By this man proclaiming Jesus as good he is acknowledging the divine identity of Jesus and with his turn of the words Jesus is acknowledging this.
The Gospel author then does another subtle trick. Jesus repeats most, but not all of the ten commandments, asking the man if he is aware of them. All of the commandments that Jesus states are those that involve human to human interaction. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, shall not steal, bear false witness or defraud and you shall honour your parents. The commandments exist not just as rules but they are necessary to guide people in a way of covenantal living- including a quality of life that will persist in the new age, in the kingdom of God. However, what commandments are missing? Those that involve human-divine interaction. “You shall not have other gods before me, no idols, no wrongful use of God’s name and remembering the sabbath.” It those commandments that are most important to the covenant and yet Jesus does not ask this man if he kept those commandments. We will touch upon this in a minute.
Of course the man says, yes he has followed those commandments since his youth. The Gospel then says that Jesus looked at this man and loved him. There is a pause in the conversation where Jesus takes in this man and loves him. Perhaps Jesus loves him because Jesus knows that what he is about to tell him to do will be difficult, will be impossible for others to understand, and will only be made possible through Jesus’ love. Jesus tells him that he must go and sell all that he owns and then give the money to the poor, and then, follow Jesus. Upon hearing this, the man is shocked, dismayed, and goes away grieving. By walking away he does the exact opposite of what Jesus requires. It is only at this point in the story that we find out that this is a rich man- for he has many possessions.
It struck me that the reason Jesus did not mention those human-divine related commandments is in part because Jesus knew they are the hardest to follow. But what often makes them the hardest follow, is the distraction of possessions. We often treat our possessions, or at least brands, as gods and certainly idols and sometimes our possessions keep us from remembering the sabbath. The problem with possessions is that we can seek security through trust in our possessions rather than in covenantal living, that accumulation of wealth and resources in the present can become an end in itself and can even become idolatrous. Jesus tries to encourage this man, that he need not fear, because the community itself is where we should put our trust. A little reminder that the early church did not think they needed to plan for the long-term future. They expected the kingdom of God to come within their lifetime. So long term planning or saving was not part of their practice.
Jesus’ response to the rich man wandering off is that it is indeed hard for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. In fact, through the use of analogy he basically says it is impossible. Biblical Studies scholar Mark Vitalis Hoffman notes, “The disciples—who were among the lower class and whose perspective had been shaped by a culture that associated wealth with honour, status, and divine favour—are confused. If those who appear most blessed have more difficulty getting into the kingdom than a camel going through the eye of a needle, then, “Who can be saved?””
We share this same problem- we are likely among the world’s privileged- just living here, with the bounty and harvest we have in this land of plenty sets us apart. But as we discussed last week earning our way into salvation can not be done. Jesus confirms this by saying that “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” This rich man asked “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Perhaps it was a matter of asking the wrong question. Because an inheritance is often not earned per se, rather it is by virtue of being a part of a family.
This is what Jesus highlights at the close of our passage. The disciples have left everything, left their families, their homes, all for Christ’s sake. But they have also been adopted into the family of God. When we chose to follow, when we respond to grace with gratitude, when we give of ourselves in thankfulness- we know that we do it as part of a family with all our dynamics, difficulties and debates and fun and we must not only respond by saying thank you for being a friend, but by acting as a family of God. Amen