“This Church Doesn’t Need Money”

Mark 10:17-22

October 11, 2009 + Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

400 Glenwood Drive

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404

Does it bother you as much as it does me to see Christmas decorations and promotional sales going up in stores before Halloween?! I realize this is a make-or-break time for many businesses, especially in light of our current economic woes, but I do regret the ever-increasing commercialism of Christmas.

I suppose I should look on the bright side: gift-giving is one of the nicest things we humans do for one another. Most of us carefully consider the presents we will give to family, friends, and loved ones. We want to be sure they are genuinely pleased by our selection. Usually, this is not too great a problem.

But some people present a real challenge: people who have everything. These people can be divided into two groups. The first are those whose needs and wants are so simple that they really don’t need anything at all. They are quite content with what they already have. My grandfather was just such a person. He had grown up in poverty and became a prosperous business man. A few things were all he needed or wanted. Buying a Christmas gift for him was no easy task.

The other group of people who have everything is quite different. These are the wealthy folk who have so much it is difficult to imagine what more they could possibly want. Imagine someone like Bill Gates or Donald Trump. If they were on your gift list, what could you possibly buy them they wouldn’t already have?

Somehow, I imagine the rich young ruler in today’s familiar scripture story belonged to that latter group. He had everything . . . almost. But before I tell you what he didn’t have, let’s look at him again.

To begin, his story is told in all three of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But each of them tells the story in slightly different ways. While all three agree that he was rich, only Matthew tells us he was young and only Luke identifies him as a “ruler.” This probably means he was a leader in the local synagogue, something like one of our moderators.

Rich, young, and a leader in the community. Wow! This young man was the answer to every mother’s prayer for her daughter! To top it off, he wants to be sure he is doing everything possible to please God. And this is no casual quest for him. Mark tells us he literally ran up to Jesus and then knelt down before him in the dusty street to ask his question. Despite everything he has and his high standing in society, he is very humble.

He’s also very respectful. Notice how he asks his question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” So far as I can discover, this young man was the only one who ever called Jesus “good.” Isn’t that remarkable? All subsequent generations would call Jesus “good,” indeed, the best person who ever lived. In his own lifetime only this young man honors Jesus in this way.

But Jesus deflects his compliment. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” That seems more than a little insensitive, doesn’t it? Why did Jesus reject his compliment? I have heard it suggested that Jesus felt he was offering insincere flattery. Perhaps, but I think it is more likely that Jesus was the most humble person who ever lived. His entire life was dedicated to God and he wanted nothing to divert people’s attention from God to him.

Still Jesus softens his (seeming) criticism of the young man by answering his question. (“What do you do to inherit eternal life?”) “You know the commandments. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t commit murder. Don’t steal. Don’t bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. (“Do that and you will inherit eternal life.”)

I almost imagine Jesus beginning to turn away at this point, but the rich young ruler won’t let him go. “I have kept all these (commandments) since my youth,” he tells Jesus. Here Mark’s Gospel adds a lovely detail not found in Matthew or Luke. Mark says that at this point, Jesus looking at him loved him. This was an outstanding young man. What a disciple he would make!

“There is only one thing you lack, my young friend,” said Jesus. “Go and sell all you have and give it to the poor. Then come, follow me.” Think of it! This young man was invited to become the thirteenth disciple. Though he is never named in the story, if he had said “yes,” the whole world would now know his name. He would be the patron saint of hundreds of churches and appear in thousands of stained glass windows. His example of completely dedicated service to God as a follower of Jesus would continue to inspire us today. But that didn’t happen, did it? Mark’s Gospel says that when he heard Jesus’ challenge, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

When our New Century Hymnal was published, I was very disappointed that one hymn from the old Pilgrim Hymnal wasn’t included: James Russell Lowell’s “Once to Every Man and Nation.” Listen to the first verse:

“Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide.

  In the strife of truth with falsehood, For the good or evil side,

  Some great cause, God’s new messiah, Offering each the bloom or blight,

  And the choice goes by forever ‘Twixt that darkness and that light.”

Friends, sometimes life confronts us with the challenge to choose. While we might wish we had more time to think it over, the moment is now. If we dither or delay, the choice goes by forever. Remember that poster from the 60’s? “NOT TO DECIDE IS TO DECIDE.” A lifetime of regret won’t bring back our opportunity.

Another great American poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, caught the mood of such a missed opportunity in his poem, “Maud,” with its familiar line,

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,

  The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!”

History is littered with examples of people who failed to respond to a great opportunity. In my native Michigan the story is still told of the night Henry Ford invited four of his friends to his home to organize the Ford Motor Company. Each would put up an equal share of the capital and have an equal share of the company. One of Ford’s four friends decided at the last minute that something else was more important and he never showed up. Can you imagine what his share of the Ford Motor Company would be worth today? Even in this recession?

Yet sometimes our missed opportunity is not what we failed to get, but what we failed to give away. So it was with the rich young ruler. Our story tells us that he turned away from the invitation to be Jesus’ thirteenth disciple because he was very rich. By his decision he revealed that he did not own his possessions, but his possessions owned him. When he first spoke to Jesus, he said he wanted to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to trust God rather than his money, he just couldn’t do it. Gold was more real to him than God.

Let’s be very clear: It isn’t for the sake of the poor that Jesus tells this young man to go and sell all that he has; it is for the sake of the young man who needs to learn that the real meaning of life can’t be found in what we keep, but in what we give away.

Erich Fromm was one of the greatest psychiatrists of the twentieth century. I want to slightly adapt some wonderful words he wrote in his classic book, “The Art of Loving.” (Harper, 1956, p. 23)

“Giving is the highest expression of our ability to be human. In the act of giving, we experience our true wealth, our true power, our true joy. This experience of unconditional giving fills us with joy. We experience ourselves as overflowing, alive, joyous. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving we experience ourselves as being fully alive.”

I can simplify all this in one sentence: We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.

By now, some of you have probably figured out that this is a stewardship sermon and you’re right. Long ago I discovered that nobody much listens to the sermons I have preached on Stewardship Sunday which shows up in the middle of November. By then we will probably be focused on filling out commitment cards so we can meet our budget for next year.

That has its place, but for now I want you to look again at the title of my sermon: “This Church Doesn’t Need Money.” That title is not a gimmick. I mean it with absolute sincerity. Our church will do the best it can with whatever you and I its members and friends, decide to give. Actually, the church’s finest witness has come when it has had little or nothing. The church doesn’t need money. But we need to give. The very meaning of our lives will depend upon our generosity, not just to this church but to all the things that make life worth living.

I don’t know whether some of you believe that or not. You may think this is just another preacher’s pitch to get you to pony up more when the financial campaign rolls around. If you believe that, I can understand your cynicism. But despite my own self-interest in next year’s budget, I do believe that the most important thing for this church must be not what we can get but what we will give. The amount we decide to give is irrelevant. “Giving is the highest expression of our ability to be human.”

Once upon a time, a monk, in his travels, found a precious stone worth a great deal of money. The monk kept it wrapped in a cloth in his traveling bag.

Along the way, the monk met another traveler. As was his custom he offered to share his provisions with the stranger. As the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the jewel and admired it. The monk readily gave the poor man the jewel. The traveler departed, overjoyed with the unexpected gift of a precious stone that would give him and his family wealth and security for the rest of their lives.

But a few days later, the man sought out the monk in his abbey and returned the stone, begging the good brother: “I have come to ask you for something much more precious than this stone. Give me whatever enabled you to give it to me.”

Friends, when we have the ability to generous and gracious givers, we truly have found the meaning of life. And as for money? Well, the church doesn’t need it and neither do you.