Does it bother you as much as it does me to see Christmas decorations and promotional sales 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 want. Imagine if someone like Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey were on your gift list. What could you possibly buy that 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.

            First notice his story is told in all three 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 his local synagogue, something like serving on our Church council.

            Rich, young, and a leader in the Religious community. Wow!  This young man was the answer to every mother’s prayer. 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 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 can 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? For all that subsequent generations would call Jesus “good,” indeed, the best person who ever lived, in his own lifetime only this young man honors him in this way.

            But Jesus deflects his compliment. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” That seems 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.

            But Jesus softens his (seeming) criticism of the young man by answering his question. (“What do you have to 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? As the Gospels tell us, when Jesus extended his invitation his face fell and he turned away sadly.

            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 again to the first verse we just sang:

                        “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, to decide, to commit. While we may 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. Choices good, bad, or avoided have consequences.

            Another great poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, caught the mood of a missed opportunity in his poem, “Maud.” A young man and woman have a chance encounter but they don’t pursue the relationship that is possible at that moment and the rest of their lives are not happy. The poem ends with the 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?

            But 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. And 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. God was more real to him than God.

            Martin Luther once observed that whatever we put first in our lives is our god, regardless of what we may say when we come to church. What we ultimately depend upon to see us through is our god. The tragedy is that if our god is not the Lord God, then we have made a terrible mistake.

            I told Billy Sunday stories before. Here’s another one. Someone met Billy on the street and asked him, “Did you hear that so-and-so (a very wealthy man) died? How much do you think he left?” Billy quickly answered: “Everything!”

            Dear friends, our world today is changing as fast as the leaves in this brilliant autumn season. As the news changes with every hour, so the leaves are falling and lowing around as the wind picks up. While we know we live in a new world, we in the church must know we cannot live in fear. We need to remind ourselves where our ultimate security lies. This stewardship season is even more important than in many recent years as a time to demonstrate where we place our faith and trust. It is also a time to demonstrate whether or not we want Pilgrim Church to be the beacon of hope it has always been. As we consider our responses in our pledges to God’s church and Pilgrim’s future, I want to share with you a lovely story. I believe that it will help all of us find the right spirit in which to give.

            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 as a monk, 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 the 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 what enabled you to give it to me.”

            Friends, when we have the ability to be generous and gracious givers, we truly have everything, everything.

            Now it’s time for each of us to decide what we will commit to give God and Pilgrim Church in 2014. What will your choice be? It’s time to decide.

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