“You Lack One Thing”
28th Sunday after Pentecost B 2006

November 15, 2006
Mark 10:17-31

One of the criticisms that people often express about preachers and their sermons is that they are not relevant to daily life. People want to hear a word that they can apply to their life, a word that will provide guidance and direction, a word that will make a difference in their life. I agree with that one hundred percent. How about this word that comes directly from Jesus: "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” This is the Word of the Lord. Amen. (Turn and leave as if to sit down) Well, I guess I can’t leave it there, can I?

Our gospel lesson for today is a word that certainly speaks directly to our daily lives, isn’t it? It is a word that may cause some of us to respond like the rich young man, “When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” For the rich young ruler, he had it all. He was prosperous. He had wealth. He had status and position in society. Wealth and prosperity was a certain sign of God’s blessing in the ancient days, even in our day according to some. You must have been doing something right if God blessed you with in this way. There was one thing that troubled him, however. He had one question, and it was a good question. He asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Even though he had everything he would ever want in this life, he was concerned about the life to come. Jesus mentions several of the commandments that deal mostly with our relationships with others, the second table of the law. The rich young ruler confidently, and a bit surprisingly, tells Jesus that he had kept them all since he was a youth. Looking at him and loving him as only Jesus could, Jesus said to him, “You lack one thing…go, sell, give, and follow me.”

Once again, Jesus addresses us with what it means to be a disciple. It means giving up everything that may get in the way of true discipleship, everything that may get in the way of a loving, trusting relationship with Jesus. In this text, it is our insatiable hold on our money and possessions, the one thing more than anything else that can cause us to fall away and miss out on that which is priceless, a relationship with Jesus who gives us eternal life as a gift through his death and resurrection. The issue that Jesus addresses in this story that has the greatest effect on our daily life is this: what do you treasure most in life? Who or what will you follow?

The difficulty of this issue has always been at the heart of Christianity, even at its earliest stages, but no more greater than it is today. There are many today who preach a gospel of prosperity that confuses the meaning of discipleship, emphasizing the exact position of the rich young ruler, that God blesses those who truly have faith. God’s blessing is evident in my prosperity. An image of this kind of teaching is found on the cover of a recent Time magazine, a Rolls Royce with a gold plated cross as a hood ornament. I have a hard time reconciling this image with the words we have heard from Jesus these past few weeks. Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross, and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and the sake of the gospels, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” And, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” And, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” In each of these verses, the emphasis of discipleship is not on the accumulation of possessions and a grabbing of position and status, but rather it is a concern for the little ones and a welcoming of the least of society. It is giving of oneself for the sake of another. In contrast to the gospel of prosperity is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s statement regarding discipleship, that when Jesus calls us to follow him, he bids us come and die. This is quit a bit different from the perspective one of the present day megapreachers (Joyce Meyer) who says, ”Who would want something where you’re miserable, broke and ugly and you have to muddle through until you get to heaven.?”
To make the point a little bit sharper for his disciples, Jesus says, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” And not to leave anyone out, including those who are poor, Jesus goes on to say, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Against the prevailing image and understanding of the day, the disciples, and us for that matter, respond by asking, “Then who can be saved?” If it is not the rich and those who appear to be blessed by God, or those who work hard to obey and keep the commandments, than who can be saved? “For mortals it is impossible,” Jesus says, “but not for God; for God all things are possible.” The gift of eternal life and salvation is a gift of God, granted to everyone regardless of their wealth, position, or power. Jesus gives to us what we lack as a gift of his grace, the forgiveness of sins and the promise of new life. As we receive this gift, our lives are changed. The Apostle Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Salvation is a gift. Eternal life is a gift. Even our faith and trust is a gift of God. God does it all for us.

Two weeks ago, we were all shocked by what took place in an Amish school house in Pennsylvania. A sick man took school girls hostage and killed six of them before taking his own life. Our hearts went out to that community that we know so little about. How could they ever get through the pain, grief, and horror of that event in their lives? Well, we were taught something from that group about discipleship and what it means to have the love of Jesus in your heart and as a part of your life. Two Amish men went over to the home of the family of the man who committed this terrible crime to share their forgiveness. They forgave them and the man. When asked how they could forgive, their response was they live the way that Jesus lived. If Jesus is in you, you can do nothing else but forgive. They had what most people lack, a trusting, loving relationship with Jesus.

Jesus says, “You lack one thing.” That one thing lacking Jesus offers to fill for us. As we come to the table with our hands outstretched, we receive the gifts of God’s grace through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. In the bread and the wine, Jesus gives to us what we so desperately need, his real presence, life, and salvation. He gives this to us as a gift. Salvation is a gift given freely to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we have Jesus, there is nothing that we lack. We have it all. We have the most precious gift of all. Come, the gift of God is here for you. Amen.

Pastor Randy Johnson