20th Sunday after Pentecost/Year B
Oct 10, 2021
Psalm 90:12-17; Amos 5:6-7,10-15; Mark 10:17-31
Help! That seems to be the cry of desperation of the man who ran up to Jesus and knelt before Him, in our gospel reading today…
The man asked Jesus: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Jesus’ response was probably not what the man was expecting…we are told that he was shocked…and went away grieving…It appears as if this man really believed he was already being faithful enough, doing all the things he thought he should do to inherit eternal life….and thinking that by following all the commandments, at the end of the day, he could just check everything off his list of “good things” done for the day. Perhaps he was waiting for Jesus to tell him, “well done, good and faithful servant.” But, I suspect, he knew he was in need of some help, some kind of healing…he knew in his own heart, there was something missing, there was something lacking in his life.
And Jesus addresses his quiet cry for help…by telling him….yes…there is something lacking…. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
I wonder what that the one thing was?
Did he really trust God to provide all that he needed?
Did he really believe that God cared for him, even in times, when he doubted his own worth?
Did he really think that God or others would value his worth, if he didn’t have lots of possessions and worldly things to prove himself to be of value or importance to the world?
Did he really trust that if he gave away all that he owned that he would still have more than enough of what he needed for himself?
I wonder if the one thing he lacked was his belief that he was a beloved child of God? That there wasn’t anything more or anything less that would take away from God’s love for him, or for any other person or creature on this earth, or in heaven?
Jesus looked at him, loved him…reminded him in that moment…that he was loved…that the possessions he was holding on to so tightly could never take the place of this love…Without this love, the love of God revealed to us in the way of love that Jesus has shown us, time and time again, there would always be the gnawing feeling that something was missing…
As we go to God in prayer, turning our hearts and our whole selves to kneel before Jesus, to cry out for help and healing, we discover what is missing….the saving power of God’s love to restore us into the beloved community with God and one another…in this life…and for eternal life…
By God’s grace, and through the saving power of God’s love poured out for us in Christ Jesus, we discover that we are indeed a beloved child of God.
Imagine, how our daily lives would be transformed by the knowledge of this truth of God’s love for us?
Imagine how each other’s lives would be transformed, if we spent time every day sharing this generous love, and our gifts with one another?
Just imagine a world, where we all love one another and respect the dignity of every human being…we know it’s possible….for with God, all things are possible….
May the graciousness, (and the love) of the Lord our God be upon us; *
prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork. Psalm 90:17
HYMN after sermon: Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
gentle as is the dove:
teach us the truth and help us believe,
show us the Saviour’s love!
1 You spoke to us long, long ago,
gave us the written word;
we read it still, needing its truth,
through it God’s voice is heard.
Refrain
2 Without your help we fail our Lord,
we cannot live his way;
we need your power, we need your strength,
following Christ each day.
Refrain
Words: Margaret Old (1932-2002)
Music: Skye boat Song, Scottish traditional melody; arr. James Whitbourn
Meter: 86. 86 with Refrain
Chet Valley Churches