Pentecost 21, 2024
Amos 5:6-7,10-15
Psalm 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
The epistle reading from Hebrews and the gospel lesson from Mark go together perfectly today. And what ties them together is one of my favorite themes of all: God is God, and we are not. I feel like I could end right there. God is God, and we are not. Amen.
But let me say more. A man comes up to Jesus and kneels before him and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” So much to say about this question! First of all, we don’t know what he means by the phrase “eternal life.” I’m trying to wean myself from using Greek words in sermons, so I’ll just say that the literal translation of what he is asking for is “age-long life,” that is, life without beginning or end. He most certainly does not have in mind what we think of as heaven, or God’s kingdom. He is asking for life that has no beginning or end. So, again, we don’t know quite what it is he is even asking for here.
Secondly, he uses the phrase, “What must I do to inherit.” Now, in my family, there is no inheritance coming my way—at least not that I know of. But if I imagine myself in a family that did have an inheritance laid out in a will, it would never occur to me to ask what I must DO to inherit what is already rightfully mine. It’s like asking, “What must I do to get a birthday present?” Or like my cat asking, “What must I do to be fed?” The answer in all these cases is . . . what . . . exist? Have a pulse? You don’t earn an inheritance. I mean, not in a healthy family. It’s like asking, “What must I do to earn your love?”
So that shows us the road map ahead here. The man is working from the assumption that he CAN do something to EARN an inheritance. And he’s also starting from the vantage point that it’s certainly possible, since he’s been doing and doing and doing all his life. Then Jesus rattles off the commandments to the guy: “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.” And what does the man say? “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
Seriously? Seriously. You have kept all these since your youth? What were you raised by wolves? And it’s important to note the inclusion of the word “defraud” in this list. You don’t usually get this in a list of the commandments. And it makes me wonder if Jesus threw it in there for a reason. Because a command not to defraud definitely lends itself to the follow up from Jesus, to go and sell everything and give the money to the poor and follow me. Of course, it’s even possible that the man hasn’t defrauded anyone personally, but is part of a system that oppresses the poor and protects the wealthy. Which is a whole other sermon. We don’t know.
But what we do know is that this requirement from Jesus makes the man go away sad. And, we don’t know if he went and did what Jesus said. Maybe, maybe not. However, the entire conversation with Jesus seems rooted in the man trying to justify himself. I have done all these things since my youth. So check me out Jesus! I probably don’t really need to do anything in order to inherit eternal life because I’m rocking it over here. But I just wanted to be sure you knew how great I am.
And after he goes away sad, Jesus says to the crowd, “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.” And they were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Which makes me ask, wait, was everybody rich? They hear that it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, and their response is “then who can be saved?” And to their astonishment, Jesus says, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” And that’s the key here. Impossible for mortals; possible for God. Whatever their reason for asking, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus reminds them that God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. God is God, and we are not.
And then, hot on the heels of that exchange, Peter has to go and open his big mouth. He says, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Translation, Peter is now trying to justify himself, just like the man on his knees. We’ve been doing an awful lot over here, so check us out Jesus! We probably don’t really need to do anything in order to inherit eternal life because we’re just rocking it over here. But we just wanted to be sure you knew how great we are. Same point, just different words.
Both Peter and the man who approaches Jesus have a secondary agenda. And that agenda is to let Jesus know just how terrific they are. Look at what we have done! All this on our own over here. We probably don’t even need any help from God because we’re just so darn good! And it is awfully tempting for us to fall into that same trap.
Look at me Jesus, coming to church and everything. Making a pledge toward the stewardship campaign. Bringing in supplies for the animals, and blankets for the needy, and letting the other drivers go first at a four-way stop sign. We love to pat ourselves on the back. And we look to others to support us in that. Praise is a tempting drug for us all. And—when it comes down to it—the more we do, the harder it is to remember that we can never do enough. I mean even Mother Teresa needed Jesus! We cannot earn an inheritance. But it sure is hard to stop trying!
And that brings us to the epistle reading from Hebrews. As we heard, “before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” Sounds a lot like the collect for purity. To you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Except we get the addition of “The one to whom we must render an account.” Sure we are naked and laid bare before God’s eyes, uncomfortable as that sounds, but render an account? That sounds pretty scary doesn't it? It’s one thing to be known, but quite another to have to answer for it.
But then we also heard, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” That’s a lot of double negatives, so let’s reword it. In Jesus, we have a priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. Sympathize with our weaknesses. God knows our failings, and Jesus understands what it is like to be human. It’s easy to forget that. But as we say in our Creed every single Sunday, Jesus is fully God and fully human. He knows what it is like to be us. And he knows we are unable to do it on our own. Even as we are so anxious to tell God we have followed all these commands from our youth, and have given up everything to follow Jesus. And that brings us back to the main point: God is God, and we are not. And then we come to the best part of all the readings today, from Hebrews . .
“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” I think we have to break that sentence down, because it is really really good news if we really can hear it.
First, God sits on a throne of grace. Think about how you imagine a throne, and the purpose of a throne. Thrones are for power and punishment and judgment. This, however, is a throne of grace. A throne of unmerited unconditional acceptance. And when we approach that throne, we receive mercy. Mercy, not judgement, not demanding an account, not accusation. We receive mercy. And we find grace in our time of need, because God knows we need grace, because we can’t do it on our own! God is God, and we are not.
So hear that sentence again: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” With boldness! We worship a God who knows us intimately, who knows we cannot do it on our own, who knows how much we want to point at all the good stuff we have done in order to win favor, and who still offers us grace upon grace. We are known, and we are loved. All that we are and all that we do is known to God, and we are loved.
And together, we can approach the throne of grace with boldness. Because we are known. Completely known. And we are loved. Completely loved. And we are always invited to this Altar, where mercy, and grace, and forgiveness, and compassion, and sympathy, and honor, and dignity, and love reign supreme. Let us approach the throne boldly, because we are boldly loved.
Amen.
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