The Upwardly Mobile Man

Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us your gift of faith, that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to what lies ahead, we may follow the way of your commandments and receive the crown of everlasting joy. (ELW)

THE UPWARDLY MOBILE MAN

The Rich Man asks how to inherit eternal life. Jesus replies, You lack one thing. Go sell all you have ... and come follow me.

Let nothing hinder you from following the way of love.

True security lies not behind with worldly things but ahead with the kingdom.

Rich young rulers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but ...everything.

Have you heard about the Pandora report? About world leaders who have offshored their wealth so as to limit their tax liabilities? Upwardly mobile men.

 

Here in our Gospel is the story of the man who kept all the commandments but went away sorrowing when Jesus called on him to sell his property, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and then come follow Jesus. Who by the way was on the road to Jerusalem, the road to the passion - and to resurrection. But this man, on hearing Jesus' invitation, went away in sorrow, "for he had many possessions." He had at first felt affirmed, happy and confirmed, in that he was able to assure Jesus that he had kept the commandments from his youth. A clue might have been when Jesus asked him, why do you call me good? Only God is good. Which led to Jesus saying, later, for mortals it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven, but with God all things are possible. 

The disciples who ask Jesus to explain everything also want his reassurance, that they will be okay, in fact rewarded, for giving up what they had to follow him.

His reply to them is practically a quotation from the last chapters of the book of Job, when that man, who had remained righteous, despite losing everything, was restored to health and received new family and possessions. 

Sure, these disciples have received a new family, in that they have been adopted into God's family, as brother and sister and mother, as they follow his commandments. 

And perhaps they will receive possessions of replacement value. 

But the point is not what they had, in the past: Jesus is calling his disciples to look ahead, and to move forward, to enter God's kingdom and act in the certain knowledge that his reign is real.

That is going to take some faith, and it is going to require some action.

The disciples are caught between two options and cannot keep them both open. 

On the one hand Jesus calls on them to receive the kingdom as a little child would.

On the other they feel the pull to do something to inherit eternal life. 

What do you do to inherit? 

An inheritance is a gift. Unearned merit is a contradiction in terms. 

The desire to do - to ensure - to make certain - to clinch the deal.

The man who had many possessions could, looking back, say he had kept all the rules.

Except one: Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you.

In other words, follow Jesus. 

Then the rest will fall into its proper place, its right relationship.

Seeking assurance the commandment-compliant man comes to Jesus and instead of a sure thing - confirming his status, or giving him more! - he gets a mystery, a challenge, an opportunity.

There is one more thing to do. Be free of all that holds you back. Discard all hindrances. Turn away from what is now only an obstacle.

And come along. To the Temple to hear the teaching, to watch the confrontations with the powers that be, to witness death and death defeated.

That is what is left to do.

And then the reality of the kingdom will become real to you.

***

Remember the parable of the sower? Remember the seed that grew up amid the thorns?

These are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. (Mark 4:18-19)

Jesus represents the coming of God’s rule. And so he calls: leave everything behind, and come follow Jesus, be his disciple. . . .  

Be as a little child, Jesus exhorts. Leave status and power over others behind. Abandon power, discard defence. For his power is perfected in our weakness. 

DOWNWARD MOBILITY, Henri Nouwen called it. Abandon overt piety and all prestige. Seek oneness with the downtrodden, the differently abled, the foreign, the domestic abused and forgotten. 

FRANCIS got naked before the Bishop, and all the people in the town plaza of Assisi, when his father demanded back “all you have had from me” - and he obeyed literally. 

Radical sacrifice. That is what the Apostles were called to.

Generous hospitality: that is what the Disciples, the early Christians, practiced. 

Can we give up something? 

An example:

overconsumption 

How do we ourselves over-consume at the impoverishment of others unseen? Do we make others poor?

But where will it lead? Where will the road of discipleship, following the way of Jesus, lead? TO THE CROSS.

RENUNCIATION (Philippians 2:5-8)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

   did not regard equality with God

   as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

   taking the form of a slave,

   being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

   he humbled himself

   and became obedient to the point of death—

   even death on a cross.

What would it mean for us to give up wealth, power, prestige, the ability to ‘get things done’ - privilege of nationality, race, color, sex, gender identity, age; to hold nothing back, and put first the kingdom of God?

What are we moving away from? What are we moving toward? And where is our security? In upward mobility, or the radical dependence on God that is faith - and hope?

So teach us to number our days 

that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. 

(Psalm 90:12)

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men”:
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

(Isaac Watts. O God, Our Help in Ages Past. 1719)

https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/O_God_Our_Help_in_Ages_Past/

Oct. 9 (6 pm) and Oct. 10 (8 am and 10:30 am):  Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; PS 90:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31

Christ the King Episcopal Church, Tucson (https://ctktucson.org/)

https://www.facebook.com/ctktucson/live/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb7AB4NIZv3kMlk9r0yBmGw/videos?view=57

Amos 5:6-7,10-15

Psalm 90:12-17

Hebrews 4:12-16

Mark 10:17-31

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

BProper 23

http://edgeofenclosure.org/proper23b.html

The Big Loser

The Big Loser

I wonder what we're missing

I wonder what's already gone

It's easy to miss stuff

              to lose stuff

It’s easy to be afraid

              to miss stuff

              to lose stuff

It’s not so easy to get rid of stuff

but it’s not so bad

the key is

            to focus

            to keep close to you

to be single-minded about

            what really matters

so as to avoid confusion

Go

Sell

Give

            and

Follow

Jesus says

to one man

whom he looked upon with loving regard

perhaps with sorrowful compassion

perhaps with joy

            confident

that

the grieving over

            many possessions

                        would not last

what would last

            would be

                        the invitation

The invitation

            come – follow me

put that stuff

            to good use

release it

set it free

free yourself of

            the burden

that is bearing you down

and then

            come to me

That final command

is the closer – the purpose

for one man – and one church

the only promise Jesus gives the man

who grieves – for he has            

            many possessions –

is to receive treasure in heaven

once he is free of what is holding

            him to earth

what does that mean? I’m not sure

but the story does not end there

            Jesus goes on to say,

                        then come follow me

the man goes off, grieving

but does grief last forever? (Joy comes in the morning)

or does he go

                                    finally

like the son who said no

            but then went and did it

                        what his Father commands

How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

            for those who have wealth

            for any body

for it is right there

his hand is open

            offering it to you

but you have to open yours to grasp it

and like the monkey with his fist

            in the jar

                        stuck

            clenched full of filberts

you may have something to let go too

to lose …

wealth

home

health

identity

possessions

what possesses you:

anger, resentment

fear itself

(false sources of security and comfort)

to gain…

the promise is

            he will be there

            he is already there

            he is already here

take my hand, open yours

follow me, and

grasp hold of the treasure

that is heaven –

How do you grasp hold of heaven?

How do you grasp hold of his hand?

            and follow?

How do you learn how to follow?

learn from his teachings

            his ways

            his practices

follow

and

see.

His people

            join in this common pursuit

You are not alone in this

            the people of God are

            the people of the promise             (Francis Baur, Life in Abundance)

the people who choose to respond

            (perhaps after much grieving)

to the invitation

            to follow

            to receive the Spirit

            to share the relation

                        Jesus has with his Father, his source:

Rowan Williams, Where God Happens (Boston, 2005) p. 114:

“That the church will not fail is one promise we can trust. This is for the simple reason that the church is above all the community of those whom Jesus calls to receive the Spirit and to share the relation that he has to his Father, his source. Because Jesus does not stop issuing that invitation, the church does not stop existing.”

That relationship

that source

            makes it possible for us

to let go of our stuff

respond to his call

and follow.

14 October 2012
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 23
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Psalm 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31

           

Congratulations! you win the prize...

In the name of God, Merciful Father, Compassionate Son, Spirit of Wisdom. Amen.

Congratulations! After months of searching and careful deliberations the committee has selected you to receive the Servant of God prize… not for anything you’ve done – but for what you’re called to be.

You are called to be – God’s child, what you already are. You are called to be – his partner in service. You are called to be – his disciple, following his way.

You are called to inherit eternal life. You are called to be – a saint.

“The only tragedy is not to be a saint.”— Leon Bloy said it; my teacher Donald Nicholl used to love to quote that.

A saint? How can I be a saint? How can anyone be a saint?

That’s what the rich man wanted to know. That’s what the disciples wanted to know.

Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’ (Mark 10:27)

A saint is not a person who is perfect – who has made it on their own – but a person who has trusted God, whatever their life circumstances.

A saint is one who is consecrated, set apart, for the service and worship of God.

A saint is one who dwells in the tabernacle of the holy, who lives within God's love.

And sometimes that is all we are - and all we have.

Job, that righteous man, stood naked before God: like King Lear buffeted by adversities (though not of his own making, Job’s daughters not being Lear’s) he voices his complaint even to the winds of the storm.

“Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.” (Job 23:1)

Job feels no presence – just absence – as he tries to get a hearing with God.

“If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left, he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.”

As Herb O’Driscoll pointed out, it’s ironically reverse from a familiar hymn:

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me.

The psalm too, presents us with a man undone, laid bare to the eyes of all – and most of all, to the one who will be our judge.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)

It is the cry of the Exile, the cry of the homeless, the destitute; it is the cry of the powerless, the cry of the Holocaust. And it is the cry of Jesus on the Cross.

It is the cry of one utterly bereft of resources, completely unable to make it on his own.

How does it feel to be on your own?

“O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.” (Psalm 22:2)

And yet – we are not alone. God has called us, not to try to make it on our own, not to try even to earn our way into the kingdom of heaven. He has only called us to walk with him.

He has not called us to be perfect: he has called us to follow him on the way.

And he will walk with us, and help us find the way.

Herb O’Driscoll reminds us of C. S. Lewis’s observation that our faith does not provide us with a map for the journey forward; it simply gives us a compass – a directional aid.

So often we expect the future to be simply an extension of the past.

We may picture history, past present future, as like a map spread out before us – or a picture of Earth seen from out in space, turning toward the sun, with some of it already lit, some still in shadow. The line between that moves with the sun is called the ‘shadow line’.

The lit-up part is the past: we can see the roads, the bridges, the mountains and the passes through them. We can see where we have come from. That’s nice – it feels secure. Whatever the road was like, we know what it looks like.

Now – looking to the future is like trying to look past the ‘shadow line’ on a distant planet, or the moon: what is lit up is easy to see – the features can be discerned – but what is in the dark, not yet revealed, because the sun of the present has not touched it yet, is hidden from our view. We do not know what is happening – we do not know the way. We only know we have our guide with us, our faith-compass in our hand, and our road before us. We must step forward – in faith.

Thomas Merton, in his book Thoughts in Solitude, offered this prayer:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.


We don’t know. That’s the peril of it – and the glory. What must I do to gain eternal life?

What, in effect, did Jesus say to the man who ran up and knelt before him?

You must let go, my friend, and know that indeed you stand naked before God and answer to him, that you cannot make it on your own. Follow him.

Follow Christ.

Follow the one ‘who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 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.’ (Hebrews 4:15-16)

It’s a hard road, but a true one. It leads to life.

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’ (Mark 8:34-35, 37, 36)

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command. Amen.

(Prayers of St Francis of Assisi)


O Christ, the master carpenter, who at the last, through wood and nails, purchased our whole salvation, wield well your tools in the workshop of your world, so that we who come rough-hewn to your bench may here be fashioned to a truer beauty of your hand. We ask it for your own name’s sake. Amen.

(Prayer for our own reshaping, from the Iona Community)


St Alban's Episcopal Church, Edmonds, Wash.,
October 11, 2009.


JRL


Sources and inspirations include "The Word Today" by Herbert O'Driscoll (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre) and the Franciscans' website www.ofm.org for Francis' prayers.

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