The Gospel for Thursday, April 1, 2004
Mark 10:17-31
He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, 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 kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, ‘You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them, ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, ‘In that case, who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them and said, ‘By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.’ Peter took this up. ‘Look,’ he said to him, ‘we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land—and persecutions too—now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life. Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. 1995, c1985. Doubleday: Garden City, N.Y.
A Study
Mark is in such a hurry! In these 15 short verses, he has Jesus teach us four huge truths, with scarcely a breath to ponder one before the next is laid before us.
1. Emotional connection with the teacher is not the same as true connection with what is taught. The young rich man was fascinated with Jesus the Rabbi and how he taught: "Good master." Jesus quickly disabused the young man's thinking, turning him away from the Rabbi and toward God.
2. Righteousness is not the key to the Kingdom. The young man had lived a righteous life, and by Jewish standards of the day, had been amply rewarded, in wealth, for his righteousness. He had done wrong to no one, and had accumulated great wealth. But he had given little or nothing.
3. Accumulation of wealth, a Jewish mark of blessedness, carried no weight with Jesus the Son. Christianity is about loving and giving, not about being wealthy, not about being righteous or holy or incorrupt.
4. Even leaving all wealth, family, and estate behind, and following Jesus, offers no guarantee to the Kingdom if pride in having done so is the motivator. Peter was shocked to hear that he would receive an hundred-fold on earth and in heaven -- including persecutions. The first/last comment directed at Peter was precisely aimed at pride welling up in Peter and the disciples for having "given it all up for Jesus."
A Reflection
I have asked those who are answering the call as priests how they knew they were called. "I couldn't NOT be a priest" is the common answer. I have entertained becoming a priest even at my late age. God is giving me all sorts of signals that I can very easily NOT be a priest. He has given me some abiities that allow me to gain and share wealth -- though I am always fearful that I accumulate and don't share, or that I've somehow missed an opportunity to accumulate some that could be shared. And I am always fearful that I use far too many words and far too few actions in preaching His Gospel. Scary stuff.
Of course it's scary. This is not easy stuff like brain surgery or rocket science. We KNOW how to do that stuff. This is important stuff we're talking about here. It requires heart searching and soul scouring, not number crunching and idea churning. When the numbers of answers equals the numbers of questions, our lives will be transitioned from this one to the next.
Father, Lord of all creation,
we praise you for your goodness and your love.
When we turned away you did not reject us.
You came to meet us in your Son,
welcomed us as your children
and prepared a table where we might feast with you....
-- Eucharistic Prayer 3 Preface, Draft Church of Ireland Book of Common Prayer, 2004
9:23:16 PM 
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