What Do You Want Me to Do?

We in the church have been reading the tenth chapter of Mark’s gospel the past few weeks, and it has me thinking about the way we use these stories that often get rolled into this season of the church year. This is a time we talk about budgets and stewardship, along with the giving of our “time and talents” (that phrase is wearing on me). In our worship, we also include the recurring events like new member receptions, confirmations, baptisms, Fall weddings, and preparation for the harvest that leads into the season of Advent. Whew!

It’s easy to see how some might lose sight of the reason we do all this. His name is Jesus.

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ miracles and teaching function within the narrative to identify the incarnate Son as the One in whom God works victory over the apocalyptic powers of evil, sin, and death. When the rich man asks Jesus how he could obtain eternal life, he identifies Jesus as “Good Teacher” to which Jesus notes that it is only God that is “good” (Mark 10.18). (Spoiler alert: Jesus is God!) Of course Jesus gives the financially well-off man (the 1%?) the imperative to sell all that he has, and give the money to the poor (Mark 10.21). I have heard this proclaimed to congregations that we should also be generous with our cash, which is not a bad thing, but is this what Jesus is saying to us?

Recent headlines about people who consider themselves “Spiritual but Not Religious,” Atheists, Agnostics, and religious “Nones” have garnered much attention. To those of us who study such things and think about the future of faith in the world on a daily basis, this isn’t really new information. As our society has progressed, (in America, at least) each decade seems to bring with it a thinning strand with which the current generation holds onto the religious practices and traditions of the generations that came before it. Should we be surprised that the highest percentages of people who identify themselves as having no religious affiliation are in the ages of 18-30?

My parents graduated high school in 1974. They were too young for Vietnam, and already apathetic toward politics in general, came of age in the Ford and Carter eras. The rebellion ignited in the sixties had fizzled into the dawn of the “slacker” seventies (a precursor to the 80’s yuppie backlash). One of the few things they had to rebel against was the established religious tradition of their parents, and with more women entering the work force and professional careers during the ‘Quiet Revolution,’ the focus of Sunday morning shifted from the sanctuary to the soccer field. This might be oversimplification, but I think it’s a chance to begin to look at how and why these issues have evolved.

There are myriad answers as to why young people identify themselves as unassociated with the religious landscape of the twenty-first century. One is the example of their parents. Another is the movement of the American Christian landscape towards a civic-faith, watered-down gospel, gathering of the ‘nice.’ Yet another is the parade of hypocrisy publicly demonstrated by those associated with the loudest versions of Christianity in America. Like the rich man in Mark 10, young adults, and Christians in general “lack one thing.”

Jesus’ answer to the man, then, is that he cannot obtain the kingdom of heaven. He can’t do it. For mortals it is impossible (Mark 10.27). To assume that Jesus’ command to sell his possessions is the answer to the rich man’s question is to say that we can save ourselves. If the man in question were to follow through and sell all that he had and give it to the poor, he still would not obtain the salvation he asks from the Lord. It’s not quid pro quo. The one thing the rich man lacks is not humility, poverty, or good deeds. The one thing he lacks is that he is not the Christ. Jesus’ final words to the man are “Come, and follow me.” The answer in Mark’s Gospel to the question is to believe that Jesus is the One in which God works, the One who has the power to save, and the One who can conquer death and the evil of the world.

The point is furthered (Mark 10.35-45) when James and John ask Jesus for a position of glory, sitting next to him at right and left side. Jesus’ followers were rightly upset when they heard of the request, since the two were putting themselves above the rest. Jesus’ response goes on to identify the role of the Son of God. It is not for Jesus to grant who is greatest, but to follow the will of God, to go to the cross, to be the Savior of the world. Jesus tells them he has not come to decide which of them is the greatest, but to invite us into relationship, to teach us serve others rather than ourselves, and to do what we cannot, taking on the sin of the world.

To those who would mark the box, “None:” understand that a life of faith does not require moral purity, judgment of others, a pure way of life, but only faith. Trust in God – the One revealed to the world in Jesus Christ, who says, “Come, follow me.” This is the first step in the process. Yes, let go of the things that hold you back from real relationship with Christ. Let go of the baggage, the doubt, the fear, the fascination with the things of this world, and really walk with Jesus. God knows you are not perfect, in fact you are lacking. You are not the Christ. Luckily, Jesus is, was, and will be. 

Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Mark 10.51-52