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
