When Jesus tells us about the problems with wealth, we get hung up on whether or not he means us. But that isn’t the point.
For the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
– Proper 23B
Collect
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reading
From Mark 10:17-31
“Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words.”
Reflection
Let’s all take a second to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Jesus really is saying that having wealth is an impediment to entering the kingdom of God. There is no denying it.
And I think every one of us feels compelled to wrestle with what that means.
What it means in the abstract, universal sense
– (does wealth itself have a demonstrable effect on people?)
and in the personal sense
– (am I in trouble if I have anything?).
This leads us to the need to define wealth itself
–(what counts and how much is “too much”?).
This line of thought is not only reasonable; it is inevitable. And I think it is precisely what Jesus expected.
His words were bound to strike us as deeply challenging because they struck the disciples that way.
Notice their response is “Then who can be saved?” It is not to ask “what counts?” They assume everything counts. They assume they themselves count as wealthy. In fact, they assume Jesus is asking too much of them – and they aren’t even as wealthy as the pious young man Jesus just scared away in verses 17-22!
I suspect this is precisely what Jesus assumed would happen. I also suspect it avoids the point.
The point is that it is hard for a person to force their way into the Kin-dom, dragging their wealth with them. Because that’s not how you get in.
The pious young man wants to know what he needs to do ensure he gets in. He is essentially asking What is the proper code to the lock? because what he wants is to make God let him in. He doesn’t want to rely on God’s generosity.
We don’t get in by believing the right things or behaving the right way. Participation in the kin-dom doesn’t arise from our actions which ultimately mandates that God lets us in. There is no secret code.
It is by God’s grace that we enter the kin-dom. Grace that is given robustly to the poor, the weak, the powerless, the sick, and the abused.
We don’t earn this grace. But we can be confident that in demonstrating that kind of grace, we can be assured of receiving it. Because that is the nature of God’s creation.