Are you rich? If a child asked that of an adult after stepping into their home or onto their boat, their parent would probably quickly try to shhhh them and redirect the conversation or apologize. It’s not polite to talk to others about their wealth. But we sure are fascinated by it, aren’t we? No matter how well off we might be on our own, we are drawn to what other people have that we don’t. A home, owning a home instead of renting, owning a bigger home, owning two homes. Or cars, boats, vacations, the newest gadgets, or electronics. Maybe it’s just part of our human nature (or American nature) to want more. To long for something better. To yearn for what we do not have.
There was a man, who ran up to Jesus, knelt before him, and asked for healing. Sometimes the biblical passage is titled “The Rich Man,” but it never actually uses the word rich. He had many possessions, yes; but don’t we all?
The problem with the title “The Rich Man” is that it’s too easy for us to think we’ve got this story figured out. Asking a friend to summarize the story from memory before reading it and they said, “It’s the one where the rich guy asks how to get into heaven, and Jesus tells him to sell everything he has. And it’s hard for rich people to get into heaven, just like you can’t get a camel through a needle.”
Well, kinda…but there’s a lot more to the story.
A man runs up to Jesus and meets him with great reverence or some translations suggest he kneels at Jesus’ feet, a detail that could easily be overlooked. But it’s significant because this approach and posture are used to show that someone is urgently asking for help and healing. This man is profoundly struggling in some way. Even though he seems to have it all together. Even though he has great wealth. Even though he has honored the traditions, kept all the rules, respected the laws, and practiced the rituals, still something is missing.
Jesus looks at him and loves him. Another detail easily overlooked. Jesus speaks to him with love. It’s not just a pat on the head, comforting, go in peace kind of love, but looks directly into the man’s eyes with a challenging love that invites him to change and receive the healing he can’t even name that he needs. “Go,” Jesus says, “Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor.” He is invited to be in a relationship with Jesus, “Follow me” Trust me. We’re in this together. But the man went away shocked, his face all clouded over because he had many possessions. What we don’t know is if he ever came back. Was he too shocked to make a decision? Did he need to ponder all these things in his heart for a while? Who knows? But the initial shock or call to action was too much to bear and he walked away from the healing presence of Jesus even though healing is what he yearned for.
Wealth isn’t the only problem that gets between us and the healing presence of Jesus, although it is a prime example. The Bible talks about money more than just about any other topic for good reason. Because all too often we see wealth as a blessing, a reward, as a sign that we’re doing everything right, that we’ve got it all together. But it isn’t our only stumbling block. The list of stumbling blocks goes on and on until it seems impossible for anyone to be saved. The word saved means way more than getting into heaven. The word saved also means “to bring out safely” or “to get along.” Such freedom, the phrase proclaims, comes from without, through the agency of someone else. Freedom, salvation, and healing come from trusting God, not yourself.
What holds you back from the healing you seek? How have you yearned for eternal life but a life that is full, rich, merciful, and generous right now as a follower of Jesus? As I ask these questions of myself and you, I know it’s never really a one-and-done experience but an ongoing journey of healing and seeking to trust God more fully and let go of the control I imagine I have over my healing. And I see the challenges and changes we all have faced and the healing and wholeness that has been received gracefully as we seek to trust God more fully than we trust ourselves.
Some of us have given up on addictions, doing the hard work of saying no to temptation one day at a time. We do it knowing there is healing and salvation on the other side that is better than the one we grieved letting go.
Some of us have given up unhealthy relationships and identities, daring to believe that despite what happened to us in the past we are worth more. We’ve taken hold of the promise that we are beloved children of God, and nothing will separate us from this truth.
Some of us have given up ambition and pride, and humbled ourselves, stepping out of positions of power to care for the poor and the needy into places of humility or service. And in doing so we have found a deeper satisfaction and a fuller, richer life lived in relationships with people who are hurting.
Some of us have done the important work of examining our place in an unjust racist system and we work to dismantle our own racism and colonial American imperialism. We have named and lamented our privilege and commit to continuing to challenge ourselves and others to do the same even when it may involve discomfort and grief.
So many of you, not just some, give your money, share your wealth, and share even when you don’t feel wealthy. You give deeply, you pledge generously, and you make sacrifices so that the church and this world can be a beacon of the Gospel. You know in the core of your being that it is in giving of our time and treasures that we care for our neighbors, not only here at church but the ones who are homeless and the ones losing their homes under the threat of hurricanes or war so we all may experience and live in the healing presence of Jesus, no matter what our greatest yearning.
All of what you do—of what we do—is important and good. It is what we do as followers of Christ. But in the end, it’s not what we do at all. At the centerpiece of our Gospel, today is an inheritance of homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, land, persecutions to humble us, and eternal life. Inheritance is a gift we don’t deserve, and it is one we can do nothing to receive.
If it were up to us camels, it would be impossible to make it through the eye of a needle. But with God, all things are possible. God frees us from our stumbling blocks so that we can trust God, and live abundant, joyful lives of service and generosity.
