Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Oct 11, 2015 Sermon: "Less Is More"

Stephen Baldwin
OT: Psalm 90.12-17
NT:  Mark 10.17-31
Less Is More

            Last week we read a passage from Mark 10 about divorce.  Well, it was sort of about divorce but also about something much bigger.  Likewise, today’s story, also from Mark 10, is about money…but also about something much bigger.  Let’s dive right into what’s happening. 
            After Jesus embraced a group of children in his arms, saying the kingdom belonged to them, he was ready to leave town.  As he was leaving, a man approached him with a question. “Good teacher,” he called to Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” 
            Jesus ticks off commandments like they’re a grocery list--don’t murder, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t defraud, don’t lie, honor your parents.  And the man nods his head like a husband who has successfully gone to Kroger shopping for his wife.  Bread, milk, fruit, veggies, chocolate.  Got it.   He says to Jesus, “I’ve kept all of those since I was a boy.” 
            It’s hard to say what the man might have expected from Jesus.  Does he want an “atta boy?”  Does he want Jesus to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?  Does he honestly want to know what else to do?  Mark says that Jesus looked at him with love, which makes me think the man was earnest in wanting to know how to follow Jesus.  So Jesus tells him: Sell everything you own, give the profits to the poor, and then come follow me. 
            As if to highlight his point, Jesus then says to the disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  What does that mean?  Well, there’s an old saying in Jewish literature from Babylonian times about an elephant passing through the eye of a needle.  It was a figure of speech meaning, “Ain’t gonna happen.”  It didn’t just mean the chances weren’t good; it meant the chances were bad. 
            The implications for this wealthy man and for us are clear.  Jesus meant all that stuff about the first being last and the last being first.  He actually expects us to give.  That got me thinking this week about how we spend our money. 
Kerry and I went to the movie recently.  It was a night show, so it was full price.  And we got popcorn and drinks, because Kerry says so.  So it cost about $25 for our date.  I thought that was kind of expensive, but I was happy to pay it because getting to go on a date with Kerry was absolutely worth $25. 
            Do you know how much each of us as members give to the Presbyterian Church each year?  I’m not talking about what you put into the plate.  I’m talking about how much we give to the denomination out of what you give in the plate.  Any guesses?  Not much more than we spent for our date.  The denomination asks every local congregation to pay them about $28 per year per member.  And that money pays for our missionaries across the world, our new worshipping communities that are being created, our seminaries, our curriculum, Bibles distributed in local languages across the globe, and our national staff!  $28 per year.  That’s all the denomination asks for, and they’re talking about having to recall one-third of our missionaries because people aren’t paying their $28. 
            That made me think about how I spend my money, and perhaps it’s making you think about the same thing.  I did a children’s sermon once where I asked the kids to list how they spent their money.  You can guess what they said…candy, toys, games.  Then I pulled out my checkbook and had them read for the church how I spent my money.  Gas…shoes…groceries… golf…shoes. 
            It was a humbling and intimidating exercise, but it inspired me to do a better job of putting my money where my mouth was.  Which is exactly what Jesus challenges the wealthy man to do. 
            I don’t think Jesus literally intended the man to sell everything he owned in order to be a disciple.  Do you have to sell everything you own to be a good Christian?  I know plenty of faithful people who use the resources they have for good purposes, and I believe that sort of generosity honors God. 
            But remember, this story isn’t just about money.  It’s also about something much bigger.  When Jesus tells the man he must do one more thing, what is he teaching him?  Everything is a teaching moment for Jesus.  So what’s the lesson?  Sacrifice.  He asks the man to give up the one thing he would rather keep.  If you were in that man’s shoes and Jesus asked you to sacrifice the one thing you’d rather keep, what would it be?  Think about that.  What would it be? 
            Brené Brown, in a wonderful book on parenting titled “Daring Greatly” which I commend to each of you, says that the word sacrifice in its original Latin meant to make sacred or holy.  When we give up something onto which we cling—whether it is a possession, a fear, a grudge, a security measure, or a routine—we make our lives more sacred. 
            Keep in mind the man who says this—Jesus—has sacrificed his own family to be traveling the countryside, healing the sick and loving the unlovable.  The ones he says it to—the disciples—have left their own families, possessions, routines, and jobs to follow him.  When they spoke of sacrifice, they did not so lightly.  They all knew what it meant to give something special up…in order to make a more sacred life. 

            May we be challenged and inspired by their example as we consider the sacrifice to which God is calling us, not to make our lives less, but to make them more.  Amen.  

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