Wealth: Boon Or Bane?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Most people in our society look forward to retirement -- and one of the main attractions is the freedom it offers us from the stress and demands of the workaday world. Once freed from the bondage of the "rat race," many retirees enjoy traveling or engaging in hobbies that they never seemed to have enough time for previously. But that rosy picture assumes that we've been able to save enough for a "comfortable" retirement... and an entire cottage industry has sprung up to assist us with sound financial planning so that we can accumulate enough wealth for our "golden years." The pursuit of wealth is a powerful motivator, precisely because it provides us with the freedom not to have to worry about basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. But in this week's lectionary gospel passage, Jesus turns the idea of sound financial planning on its ear when he tells a wealthy man to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor." That goes against the grain of many basic American attitudes -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member George Reed points out that Jesus tells the man this because he perceives that the accumulation of assets isn't just a route to freedom from want... it's also a trap that binds us to the need to maintain our wealth and/or acquire more. George reminds us that wealth is not only a blessing; it's also a curse if hoarding it separates us from the kingdom of God.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer offers some additional thoughts on this week's lectionary texts and on the theme of searching for God. The psalmist plaintively asks, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Job might ask a similar question -- except that he is more aggressively seeking to find a God who has apparently abandoned him in order to plead his case. Though he's not sure exactly what he's looking for other than "eternal life," the wealthy man in our gospel passage is also searching for the kingdom of God... and is crestfallen when Jesus' answer is not to his liking. Dean shares a touching personal story to illustrate that the common thread here is that God has not forsaken us -- we have forsaken God, and the more we flail about in trying to find him, the more difficult it is for us to relinquish control of our lives and let God find us.
Wealth: Boon or Bane?
by George Reed
Mark 10:17-31
THE WORLD
As we sit and watch the presidential debates, we see two millionaires trying to convince people that they are not only in tune with the middle class but also not that much different than us. The economy is on everyone's mind, and even people who don't own stock still watch the Dow Jones average to see what is happening on the financial landscape. And when the New York Stock Exchange is closed, there is usually another market open in some part of the world.
Few agree on the cause, but many agree that the middle class is rapidly giving way to a larger number of the rich and super-rich and an even greater increase in those who are sinking into poverty.
Whether we have untold wealth that we watch over, or do not have enough for food and shelter, or are making it along fairly comfortably for now, we are all in danger of being trapped by wealth. It is not just those who are watching their millions multiply or disappear who are obsessed with money. Certainly many of those who are struggling to keep their homes have finances on their mind most of the time. And with uncertain economic times, most of us are concerned about whether or not we are going to have enough for now or in the future. Money can so easily be seen as the real basis of life.
THE WORD
In this week's gospel lesson, Jesus meets up with a rich man who is looking for "eternal life" -- and he offers some "financial advice" the man isn't ready to receive. When Jesus tells the man to keep the law, the man replies that he already does this... and yet he seeks more. Religiously faithful and financially successful, he finds that there is something more that he needs in his life. Jesus senses what the barrier is to the man's coming into a fuller relationship with God. And so he instructs the man to sell all that he has and give it to those in need. The man is crestfallen at this news and goes away in sorrow because "he had many possessions." He cannot let them go.
When Jesus and the disciples talk about entering the realm of God and wealth, they are astounded that Jesus says it is hard for the wealthy. Wealth was seen as a blessing from God, and therefore if one did well then one must be in good with God. Disease and poverty were seen as curses for one's failures; wealth was the reward for living a good life. The disciples are aghast to hear Jesus say that this is not the way it is. Wealth is simply wealth. It is part of human interaction. It can be a blessing -- but it can also be a curse, because it can blind us. If we are not careful, we will begin to think that wealth (or the lack of wealth) is what makes the world go around. We can be fooled into thinking we are safe if we have an adequate amount and cursed if we do not.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
While we are very much aware that being wealthy does not necessarily mean that a person is of good moral character, we are still prone to see them as blessed -- maybe not directly by God, maybe just by luck... but blessed nevertheless. And too many of us look at the poor and despise them for "not trying hard enough." We look at ourselves if we are in that "comfortable" range, and either lament that we do not have enough because we are victims or pat ourselves on the back because we have worked so hard. And wealth is measured not only in dollars -- our portfolio is also made up of other types of wealth such as talent, intelligence, and good looks.
Jesus comes along and tells us to let go of our ties to wealth. "Quit measuring the worth of people by what they own," he says. It is not wealth that makes you godly or blessed. It is your relationship with God as you live that out in the midst of your sisters and brothers. Eternal life is not primarily about an unending life beyond the grave. It is first of all about a life with God, becoming more conformed and transformed into the image of God we were created to reflect. And he provides the ultimate model for us: God is a giver, not a hoarder!
SECOND THOUGHTS
Searching for God
by Dean Feldmeyer
Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Mark 10:17-31
When I was about six years old the Feldmeyer family reunion was held at a state park in Indiana and several families all decided to camp together in the campgrounds. There were about 20 of us -- aunts, uncles, cousins -- taking up six adjacent campsites.
One evening, around dusk, my Uncle Waldo gathered the boys together and took us all to the shower house, but on the way there I realized that I had forgotten my towel. He sent me back down the path to the campsite to get the towel, but somehow on my way back I took a wrong turn and got lost.
I walked and walked along the paved paths through the campground, hoping after hope that I would eventually stumble across my family's campsite -- but the longer I walked the more lost I got and the darker it got, until I was certain (in my 6-year-old mind) that I was going to perish, lost, wandering forever through the state park until I died. And I started to cry. I began running along the paths through the campground, crying in despair that I would die having never seen my family again.
Then, as if by magic, I heard my mother's laugh -- and I looked up, and there was our family's campsite just one section over. I ran to it and was received back into the bosom of my family who had not yet realized that I was among the missing.
The next day my mother noticed that I was hanging around the campsite more than usual, and she took me aside, into the big tent my father had borrowed for this adventure. "Dean," she said, "are you afraid that if you leave the campsite you'll get lost again?"
I nodded as the tears began to return. She took me into her arms. "Dean, I would never leave without you," she said. And then she held me at arms' length and said, very seriously, "If you ever get lost again, don't try to find me. Just stop. Sit down... and wait. And I'll find you."
Job has some things he wants to say to God... only he can't find God. In his pain and despair he lashes and thrashes about -- forward, backward, left, right -- but nowhere does he see God. Finally he gives up, certain that he will die having never seen God again. It will not be until he stops searching that Job finally hears God's voice.
The rich man in Mark's lesson is also searching. He's like a man who has bought a key that says "Kingdom of God" on it, but he wants to be sure the key will fit the lock and work the way it's supposed to. So he goes to Jesus and asks him for reassurance. How can he be sure the key will work as it is supposed to? Jesus gives him all the usual answers that he's heard in Sunday school -- be kind, follow the Ten Commandments, and the Golden Rule.
"Yeah, yeah," the man says, "I've done all that. What else?"
It is then that Jesus realizes that this man is being blinded by his own righteousness, which is represented in the fortune he has amassed. So Jesus tells him to let that -- the fortune and the righteousness it represents -- go.
In other words, stop searching for the kingdom. Just stop. Sit down... and wait. Let God find you.
But the man can't. He's too invested in his own righteousness to give it up now.
He can't sit. He can't wait. He can't let God find him.
He has to be the finder. He has to be in control -- of himself, of his fortune, of God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
G.K. Chesterton once said something to the effect that it may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies. That could be a rather interesting argument. However, said Chesterton, there is no point to a debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble. There is just too much evidence.
-- William Willimon, "Jesus vs. Generic God"
* * *
Some treat this week's gospel text as if it denounced wealth and wealthy people. Not so! John Wesley used to preach a sermon about wealth with three points: make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. This reading speaks to the third of Wesley's admonitions.
Once a year the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon would deliver an impassioned appeal for donations to his orphanage. It is said that after one such event a penurious individual accosted him and said, "Why, Mr. Spurgeon, I thought you preached for souls and not for money!"
Spurgeon replied gravely, "Why, Mr. So-and-So, normally I do preach for souls and not for money. But my orphans can't eat souls, and if they did, my brother, it would take at least four the size of yours to give one of them a square meal!" To which we might add the observation of one wit: "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver, but he accepteth from a grouch."
* * *
One of comedian Jack Benny's most enduring scenes is one highlighting his reputation as a skinflint. Confronted with a mugger who demands of him, "Your money or your life," there's nothing but silence. After a long pause, the man demands, "Well?" And Jack Benny replies, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
To all but the most foolish of people, it would seem obvious that if you lose your life your money isn't going to do you much good anyway; so what's to think about? But isn't that essentially the same choice Jesus put before the rich young ruler? Jesus was saying to him, "Your money or eternal life." He couldn't have both. He had to give up one or the other. And this man stood there quietly. When Jesus pressed him for an answer, he said, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking." What was he thinking about, and why did he make the wrong decision?
* * *
Frederick Buechner has said that the trouble with being rich is that since you can solve with your checkbook virtually all of the practical problems that bedevil ordinary people, you are left in your leisure with nothing but the great human problems to contend with: how to be happy, how to love and be loved, how to find meaning and purpose for your life. The tragedy, of course, is that the rich are continually tempted to believe that they can solve these problems with money as well.
The so-called "rich young ruler" was that sort of person. He was raising the basic question about life -- how was eternal life to become a reality? Jesus' answer was not an indictment of wealth. It was merely the suggestion that wealth gets in the way of our destiny when it becomes ultimate. The ruler claimed to be seeking meaning for life. He wanted to achieve a relationship with God that brought purpose and reason for being. But his inability to let go of his wealth made it quite evident that he already had chosen his priorities -- and his wealth led the list.
Riches are not bad -- except when they stand in the way of something better. Most psychiatrists, not to mention philosophers and ministers, would suggest that our greatest need is for love. That's what the rich young ruler was seeking -- a relationship of love with God. But he had already decided that riches were more important. He went away sorrowful -- probably not only because he couldn't buy a relationship with God, but because he had also realized that his wealth in itself would not bring him the meaning for life that he was seeking.
Jesus didn't despise him; he loved him. But his epitaph can be heard in the old couplet: "Of all sad words of tongue or pen; saddest are these: It might have been."
* * *
We need to make it clear that Jesus is not condemning the rich man in this week's gospel passage. That story has been used too often over the years to induce guilt in those who have an abundance of material goods. Remember who initiates the encounter: It is the rich man. It is he who comes running up to Jesus. It is he who is worried about how to attain eternal life. It is he who fears that something in his life is broken, something he doesn't know how to fix.
It's as though the young man is standing in flood waters up to his neck. The river is rising, and he can't swim. There's Jesus on the bank and in his hands is a life preserver. Jesus rears back and tosses it to the man with all his strength. But the young man just lets it sit there. "Take it!" Jesus cries. "It's right there!" But the young man just stares at the life preserver bobbing on the waves in front of his face -- and with a mournful look in his eye, he turns away.
A key to understanding this passage is the list of commandments Jesus gives. Back in the beginning, when the man first addresses him, Jesus answers, "You know the commandments." Then he goes on to list a few. But strangely enough, Jesus doesn't list all the Ten Commandments. He only lists five (well six actually, but "you shall not defraud" is really a part of "you shall not bear false witness"). Jesus lists the five commandments having to do with human relationships: murder, adultery, theft, lying, and failing to honor one's parents.
The rich young man has no trouble with these. Nor do many Christians today, whose list of the most important ethical issues begins and ends with human relationships. Sexual ethics is on the list, to be sure -- but economic justice? That's nowhere to be found.
Jesus isn't so concerned with these five commandments, numbers four through nine. He knows the young man has kept them for the most part. It's the others that are a little more problematic. Specifically, number one: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol...."
There's one thing the rich young man loves -- more even than God. He loves his material comforts. They are the object of his worship and when he finds himself in deep spiritual waters, the weight of that golden idol will drag him down for sure.
-- Carlos Wilton, Lectionary Preaching Workbook [Series VIII, Cycle B] (CSS Publishing, 2006)
* * *
Those who love money will not be satisfied with money.
-- The Talmud
* * *
Joseph Kennedy -- the patriarch of the Kennedy clan and the father of John, Robert, and Ted -- was a wealthy Boston financier who made the decision to move to New York City in order to widen his financial horizons. When a friend learned of it, he asked Kennedy, "What is it you really want?" Kennedy reflected for a moment and then replied, "Everything."
The trouble with the rich young man in our gospel text was that he thought he already had everything and didn't want to let any of it go. Little could he have known that the real treasure was waiting for him, just beyond what he grasped so tightly.
* * *
With a dizzying array of dashboard electronic devices, automobiles have become so technologically advanced and complicated that vehicle owners often need more assistance navigating them than is provided by the printed manual in the glove compartment. And it's not just drivers who need help -- even those whose job it is to provide instructions from customer service call centers are often stymied.
So when these advisors also become so confused that they are unable to help customers, they leave their cubicle and go to a simulator that car companies have dubbed an "infotainment." It's an exact replica of the automobile that is being discussed, allowing the representative to sit in the driver's seat before the car's actual console. From this vantage point, and actually being able to see and touch the electronic software, they are better able to guide customers in solving their automotive problems.
Before Jesus could instruct the rich young man on what he must do to be saved, he first had to understand from where the young adult was coming from. Our guidance in leading someone to Christ cannot be a cookie-cutter formula but must be one that comes from our sitting in an "infotainment" that understands their position.
* * *
Historians have noted that the incumbent generally loses the first presidential debate. The reason for this is twofold. First, the challenger often wins just by being on stage with the incumbent, because it enhances their stature. Second, the incumbent's debating skills tend to become rusty because for four years they have only been shown deference in the Oval Office. Despite winning the initial debates, however, challengers have rarely been able to capitalize upon their advantage.
Jesus said, "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." We should always be cautious that an early success does not guarantee future success; instead, we must accept all success in humility.
* * *
Author Maya Angelou owns three spacious homes, each with a specific and separate décor. Two of the homes are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the third home is a brownstone in Harlem, New York. But when Ms. Angelou chooses to write, she goes to a hotel room reserved for her in whatever city she happens to be travelling to at the time. All of the pictures in the room are removed, to avoid any distractions. It is in this cloistered setting that she is able to do her best contemplation and composing.
The author of Hebrews speaks of the word of God as "living and active." Perhaps for us to understand the living and active word of God, like Maya Angelou we first need to seek a place of solace for contemplation and composing.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Leah Lonsbury
Words for Reflection
How easy it is for a poor man to depend on God! What else has he to depend on? And how hard it is for a rich man to depend on God! All his possessions call out to him: "Depend on us!"
-- Rabbi Moshe Leib, quoted in Resources for Preaching and Worship, Year B: Quotations, Meditations, Poetry, and Prayers, edited by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild (Westminster John Knox, 2002), p. 237
OR
Suppose we were in a dimly lit room. The place might look fairly clean. But install a hundred bulbs of a thousand watts each and put the whole room under a magnifying glass. The place would begin to crawl with all kinds of strange and wonderful little creatures. It would be all you could do to stay there. So it is with our interior. When God turns up the voltage, our motivation begins to take on a wholly different character, and we reach out with great sincerity for the mercy of God and for [God's] forgiveness. That is why trust in God is so important. Without trust, we are likely to run away or say, "There must be some better way of going to God."
-- Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel (Element, 1991), p. 94
Call to Worship
One: My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away, so far from hearing and helping me?
All: I seek you in the sacred places and moments, in the praises of your people.
One: O God, I cry by day, but you do not answer me. I cry through the night and find no rest.
All: My mothers and fathers in faith trusted you, and you held them in your hands. They cried to you and were saved.
One: But I am so low, barely human beneath the scorn and shame of others.
All: You gave me life and have been my God since birth. You still hold me fast.
One: Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and help is nowhere to be found.
All: I come to find you, Holy One. I come in trust despite my doubt. I come with faith despite my fear. Meet me here and hear my cry.
OR
One: God, your word is living and active. Through it you seek the truth of our hearts and call us in love.
All: We hear your call and know your grace well, so we come to worship you with boldness and hope.
One: Meet us here.
All: Fill us, shape us, and stir us with your word.
Gathering Prayer
Steadfast and compassionate one, you are merciful even as you call us to more... more trust, more abandon, more risk, more love. Clear our minds and open our hearts so that we do not confuse your "more" with the "more" of the world. Attune our senses so we don't lose sight of your vision, fail to hear your voice amidst the noise, or become hardened to your word that pierces and reshapes us for love. In your grace, disturb us. Rouse us. Lift us into awareness of your power and presence. Make clear your claim on our lives. May our time here make us ready, open, and willing for you to answer this prayer. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
When we fail to hear or heed your call,
when our eyes are too full of what we have or what we want
to see the richness of your blessings or the poverty of our neighbors,
have mercy on us, O God.
When we value our comforts over your kin-dom,
when we get too mired in our shortcomings to make room
for all that you make possible,
have mercy on us, O God.
When the wealth we have or the wealth we pine over becomes a trap,
when we forget that all we have is a gift to be received and given again,
have mercy on us, O God.
When we forget that a living faith requires growth, trust, vulnerability, and risk;
when we are satisfied with our own narrow vision of ourselves, our relationships, and your world;
have mercy on us, O God.
Through your mercy, teach us to be bold.
Through your grace, teach us to risk for love.
Through your compassion, teach us to have generous spirits and vulnerable hearts.
May we step ever closer to your dream for us, your beloved children.
Assurance
The word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing until it lays us open in truth and possibility
before the One who knows us fully and loves us completely.
This is the love that is brimming with potential and hope.
This is the love in which and for which we were created.
This is the love that forgives, re-creates, and sends us again and again.
Thanks be to God.
Ideas for Time with Children
This week's lectionary lends itself to a variety of conversations with children around wealth -- what we do with it, what it does to us, where it comes from, what it's for, what forms it can take...
* In our text from Job, the problem isn't whether or not God is good or just or loving. The problem is that Job can't seem to find God. What gets in the way of us finding God? What do we substitute for God? How do we find God amidst all the stuff, the media, the advertisements for more stuff, and all the noise our stuff and our desires for stuff make?
* In Psalm 22, the speaker notes God's faithfulness and how God heard and saved the ancestors of our faith. What if the Psalmist or the reader asked herself, "What has changed between then and now"? Maybe she would discover that it isn't God who has forsaken us. Maybe we have forsaken God. How does this happen? What causes it? What part does wealth (in its many forms) play in this?
* In our text from Hebrews, we are reminded of how closely God sees us and how deeply God understands us. What if we could see ourselves in the same way? What would we discover? What would we find once we pierced through all the stuff (literal and metaphorical)? What gets in the way of us having this kind of vision? This text also reminds us of how generously God reacts to what God finds in our deepest selves. How does that free us? How are we generous in response?
* Our gospel reading addresses wealth in a very straightforward way -- how it can trap us, what it can keep us from, how it clouds our kin-dom vision. What kind of wealth gets in our way and how does that show up in our lives? How do we use our wealth -- does it free us or trap us? How are we rich (for good or for ill)? How would our current culture tell this story?
Conversation starters...
* Fill your pockets, your arms, the pulpit, the altar table, or the space you typically use to meet with the children during worship with lots of stuff. Make sure it keeps you from doing something -- sitting next to someone, hugging someone, being comfortable, moving around, doing a task, or having a conversation. Or, fill up the space where the children usually sit with stuff. Then have a conversation about how wealth gets in the way -- in our lives, relationships, connections to God, and living out God's dream for the world.
* Ask the children what makes someone wealthy. Have a conversation about how we use our wealth in the world. How does it free us? How does it trap us?
* Rewrite the gospel story to fit the current culture. Cast some cultural icon, celebrity, or millionaire in Jesus' role. How would that stand-in respond to the rich man? What do the children think of what the story teaches if it's told this way?
Prayers of the People
Before entering the time of prayer, offer some guidance and invitation around this body prayer.
* When offering prayers of need -- for oneself, loved ones, the community, our nation, and our international human family -- hold both hands out, palms up, ready to receive.
* When offering prayers of gratitude -- for all that we treasure and hold close in love, for all that fills us joy, for all that sustains us, for all that has shaped us, for all that blesses us and provides us opportunities for love and growth -- hold both hands over the heart, ready to embrace.
* When offering prayers of release -- for all we need to let go of; for all that burdens us, drags us down, causes us fear or anxiety, holds us back, sells us short, silences or oppresses us -- hold both hands out, palms down, ready to release.
We welcome you, God of Love,
to fill us with your presence and create through us your dream of abundant life for our whole human family.
We welcome you, Liberating Christ,
to challenge our thinking, our living, our comfort, our short-sightedness
and free us in love for each other.
We welcome you, Sustaining Spirit,
to call us by name, to call us beloved,
to soften our hearts for the creation of something new,
something beautiful, something life-giving.
We welcome you, Loving One, in this place and in the fullness of our lives. Come, hear our prayers, find and fill us in this silence.
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of need. (HANDS RAISED)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of gratitude. (HANDS OVER HEART)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of release. (HANDS OPEN)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of need, gratitude, and release for our community gathered here and beyond these walls...
(Consider offering the prayers of community here if they were gathered earlier.)
We are richly blessed by your presence, power, and possibilities. With thankful hearts, we join our voices with the voice of abundant love that speaks to all our lives....
(All join in the prayer of Jesus.)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Blessed and blessing God, we join you now in generosity, love, and hope. May these gifts, which come from your goodness, bring forth light and life. May they share your grace, speak of your mercy, and shine forth your hope for the world. Amen.
Hymn Suggestions
"Rejoice in God's Saints"
"Why Stand So Far Away, My God?"
"Hope of the World"
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
"By Gracious Powers"
"O Word of God Incarnate"
"Womb of Life, and Source of Being"
"Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth"
"Take Up Your Cross"
"As We Gather at Your Table"
"Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life"
"Colorful Creator"
"O God, My God"
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Rich in So Many Ways
Mark 10:17-30
Objects: some money, a checkbook, and a credit card
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you know what it means to be wealthy? (let the children answer) Are any of you wealthy? (let them answer) Do you know anyone who is wealthy? (let them answer) Some people call the wealthy rich! Are any of you rich? (let them answer)
Most people think of wealth as having a lot of money. If you put money in a bank, they will give you a checkbook and you can write checks when you go to the store or buy a gift. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? (let them answer) Some people have credit cards. The banks give these to you also if you put money in the bank. With a credit card you can buy almost anything today. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? (let them answer) Or some people even carry money in their billfolds and purses. They use this money to buy newspapers, candy bars, gasoline for the car, and tickets to the movies. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? Those all sound like good things to me, doesn't it to you? (let them answer)
But Jesus said wealthy people are going to have a hard time getting into heaven. Do you think you will be wealthy someday? If you have a job, earn money, put it in the bank, and get a checkbook and credit cards, does that mean you will be wealthy? Will you be able to enter into the kingdom of God? (let them answer)
So how does it work? How do wealthy people stay in God's kingdom? Jesus teaches us that things we have, like money, food, and lots of other things are gifts from God. Since God gives these things to us, we must be willing to share them with our families and friends and even strangers. If we can't share them, then we can't follow Jesus and if we don't follow Jesus then we will not enter God's kingdom. If things like money and credit cards and checkbooks are so important to us that we will not share them, then they are more important to us than God.
Jesus taught that God's kingdom is the most important gift of all and all of the money, checkbooks, and credit cards in the whole world are not as important as loving like Jesus wants us to love. Be ready to give everything away if Jesus asks you to give it up, and if he doesn't, then share the gifts that God gives you with your family, friends, and even strangers. When you do this, you are following Jesus right into the kingdom of God.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 14, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer offers some additional thoughts on this week's lectionary texts and on the theme of searching for God. The psalmist plaintively asks, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Job might ask a similar question -- except that he is more aggressively seeking to find a God who has apparently abandoned him in order to plead his case. Though he's not sure exactly what he's looking for other than "eternal life," the wealthy man in our gospel passage is also searching for the kingdom of God... and is crestfallen when Jesus' answer is not to his liking. Dean shares a touching personal story to illustrate that the common thread here is that God has not forsaken us -- we have forsaken God, and the more we flail about in trying to find him, the more difficult it is for us to relinquish control of our lives and let God find us.
Wealth: Boon or Bane?
by George Reed
Mark 10:17-31
THE WORLD
As we sit and watch the presidential debates, we see two millionaires trying to convince people that they are not only in tune with the middle class but also not that much different than us. The economy is on everyone's mind, and even people who don't own stock still watch the Dow Jones average to see what is happening on the financial landscape. And when the New York Stock Exchange is closed, there is usually another market open in some part of the world.
Few agree on the cause, but many agree that the middle class is rapidly giving way to a larger number of the rich and super-rich and an even greater increase in those who are sinking into poverty.
Whether we have untold wealth that we watch over, or do not have enough for food and shelter, or are making it along fairly comfortably for now, we are all in danger of being trapped by wealth. It is not just those who are watching their millions multiply or disappear who are obsessed with money. Certainly many of those who are struggling to keep their homes have finances on their mind most of the time. And with uncertain economic times, most of us are concerned about whether or not we are going to have enough for now or in the future. Money can so easily be seen as the real basis of life.
THE WORD
In this week's gospel lesson, Jesus meets up with a rich man who is looking for "eternal life" -- and he offers some "financial advice" the man isn't ready to receive. When Jesus tells the man to keep the law, the man replies that he already does this... and yet he seeks more. Religiously faithful and financially successful, he finds that there is something more that he needs in his life. Jesus senses what the barrier is to the man's coming into a fuller relationship with God. And so he instructs the man to sell all that he has and give it to those in need. The man is crestfallen at this news and goes away in sorrow because "he had many possessions." He cannot let them go.
When Jesus and the disciples talk about entering the realm of God and wealth, they are astounded that Jesus says it is hard for the wealthy. Wealth was seen as a blessing from God, and therefore if one did well then one must be in good with God. Disease and poverty were seen as curses for one's failures; wealth was the reward for living a good life. The disciples are aghast to hear Jesus say that this is not the way it is. Wealth is simply wealth. It is part of human interaction. It can be a blessing -- but it can also be a curse, because it can blind us. If we are not careful, we will begin to think that wealth (or the lack of wealth) is what makes the world go around. We can be fooled into thinking we are safe if we have an adequate amount and cursed if we do not.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
While we are very much aware that being wealthy does not necessarily mean that a person is of good moral character, we are still prone to see them as blessed -- maybe not directly by God, maybe just by luck... but blessed nevertheless. And too many of us look at the poor and despise them for "not trying hard enough." We look at ourselves if we are in that "comfortable" range, and either lament that we do not have enough because we are victims or pat ourselves on the back because we have worked so hard. And wealth is measured not only in dollars -- our portfolio is also made up of other types of wealth such as talent, intelligence, and good looks.
Jesus comes along and tells us to let go of our ties to wealth. "Quit measuring the worth of people by what they own," he says. It is not wealth that makes you godly or blessed. It is your relationship with God as you live that out in the midst of your sisters and brothers. Eternal life is not primarily about an unending life beyond the grave. It is first of all about a life with God, becoming more conformed and transformed into the image of God we were created to reflect. And he provides the ultimate model for us: God is a giver, not a hoarder!
SECOND THOUGHTS
Searching for God
by Dean Feldmeyer
Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Mark 10:17-31
When I was about six years old the Feldmeyer family reunion was held at a state park in Indiana and several families all decided to camp together in the campgrounds. There were about 20 of us -- aunts, uncles, cousins -- taking up six adjacent campsites.
One evening, around dusk, my Uncle Waldo gathered the boys together and took us all to the shower house, but on the way there I realized that I had forgotten my towel. He sent me back down the path to the campsite to get the towel, but somehow on my way back I took a wrong turn and got lost.
I walked and walked along the paved paths through the campground, hoping after hope that I would eventually stumble across my family's campsite -- but the longer I walked the more lost I got and the darker it got, until I was certain (in my 6-year-old mind) that I was going to perish, lost, wandering forever through the state park until I died. And I started to cry. I began running along the paths through the campground, crying in despair that I would die having never seen my family again.
Then, as if by magic, I heard my mother's laugh -- and I looked up, and there was our family's campsite just one section over. I ran to it and was received back into the bosom of my family who had not yet realized that I was among the missing.
The next day my mother noticed that I was hanging around the campsite more than usual, and she took me aside, into the big tent my father had borrowed for this adventure. "Dean," she said, "are you afraid that if you leave the campsite you'll get lost again?"
I nodded as the tears began to return. She took me into her arms. "Dean, I would never leave without you," she said. And then she held me at arms' length and said, very seriously, "If you ever get lost again, don't try to find me. Just stop. Sit down... and wait. And I'll find you."
Job has some things he wants to say to God... only he can't find God. In his pain and despair he lashes and thrashes about -- forward, backward, left, right -- but nowhere does he see God. Finally he gives up, certain that he will die having never seen God again. It will not be until he stops searching that Job finally hears God's voice.
The rich man in Mark's lesson is also searching. He's like a man who has bought a key that says "Kingdom of God" on it, but he wants to be sure the key will fit the lock and work the way it's supposed to. So he goes to Jesus and asks him for reassurance. How can he be sure the key will work as it is supposed to? Jesus gives him all the usual answers that he's heard in Sunday school -- be kind, follow the Ten Commandments, and the Golden Rule.
"Yeah, yeah," the man says, "I've done all that. What else?"
It is then that Jesus realizes that this man is being blinded by his own righteousness, which is represented in the fortune he has amassed. So Jesus tells him to let that -- the fortune and the righteousness it represents -- go.
In other words, stop searching for the kingdom. Just stop. Sit down... and wait. Let God find you.
But the man can't. He's too invested in his own righteousness to give it up now.
He can't sit. He can't wait. He can't let God find him.
He has to be the finder. He has to be in control -- of himself, of his fortune, of God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
G.K. Chesterton once said something to the effect that it may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies. That could be a rather interesting argument. However, said Chesterton, there is no point to a debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble. There is just too much evidence.
-- William Willimon, "Jesus vs. Generic God"
* * *
Some treat this week's gospel text as if it denounced wealth and wealthy people. Not so! John Wesley used to preach a sermon about wealth with three points: make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. This reading speaks to the third of Wesley's admonitions.
Once a year the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon would deliver an impassioned appeal for donations to his orphanage. It is said that after one such event a penurious individual accosted him and said, "Why, Mr. Spurgeon, I thought you preached for souls and not for money!"
Spurgeon replied gravely, "Why, Mr. So-and-So, normally I do preach for souls and not for money. But my orphans can't eat souls, and if they did, my brother, it would take at least four the size of yours to give one of them a square meal!" To which we might add the observation of one wit: "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver, but he accepteth from a grouch."
* * *
One of comedian Jack Benny's most enduring scenes is one highlighting his reputation as a skinflint. Confronted with a mugger who demands of him, "Your money or your life," there's nothing but silence. After a long pause, the man demands, "Well?" And Jack Benny replies, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
To all but the most foolish of people, it would seem obvious that if you lose your life your money isn't going to do you much good anyway; so what's to think about? But isn't that essentially the same choice Jesus put before the rich young ruler? Jesus was saying to him, "Your money or eternal life." He couldn't have both. He had to give up one or the other. And this man stood there quietly. When Jesus pressed him for an answer, he said, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking." What was he thinking about, and why did he make the wrong decision?
* * *
Frederick Buechner has said that the trouble with being rich is that since you can solve with your checkbook virtually all of the practical problems that bedevil ordinary people, you are left in your leisure with nothing but the great human problems to contend with: how to be happy, how to love and be loved, how to find meaning and purpose for your life. The tragedy, of course, is that the rich are continually tempted to believe that they can solve these problems with money as well.
The so-called "rich young ruler" was that sort of person. He was raising the basic question about life -- how was eternal life to become a reality? Jesus' answer was not an indictment of wealth. It was merely the suggestion that wealth gets in the way of our destiny when it becomes ultimate. The ruler claimed to be seeking meaning for life. He wanted to achieve a relationship with God that brought purpose and reason for being. But his inability to let go of his wealth made it quite evident that he already had chosen his priorities -- and his wealth led the list.
Riches are not bad -- except when they stand in the way of something better. Most psychiatrists, not to mention philosophers and ministers, would suggest that our greatest need is for love. That's what the rich young ruler was seeking -- a relationship of love with God. But he had already decided that riches were more important. He went away sorrowful -- probably not only because he couldn't buy a relationship with God, but because he had also realized that his wealth in itself would not bring him the meaning for life that he was seeking.
Jesus didn't despise him; he loved him. But his epitaph can be heard in the old couplet: "Of all sad words of tongue or pen; saddest are these: It might have been."
* * *
We need to make it clear that Jesus is not condemning the rich man in this week's gospel passage. That story has been used too often over the years to induce guilt in those who have an abundance of material goods. Remember who initiates the encounter: It is the rich man. It is he who comes running up to Jesus. It is he who is worried about how to attain eternal life. It is he who fears that something in his life is broken, something he doesn't know how to fix.
It's as though the young man is standing in flood waters up to his neck. The river is rising, and he can't swim. There's Jesus on the bank and in his hands is a life preserver. Jesus rears back and tosses it to the man with all his strength. But the young man just lets it sit there. "Take it!" Jesus cries. "It's right there!" But the young man just stares at the life preserver bobbing on the waves in front of his face -- and with a mournful look in his eye, he turns away.
A key to understanding this passage is the list of commandments Jesus gives. Back in the beginning, when the man first addresses him, Jesus answers, "You know the commandments." Then he goes on to list a few. But strangely enough, Jesus doesn't list all the Ten Commandments. He only lists five (well six actually, but "you shall not defraud" is really a part of "you shall not bear false witness"). Jesus lists the five commandments having to do with human relationships: murder, adultery, theft, lying, and failing to honor one's parents.
The rich young man has no trouble with these. Nor do many Christians today, whose list of the most important ethical issues begins and ends with human relationships. Sexual ethics is on the list, to be sure -- but economic justice? That's nowhere to be found.
Jesus isn't so concerned with these five commandments, numbers four through nine. He knows the young man has kept them for the most part. It's the others that are a little more problematic. Specifically, number one: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol...."
There's one thing the rich young man loves -- more even than God. He loves his material comforts. They are the object of his worship and when he finds himself in deep spiritual waters, the weight of that golden idol will drag him down for sure.
-- Carlos Wilton, Lectionary Preaching Workbook [Series VIII, Cycle B] (CSS Publishing, 2006)
* * *
Those who love money will not be satisfied with money.
-- The Talmud
* * *
Joseph Kennedy -- the patriarch of the Kennedy clan and the father of John, Robert, and Ted -- was a wealthy Boston financier who made the decision to move to New York City in order to widen his financial horizons. When a friend learned of it, he asked Kennedy, "What is it you really want?" Kennedy reflected for a moment and then replied, "Everything."
The trouble with the rich young man in our gospel text was that he thought he already had everything and didn't want to let any of it go. Little could he have known that the real treasure was waiting for him, just beyond what he grasped so tightly.
* * *
With a dizzying array of dashboard electronic devices, automobiles have become so technologically advanced and complicated that vehicle owners often need more assistance navigating them than is provided by the printed manual in the glove compartment. And it's not just drivers who need help -- even those whose job it is to provide instructions from customer service call centers are often stymied.
So when these advisors also become so confused that they are unable to help customers, they leave their cubicle and go to a simulator that car companies have dubbed an "infotainment." It's an exact replica of the automobile that is being discussed, allowing the representative to sit in the driver's seat before the car's actual console. From this vantage point, and actually being able to see and touch the electronic software, they are better able to guide customers in solving their automotive problems.
Before Jesus could instruct the rich young man on what he must do to be saved, he first had to understand from where the young adult was coming from. Our guidance in leading someone to Christ cannot be a cookie-cutter formula but must be one that comes from our sitting in an "infotainment" that understands their position.
* * *
Historians have noted that the incumbent generally loses the first presidential debate. The reason for this is twofold. First, the challenger often wins just by being on stage with the incumbent, because it enhances their stature. Second, the incumbent's debating skills tend to become rusty because for four years they have only been shown deference in the Oval Office. Despite winning the initial debates, however, challengers have rarely been able to capitalize upon their advantage.
Jesus said, "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." We should always be cautious that an early success does not guarantee future success; instead, we must accept all success in humility.
* * *
Author Maya Angelou owns three spacious homes, each with a specific and separate décor. Two of the homes are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the third home is a brownstone in Harlem, New York. But when Ms. Angelou chooses to write, she goes to a hotel room reserved for her in whatever city she happens to be travelling to at the time. All of the pictures in the room are removed, to avoid any distractions. It is in this cloistered setting that she is able to do her best contemplation and composing.
The author of Hebrews speaks of the word of God as "living and active." Perhaps for us to understand the living and active word of God, like Maya Angelou we first need to seek a place of solace for contemplation and composing.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Leah Lonsbury
Words for Reflection
How easy it is for a poor man to depend on God! What else has he to depend on? And how hard it is for a rich man to depend on God! All his possessions call out to him: "Depend on us!"
-- Rabbi Moshe Leib, quoted in Resources for Preaching and Worship, Year B: Quotations, Meditations, Poetry, and Prayers, edited by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild (Westminster John Knox, 2002), p. 237
OR
Suppose we were in a dimly lit room. The place might look fairly clean. But install a hundred bulbs of a thousand watts each and put the whole room under a magnifying glass. The place would begin to crawl with all kinds of strange and wonderful little creatures. It would be all you could do to stay there. So it is with our interior. When God turns up the voltage, our motivation begins to take on a wholly different character, and we reach out with great sincerity for the mercy of God and for [God's] forgiveness. That is why trust in God is so important. Without trust, we are likely to run away or say, "There must be some better way of going to God."
-- Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel (Element, 1991), p. 94
Call to Worship
One: My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away, so far from hearing and helping me?
All: I seek you in the sacred places and moments, in the praises of your people.
One: O God, I cry by day, but you do not answer me. I cry through the night and find no rest.
All: My mothers and fathers in faith trusted you, and you held them in your hands. They cried to you and were saved.
One: But I am so low, barely human beneath the scorn and shame of others.
All: You gave me life and have been my God since birth. You still hold me fast.
One: Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and help is nowhere to be found.
All: I come to find you, Holy One. I come in trust despite my doubt. I come with faith despite my fear. Meet me here and hear my cry.
OR
One: God, your word is living and active. Through it you seek the truth of our hearts and call us in love.
All: We hear your call and know your grace well, so we come to worship you with boldness and hope.
One: Meet us here.
All: Fill us, shape us, and stir us with your word.
Gathering Prayer
Steadfast and compassionate one, you are merciful even as you call us to more... more trust, more abandon, more risk, more love. Clear our minds and open our hearts so that we do not confuse your "more" with the "more" of the world. Attune our senses so we don't lose sight of your vision, fail to hear your voice amidst the noise, or become hardened to your word that pierces and reshapes us for love. In your grace, disturb us. Rouse us. Lift us into awareness of your power and presence. Make clear your claim on our lives. May our time here make us ready, open, and willing for you to answer this prayer. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
When we fail to hear or heed your call,
when our eyes are too full of what we have or what we want
to see the richness of your blessings or the poverty of our neighbors,
have mercy on us, O God.
When we value our comforts over your kin-dom,
when we get too mired in our shortcomings to make room
for all that you make possible,
have mercy on us, O God.
When the wealth we have or the wealth we pine over becomes a trap,
when we forget that all we have is a gift to be received and given again,
have mercy on us, O God.
When we forget that a living faith requires growth, trust, vulnerability, and risk;
when we are satisfied with our own narrow vision of ourselves, our relationships, and your world;
have mercy on us, O God.
Through your mercy, teach us to be bold.
Through your grace, teach us to risk for love.
Through your compassion, teach us to have generous spirits and vulnerable hearts.
May we step ever closer to your dream for us, your beloved children.
Assurance
The word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing until it lays us open in truth and possibility
before the One who knows us fully and loves us completely.
This is the love that is brimming with potential and hope.
This is the love in which and for which we were created.
This is the love that forgives, re-creates, and sends us again and again.
Thanks be to God.
Ideas for Time with Children
This week's lectionary lends itself to a variety of conversations with children around wealth -- what we do with it, what it does to us, where it comes from, what it's for, what forms it can take...
* In our text from Job, the problem isn't whether or not God is good or just or loving. The problem is that Job can't seem to find God. What gets in the way of us finding God? What do we substitute for God? How do we find God amidst all the stuff, the media, the advertisements for more stuff, and all the noise our stuff and our desires for stuff make?
* In Psalm 22, the speaker notes God's faithfulness and how God heard and saved the ancestors of our faith. What if the Psalmist or the reader asked herself, "What has changed between then and now"? Maybe she would discover that it isn't God who has forsaken us. Maybe we have forsaken God. How does this happen? What causes it? What part does wealth (in its many forms) play in this?
* In our text from Hebrews, we are reminded of how closely God sees us and how deeply God understands us. What if we could see ourselves in the same way? What would we discover? What would we find once we pierced through all the stuff (literal and metaphorical)? What gets in the way of us having this kind of vision? This text also reminds us of how generously God reacts to what God finds in our deepest selves. How does that free us? How are we generous in response?
* Our gospel reading addresses wealth in a very straightforward way -- how it can trap us, what it can keep us from, how it clouds our kin-dom vision. What kind of wealth gets in our way and how does that show up in our lives? How do we use our wealth -- does it free us or trap us? How are we rich (for good or for ill)? How would our current culture tell this story?
Conversation starters...
* Fill your pockets, your arms, the pulpit, the altar table, or the space you typically use to meet with the children during worship with lots of stuff. Make sure it keeps you from doing something -- sitting next to someone, hugging someone, being comfortable, moving around, doing a task, or having a conversation. Or, fill up the space where the children usually sit with stuff. Then have a conversation about how wealth gets in the way -- in our lives, relationships, connections to God, and living out God's dream for the world.
* Ask the children what makes someone wealthy. Have a conversation about how we use our wealth in the world. How does it free us? How does it trap us?
* Rewrite the gospel story to fit the current culture. Cast some cultural icon, celebrity, or millionaire in Jesus' role. How would that stand-in respond to the rich man? What do the children think of what the story teaches if it's told this way?
Prayers of the People
Before entering the time of prayer, offer some guidance and invitation around this body prayer.
* When offering prayers of need -- for oneself, loved ones, the community, our nation, and our international human family -- hold both hands out, palms up, ready to receive.
* When offering prayers of gratitude -- for all that we treasure and hold close in love, for all that fills us joy, for all that sustains us, for all that has shaped us, for all that blesses us and provides us opportunities for love and growth -- hold both hands over the heart, ready to embrace.
* When offering prayers of release -- for all we need to let go of; for all that burdens us, drags us down, causes us fear or anxiety, holds us back, sells us short, silences or oppresses us -- hold both hands out, palms down, ready to release.
We welcome you, God of Love,
to fill us with your presence and create through us your dream of abundant life for our whole human family.
We welcome you, Liberating Christ,
to challenge our thinking, our living, our comfort, our short-sightedness
and free us in love for each other.
We welcome you, Sustaining Spirit,
to call us by name, to call us beloved,
to soften our hearts for the creation of something new,
something beautiful, something life-giving.
We welcome you, Loving One, in this place and in the fullness of our lives. Come, hear our prayers, find and fill us in this silence.
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of need. (HANDS RAISED)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of gratitude. (HANDS OVER HEART)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of release. (HANDS OPEN)
(SILENCE)
Hear our prayers of need, gratitude, and release for our community gathered here and beyond these walls...
(Consider offering the prayers of community here if they were gathered earlier.)
We are richly blessed by your presence, power, and possibilities. With thankful hearts, we join our voices with the voice of abundant love that speaks to all our lives....
(All join in the prayer of Jesus.)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Blessed and blessing God, we join you now in generosity, love, and hope. May these gifts, which come from your goodness, bring forth light and life. May they share your grace, speak of your mercy, and shine forth your hope for the world. Amen.
Hymn Suggestions
"Rejoice in God's Saints"
"Why Stand So Far Away, My God?"
"Hope of the World"
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
"By Gracious Powers"
"O Word of God Incarnate"
"Womb of Life, and Source of Being"
"Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth"
"Take Up Your Cross"
"As We Gather at Your Table"
"Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life"
"Colorful Creator"
"O God, My God"
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Rich in So Many Ways
Mark 10:17-30
Objects: some money, a checkbook, and a credit card
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you know what it means to be wealthy? (let the children answer) Are any of you wealthy? (let them answer) Do you know anyone who is wealthy? (let them answer) Some people call the wealthy rich! Are any of you rich? (let them answer)
Most people think of wealth as having a lot of money. If you put money in a bank, they will give you a checkbook and you can write checks when you go to the store or buy a gift. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? (let them answer) Some people have credit cards. The banks give these to you also if you put money in the bank. With a credit card you can buy almost anything today. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? (let them answer) Or some people even carry money in their billfolds and purses. They use this money to buy newspapers, candy bars, gasoline for the car, and tickets to the movies. That sounds wealthy, doesn't it? Those all sound like good things to me, doesn't it to you? (let them answer)
But Jesus said wealthy people are going to have a hard time getting into heaven. Do you think you will be wealthy someday? If you have a job, earn money, put it in the bank, and get a checkbook and credit cards, does that mean you will be wealthy? Will you be able to enter into the kingdom of God? (let them answer)
So how does it work? How do wealthy people stay in God's kingdom? Jesus teaches us that things we have, like money, food, and lots of other things are gifts from God. Since God gives these things to us, we must be willing to share them with our families and friends and even strangers. If we can't share them, then we can't follow Jesus and if we don't follow Jesus then we will not enter God's kingdom. If things like money and credit cards and checkbooks are so important to us that we will not share them, then they are more important to us than God.
Jesus taught that God's kingdom is the most important gift of all and all of the money, checkbooks, and credit cards in the whole world are not as important as loving like Jesus wants us to love. Be ready to give everything away if Jesus asks you to give it up, and if he doesn't, then share the gifts that God gives you with your family, friends, and even strangers. When you do this, you are following Jesus right into the kingdom of God.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 14, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
