On Life’s Defining Questions
October 13, 2024
Traceymay Kalvaitis

Amos 5: 14-15

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate.

Mark 10:17-27
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
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. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

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Our sermon title for today is On Life’s Defining Questions.
I both love and dread this passage we are given from the book of Mark today. I clearly remember hearing sermons about this passage when I was a child. I remember squirming in my seat, looking down at my black patent leather shoes, feeling the sudden growing weight of the add-a-pearl necklace around my neck and wondering, fearfully, “Am I one of those rich people Jesus is talking about? Will it be impossible for me to enter in?”

Now I am about to turn 57 and this passage still makes me squirm a little because it raises questions that are difficult to answer because the answers clearly define my life, my priorities, and my values. Some of these life-defining questions are as follows:
“What means the most to me in my life? What is my time worth? What am I worth? What do I really need?”

In our scripture reading for today, a man that knelt before Jesus and asked a very brave question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He apparently had everything he needed and more and yet he knows there must be more to life. Perhaps this is why the writer of this passage tells us that “Jesus loved him.” Jesus says to the man, “You lack one thing; sell your possessions, give to the poor and follow me.” If we really think about this, Friends, we inevitably come to the following question: what kind of love would ask such a thing of us, and what kind of love could give, give everything?

Jesus challenged the man to demonstrate his level of trust and commitment. Note here that had the man been ready to let go of his possessions and wealth, he would certainly have been welcomed warmly into the community of followers. He may not have enjoyed a lifestyle like he was accustomed to, but he would not have been left alone to fend for himself. The scriptures say “the man was shocked and went away grieving.” Jesus then turns to the disciples and reiterates the point. In our translation, Jesus says, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” but there is a footnote at the bottom of the page in my Bible that says it could also be translated as follows: “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven.” I like this interpretation because it dissolves the artificial boundary between the classes and redirects the focus from how much a person has; instead, the issue becomes the relationship a person has with money and physical possessions. I can tell you from my own personal experience I have seen that living with a lack of financial resources can also lead to an unhealthy focus on accumulating wealth and possessions. At every point along the spectrum of the haves and the have-nots, there is a message for each one of us in this passage. We can no longer look at this passage and assume Jesus is talking about someone else, someone who has more than we do, for there is always going to be that person. We are all challenged, then, to look at where we place our trust and security. Do we place our trust and security in possessions? Do we place our trust and security in the balance in our bank account? In what or in whom do we trust? These become the life-defining questions.

A young man by the name of James Barnett asked himself similar questions when he had everything that society was telling him he should have to be happy and secure and yet he felt empty and unfulfilled. He decided to resign from his six-figure employment, pack away his college degree in a box, and go to live on the streets as a voluntarily homeless person. He spent two years learning the ropes, experiencing the harsh reality, testing his faith, and eventually he partnered with a social activist in Atlanta, Georgia to form a non-profit, Clothe Your Neighbor as Yourself. James Barnett is now married and he lives in a house with his family, but he devotes his professional life to the betterment of humanity, forever changed by those years on the streets. James gained a new perspective through living on the streets and then he reconstructed his life with his priorities in a different order. I believe the essence of our story for today is this message: Take care that our attachment to the things of this world do not eclipse and overshadow our relationship to the source of our greatest and deepest experience, Love itself. We call the source of love God because it is the holiest name we know.

Chances are, Friends, we are not going to put all of our personal belongings and holdings up for sale this week, although you may be as surprised as I was to find out just how many people have done just that; Google “sell everything and give to poor” and you will find multiple, moving accounts of people who have done just that. Let’s return to that question from before: in what and in whom do we place our trust? These scriptures offer us the chance to refine ourselves, if you will, by taking an honest assessment of our relationship to what we have. James Barnett says, “When we need less, we can give more.”

There’s one more piece of the scripture I hope to consider before we close. After the disciples hear the words of Jesus, they are dismayed, the scriptures say they were “astounded” and they asked, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God, for God all things are possible.” What are we to make of this? I think what Jesus is reminding us is that we can not save ourselves, and no amount of money or savings or accumulated possessions can save us either, when it comes right down to it. Furthermore, I don’t think I can in good conscious say that God can save you, either, but I can, in full confidence say this: we are saved by living in alignment with God, living as part of the kindom of God, seeing the inherent worth in all beings, and keeping Love at the center of our lives. In living thus, we are saved from a life of self-centeredness, pettiness, and grievance.

In closing, I hope what we take away is this: As we take our place as one in the vast kindom of God, looking for the inherent worth in all beings, and keeping the Love that is God at the center of our lives, we are saved…. saved from the distraction of too much stuff, and saved from the illusion that we will never have enough. May we find fullness in the simple pleasures of our lives, Friends, and may we nurture our connection with the source of love we call God, so we can face whatever adversity we may encounter with full confidence that we are not just one, we are part of God’s kindom; we are kindred. So be it. Amen.

James Barnett, a man who gave up everything he owned to live on the streets and love the poor

Pastoral Prayer
Dearest Beloved, our minds and our hearts are so full this morning. We are trying to make sense of the senseless, to find reason in the unreasonable, and to see You, Lord, in the inner workings of a culture that seems to be falling apart. Remind us, when we question, that Your presence is alive within us, preceding before us, inspiring us in the moment, and supporting us when we falter. We ask your blessings on those who are without, those who are in pain, and those who are frightened. May we be receptive to Your Holy Spirit working through us to nurture them, and nurture ourselves, in ways unexpected and profound. And now we pray together the prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples so long ago….Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever. Amen.

Benediction

I leave you with these words from the book of Jude, chapter 1 verse 20: “As for you, Beloved, build up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, unto life everlasting.”

I leave you with a poem, written by the German poet, Rilke. This is from his Book of Hours, subtitled Love Poems to God.

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

I, 59