Grace to you and peace from Jesus, and no one or nothing else. Grace and peace only from Jesus, our Source and Ground. AMEN.
“How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” (“Ouch!” we heard in the creative expression today, “you have a lot of things!”)
What a stark way to kick off our Lenten journey. Happy Valentines! (Really want to join this church, or any church attempting to follow Jesus, for that matter?) “Easier for a camel…than for a wealthy person...” How would you explain this...say, to children? How do you explain it to yourself? (Actually saw the eye of a needle in a museum in Rome…but, not much help...) What’s Jesus really getting at here? This is worth our reflection, as we’re all wealthy in world standards and many of us are very wealthy even in American standards. We’ve gotta wrestle with this. I’d love to pretend Jesus didn’t say this, and tell you a sweet story about the last kid in line getting moved to the first, but that wouldn’t be faithful today...or very Lenten. That’d be a pat on the back. [pause]
This bears repeating: This corporate confession, that I saw in a worship service, put it something like this: “God, we hang on to and save up our money and our possessions as if you didn’t even exist. We hoard as if you’re not even real.”
I think what Jesus is saying to the rich man in the story -- and to us who also have lots of money and things -- that’s it’s even harder for us because we can fool ourselves into thinking that we can/will ultimately protect ourselves. With pension plans, and insurance, with airbags, and security systems that we can afford, with a strong military and police force, with trusted financial advisors and back-up plans, and investments and security deposit boxes, with brilliant doctors and nurses, plenty of warm and rainproof clothes and roofs over our heads…[pause] and with a clean record to our name: “I’ve kept all the commandments, never broken the law, if I did it was so minor and wasn’t even a big deal. I pay my taxes, and I even go to church.”
So, I really think I deserve all this...that I’ve worked for! I can at least totally justify why it’s OK for me to have it all…
“With all our stuff, with all our money and privilege, who even needs God (except as maybe a sweet grandpa in the sky, who benignly loves us and throws a few reminders at us once in a while about how we better behave)?” The poor and sick need God, they’ve got nothing else. But the healthy and the wealthy? “Who even cares if God’s even real or not?” Are you getting the energy around this confession?
“God, we hang on to and save up our money and our possessions as if you didn’t even exist.”
“How hard it will be for those of us with wealth to enter the kingdom of God.”
[Don’t you just love Lent, btw? Don’t you just want to come join our church and follow this Jesus, who calls us out on our fear, selfishness and entitlement? Who calls us to get real and get honest before God in this Lenten season?]
When we have so much, it is even harder to trust God. And our possessions become like a blanket that shield us from the cold, hard truth that all we have and are comes from God, belongs to God, returns to God finally.
Truly trusting in God is even harder when we’re wealthy (and I’d add in healthy). I think that’s what Jesus was getting at: Entrusting ourselves to our Source and Ground, even in this life.
What might that look like for you, as you spend money? As you make decisions about the future? How are you doing now at trusting in God? Does your credit card balance reflect that too? Lord, I’ve kept all the commandments! He’s fishing for that pat on the back.
But Jesus doesn’t give it so easily. Jesus doesn’t let him off the hook. The rich man in the story went away sad. And he didn’t get to hear what Jesus said next…
We do: Jesus sighs and comments for a moment on how hard it is for people how have a lot of stuff now to trust God now. Then the disciples -- namely Peter -- takes his turn at fishing for a pat on the back. “We’ve left everything and followed you!” Nope. He doesn’t get it either:
Finally, we can’t rescue ourselves...
This is about God doing the rescuing. God being the final provider of shelter, security and eternal safety...even now. God’s the ultimate security guard, security system, the ultimate nurse and doctor and advisor, the true back-up. For us it’s impossible, but for God, sisters and brothers, even we can be saved. Even we can live free. Open and trusting. Peaceful and honest. Naked before God.
Luther’s definition of sin was the self turned inward. Suspicious, anxious, scared, protective, paranoid...and then all the behaviors that come as a result of that deep-seeded fear.
I love to compare that with Chloe, my little lab-mutt, who embodies open and trusting. She rolls over on her back, fully exposed, naked and entrusts her whole little life to me! Even her issue peeing on the floor, my dog-whisperer friend Andrea, tells us, is her way of submitting, “I’m all yours, here’s everything I have. I am literally emptying myself for you.” [too much?]
How would that look for us? What if that was a metaphor for how we worshipped God and served our neighbor? Go in peace, serve the Lord…[empty]! What would that look like? It’s hard to imagine, right? I mean we’re so much more guarded than Chloe. So much more turned-inward and blanketed with stuff. God, how can we trust you with the same self-emptying as a loving dog? “Help us to use money and handle our affairs as if you really did exist, as if you really are real!” That’s our prayer.
And sisters and brothers in Christ, I hope you know, and if you don’t, I’m going to tell you know, I hope you know that God does love us and forgive us, even us wealthy ones, like we love and will do everything we can to protect and shelter and save our little Chloe. God loves us even more! You know that, right? Our God is graciously waiting for us to roll over, even today, and entrust ourselves, into God’s everlasting providence. Because the sooner we do that, the happier we’ll be, that’s when we enter the kingdom. That kind of love, that kind of grace, that kind of rescue, can only come from God -- who is for you, who forgives you even when you struggle to surrender, even when you’re ashamed to be naked, even when you can’t let go, even when you go home sad. Remember it says, Jesus looked and the rich man, and loved him. He loved him...and then invites him to trust even more.
Our journey continues, and we are not alone. AMEN.
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