Posts Tagged ‘rich young man’

Go, sell all that you have

October 12, 2024

Pentecost 21 – 2024

Mark 10:17-31

Marian Free

In the name of God who cares for the greatest and the least, and who preferences the poor over the rich. Amen.

How much money is too much money? This is a question that greatly troubled someone I once knew. He (I’ll call him Jack) had married into a family that was very comfortable and he had worked in a profession that ensured a good income.  Jack wasn’t Steve Jobs rich, but he was well-off. For reasons that he didn’t ever share, today’s gospel passage caused him particular concern. On more than one occasion he approached me with questions about the passage, especially in relation to the camel and the needle’s eye. He researched articles that softened the definitiveness of Jesus’ teaching. These included descriptions about the types of thread and needle referred to and one that suggested that the needle’s eye was the name of one of the gates into the old city of Jerusalem through which camels could not pass (this latter is not borne out by a google search). Hopefully he resolved the issue to his satisfaction, and his mind was put to rest before he died.

Jack’s unease in relation to his relative wealth is reflective of the uncomfortable relationship that the church and many churchgoers have with money. We read Jesus’ teaching in this and other places and yet we build beautiful, expensive churches and fill them with beautiful, expensive things which then need to be maintained and insured. 

The Vatican, for example, has a vast treasure trove of priceless art and liturgical vessels, and it owns billions of dollars in real estate.  In 2018 The Age reported that it was possible to estimate the wealth of the Catholic Church of Australia at around $30 billion dollars[1]. The Anglican Church would not be too far behind. Of course, many of these assets are schools and hospitals and aged care facilities which provide services for hundreds of thousands of people who are not members of those churches, but much of our wealth is in our churches and their decorations.

It is hard to reconcile this with the Jesus who preferenced the poor and the marginalised and whose own life was one lived without attachment to home, security, or comfort. He famously told a would-be follower: ‘Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

From the very beginnings of Christianity there have been some who felt that the only way to follow Jesus was to renounce everything – home, family, possessions and to give oneself wholeheartedly to following Jesus but in general most of us retain those things and then try to resolve the tension caused by today’s gospel and other sayings of Jesus.

As Sarah Wilson points out, our discomfort with Jesus’ response to the rich young man and Jesus’ teaching on wealth in general is revealed in the way that we try to manage the story, and the ways we try to wiggle our way out of having to give up all our possessions[2]. She suggests among other things that manage the story by saying that what Jesus was suggesting was peculiar to this young man and a response to his particular need; or we try to convince ourselves that we are not rich (after all there is always someone richer than ourselves). We can take comfort in Jesus’ saying that it is impossible and  only God can do it, or we can take the route that Peter did and point out what we have given up!  

The issue of wealth and what to do with it is made even more complicated by the fact that few of us (including governments and charitable organisations) have a clear enough understanding of the overall picture to ensure that our attempts to create a more equitable world do indeed benefit those whom we try to help. Sadly, charitable attempts to help sometimes leave those “helped” worse off. To give just one example, developing and promoting a rice that produces a greater yield has had the effect of reducing the varieties of rice that are planted in many countries and has therefore reduced the possibility that something will grow even if the conditions are not ideal. In good years the people are better off but in bad years they are now worse off. 

Many of us who are comfortably off, are so by virtue of living in this country. We are not stateless like the Rohingya, we are not facing both famine and war as are the people of Sudan, Ethiopia and Gaza, we are not burdened by corrupt governments that use our resources for their own benefit and we are not without opportunities to study and to work . All of us are relatively privileged compared to millions of others throughout the world.

The story of the rich young man is confronting and challenging.  We can avoid the disquiet it causes by explaining it away or we can sit with the discomfort, forcing ourselves to consider what Jesus might be saying to us. We can ignore Jesus’ response to the young man, or we can allow it to remind us of Jesus’ general attitude to wealth and to ask ourselves what it might mean for us. 

Clearly I have not given up all my possessions as Jesus appears to demand. Instead, I consistently remind myself of this and other teachings and ask a number of questions. These include:  What is my attitude to my possessions, and do I hang on to them at all costs? How can I best use the resources that I have to contribute to a more equitable world? Can I change my lifestyle in a way that might be beneficial to others – especially when I recognise that changes in the climate most adversely affect the poor?  When I vote do I make choices that protect my own interests over the needs of others?

“Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” “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.”

May we all have the courage to allow Jesus’ uncomfortable questions and teachings to unsettle, to confront and hopefully to change us. May we not find it so hard that we turn away, and may we find comfort in the knowledge that with God nothing is impossible.

[1] https://www.marketplace.org/2023/02/10/how-much-money-does-catholic-church-have/

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28-2/commentary-on-mark-1017-31-11

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God gives – we receive. It’s that simple

October 13, 2018

Pentecost 21 – 2018

Mark 10:17-31

Marian Free

In the name of God who gives us everything and demands nothing in return. Amen.

The importance of life-long learning is that not only does it broaden our minds and our understanding, but that it also it assists in putting misconceptions and falsehoods to bed. Many of us will have been brought up with the “fact” that there was a gate in the wall in Jerusalem through which travellers could pass once the gates had been closed for the evening. This gate, we were told, was substantially smaller than the main city gates and, while sufficient for a person, could only be passed through by a camel if its load had been removed and if the camel itself stooped to its knees. When one really thinks about it, the story has to be apocryphal – can anyone really imagine a camel crawling on its knees, or a weary traveller taking the load off his camel only to replace it once the camel is through the gate? A smart trader would have timed the journey to arrive when the gate was opened in the morning and close to the time that the market was scheduled to open.

There never was such a gate in Jerusalem but the mythology has prevailed. At the same time much ink has been spent in trying to explain Jesus’ statement about the “eye of a needle” – for example, is the word translated as “camel” really meant to be translated as “rope”[1]?

The story of the gate (and the apparent need for it to be explained) goes some way to illustrate the difficulties that many have in coming to terms with the story of the encounter between Jesus and the young man. So little information is provided by the text that we find ourselves adding details that are not there. For example, though we are not told as much, we speculate that the young man was unhappy with his life or that his possessions controlled him. To let ourselves off the hook we make out that Jesus’ direction to “sell what you own” applied only to the situation of the young man. When we focus on the aspect of the young man’s possessions, we miss other details that are significant. Why, when only about 3% of the population live above the poverty line, would the disciples be “perplexed” and ask: “Then who can be saved?” It is an odd response. Surely, they do not think that everyonein the first century Mediterranean is too wealthy to be saved[2]? Is it possible that they (the disciples) think that they won’t be saved?

A further point of interest is Jesus’ reaction to the young man. It is the only occasion in Mark’s gospel that we are told that Jesus loved someone (and that the one so loved turns his back on that love).

Our focus on the needle and the gate demonstrates a certain discomfort around the question of riches and possessions – how rich is too rich? How many possessions are too many? From positions of relative comfort in the Western world we seek to work out how Jesus’ conversation with the young man applies to us and this is important. The gospel has some very clear messages about wealth and our use of our resources.

Without wanting to minimise that aspect of the gospel, I believe that it is important to examine the story of the young man (Mark does not call him ‘rich’) in its context.

We not that immediately before the young man approaches Jesus, Jesus blesses the children and claims that; “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it”. As Hamm points out, one does not earn an inheritance, one receivesit. It may be then that the young man’s question is misplaced. He asks: “What must I do?” Unlike the children who simply accept and receive what is offered, the young man believes that he must earneternal life.

Perhaps the problem lies here. The issue at the heart of this encounter is one of trust. The young man does not trust in the promises of God, he believes that though he is doing what is required by the law that there is yet more that he must do. This explains why he fails to see (or accept) that Jesus loves him. He does not accept that he is worthy of God’s love. We assume that he turns away because his possessions have a hold on him but it is possible that he simply has no confidence that Jesus loves him and will continue to love him – no matter what he does or does not do.

Our concern with the wealth of the young man allows us to pass over the disciples’ almost inexplicable confusion and Jesus’ response; “With mortals it is impossible, but not for God, with God all things are possible.” Mortals, mere humans can never do enough, be good enough to earn God’s favour – perfection, godliness is impossible. No matter – God dispenses God’s favour and love lavishly and indiscriminately. Our task is to trust in that love and to see where that trust might lead us. Along the way we just may discover that there are all kinds of things (possessions, resentments, insecurities) that we might just be able to dispense with.

God’s love is a given. Just as Jesus loved the young man – as he was – so God loves us, just as we are.

God gives – we receive. It may just be that simple.

 

 

[1]In this instance, Jesus is not being original. We can find similar sayings in other ancient texts (Jewish and otherwise). It simply means that something is unlikely if not impossible.

[2]They are right to be confused. In their culture wealth was associated with honour and status and, most importantly in relation to their question, with divine favour. Wealth was a blessing, a sign of being in a right relationship with God.

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How much is too much?

October 10, 2015

Pentecost 20

Mark 10:17-31 (St Francis)

Marian Free

 

In the name of God who has given us all things. Amen.

If we are honest many of us find today’s gospel challenging. “Sell all you own and give to the poor.” “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” We wonder if these words applies to us. We ask ourselves: What is too rich? Is it a person or a company whose yearly income could pay the debt of a third world country and more? Is it being rich enough able to spend millions of dollars on a home when many are homeless? Is it worrying about whether to send our children to a state school or a private school when millions of children do not have the opportunity go to school at all?

I don’t have the answer to these questions. On the one hand I support the initiative and enterprise that leads to the creation of jobs. On the other hand it does worry me that 85% of the world’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of just 10% of the world’s population. I would like every person in the world to have the same advantages that I have, but at the same time, I am very grateful that I do not have live hand-to-mouth like so many millions of people do and not entirely sure how much I am willing to give up in order to make the world a more equitable place.

St Francis thought that today’s gospel applied directly to him. As the story goes, Francis was the son of a wealthy textile merchant. It was expected that he would follow in his father’s footsteps, join the business, finally taking and charge of it himself in turn passing the business and any accumulated wealth to his own children. Francis’ experience of Jesus altered all that. He changed from a wild, hedonistic young man into a fervent follower of Jesus Christ. He understood that his call was to renounce all worldly possessions and to live a simple life entirely dependent on God.

Francis embraced poverty, not because he had some romantic notion about it, but because it freed him from the responsibilities and concerns that wealth, possessions and status can bring with them. Poverty for Francis’ signified reliance not on material, but on spiritual things. He did not want anything to have a hold on him or to stand between himself and God.

It is clear that Francis’ view is not the dominant Christian view, even though we find the story unsettling, very few Christians have taken the text as literally as did Francis. That doesn’t mean that we are off the hook or mean that we shouldn’t attempt to understand what Jesus is saying here.

Today’s gospel begins with an interaction between Jesus and a young man who “has many possessions”. The young man interrupts Jesus’ journey and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He has, by his own account, has lived a blameless life. Despite this he seems to sense that something is missing, he recognises that despite all that he has his life is empty and without meaning. Though he observes the commandments and presumably has all that he needs, he is not satisfied. He recognises that even though (according to the thought of the day) his wealth is a reward for righteousness his relationship with God could be so much richer.

Jesus looks at the young and loves him. He sees (we must assume) that the young man is bound by his possessions – they own him, not he them. Jesus knows that the young man will not be at peace, he will not be entirely happy until his possessions no longer have a hold on him, until there are no longer a measure of his righteousness or of his place in the world. Jesus’ advice? – sell it all, get rid of everything, free yourself from all worry and concern. Do what you really want to do – give yourself to God. It is too much. Unlike Francis, this young man’s passion and desire has not been kindled to the point that he can fully let go. He departs from Jesus in a state of sorrow. Jesus has given the answer for which he was seeking, but now that he hears it, he cannot do it. For the moment at least his wealth has too great a hold on him.

Jesus’ advice to the young man leads Jesus to reflect on wealth in general. It is not that wealth is necessarily bad. The problem is that, for some, wealth can become an obsession that needs to be guarded and maintained. A person can become so focused on what they have and what they want that they becomes self centred and inward-looking, absorbed by their own needs and desires and careless with the needs of others.

Jesus’ advice to the young man may not be Jesus’ advice to us all, but it would be a mistake to think that the reading doesn’t not apply to us. Wealth is not the only thing that binds us or causes us to focus on ourself us or that prevents us from seeing the needs of others. Greed and selfishness are only two things that make us look inwards and not outwards, that create a barrier between ourselves and God. Pride, anger, bitterness, self-righteousness are all signs of self-absorption that lead us to concentrate on our own wants and needs and that, as a result, separate us from our fellow human beings, from God and ultimately from our eternal inheritance.

The bible does warn us against allowing wealth to have control of us rather than our controlling our wealth but to make that the only focus of today’s gospel might be to miss the point. The young man has the courage to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Are we brave enough to ask the same question and if we do will we, like the young man, walk away or will we have the courage to respond to Jesus’ love, recognise what it is we lack and make the changes necessary to remove the barriers between ourselves and God and between ourselves and others?

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