Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“What must I do to inherit
eternal life?” I do believe the rich young man’s question is honest. I don’t
think he is trying to trick Jesus or trap him in some minutia of the Law. St.
Mark doesn’t give us any reason to think there is something hinky going on. I
think the question is an honest question, but it does give us some insight into
the man. He comes from privileged means. He is used to making the big deals,
getting his way, and negotiating his opponent into submission. He’s used to getting
what he wants. So, he brings that with him to the conversation: “What do I have
to do? It’s how the world works. What do I need to do to inherit eternal life,
Jesus?”
Don’t be too hard on him. If you
stop to think about it, we ask “what do I have to do?” quite often in a lot of
different settings. This is part of the give-and-take of all sorts of
relationships that we have in our daily lives and vocations. I’ll tell you what
I want, you tell me what you need, and let’s see if we can’t meet in the
middle. Students ask teachers, “What do I have to do to get extra credit?”
Teachers ask students, “What do I have to do to get this into your heads?” Kids
ask parents, “What do I have to do to go spend the night at my friend’s house?”
Parents ask, “What do I have to do to get you to clean your room?” Teenage boys
ask their buddies, “What do I have to do to get her to like me?” Teenage girls
ask their friends, “What do I have to do to get him to leave me alone?” The
salesman asks, “What do I have to do to get you to buy this today?”
But the focus is on the “I,” the
initial maker of the request. “What do I have to do?” It implies that I can bring something to the
conversation, that I have something to offer, something of value to persuade
you to move towards me.
Let’s go back to the rich man’s
question - what must I do to inherit eternal life? What does the rich man have
that he can offer? What can he bring to the table to negotiate with Jesus? He’s
prepared to offer his good life, his track record of commandment keeping.
You notice that Jesus addresses
commandments four through ten. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Don’t take
your neighbor’s life or wife, don’t steal the neighbor’s belongings or their
good reputation, don’t manipulate someone in the business world, and don’t
forget to love your mom and dad. The rich young man thinks he has this licked:
I imagine he is nodding at each commandment that Jesus mentions and thinking he’s
got this under control.
But then Jesus turns to the first
table of the Law. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul
and mind.” A god is anything you fear, love and trust. Jesus, who is able to
see into this man’s heart, knows that man’s god – lower case g – is his wealth.
Jesus loves the man – He doesn’t want to see the young man perish into eternity
by chasing after a false god. He calls the man to repentance, to stop
worshipping the false god of his wealth and love the Lord your God instead. “Go,
sell all you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in
heaven.” It’s as if Jesus is asking, “What does your fear, love and trust rest?
Is it in me, or in your wealth?” The man’s actions serve as the sad conclusion:
“Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions.”
“What must I do?” It’s a loaded
question, one we must be very careful of asking. It’s one thing to ask your
spouse or your parent. It’s a whole ‘nother thing if we think we can approach
God with our grocery list of good deeds, as if we can somehow negotiate our way
into God’s good graces. We’re quick to make our suggestions: I gotta go to
church, I gotta give my offering, I gotta be a better parent, I gotta be a
better student, I gotta be better in my Bible reading, I gotta pray more, I
gotta…” Have you noticed that list always grows? There’s never an end. There’s
always something else we think we gotta do:
I gotta watch my mouth, I gotta keep my eyes from wandering, I gotta…” The
list never ends; the list is never accomplished; the list is never perfected.
The list tells the tale.
In hopeless abandon, we cry out,
“What must I do?” You know what Jesus wants from you? Your sins. That’s all. He
doesn’t want your perfection, or your best of intentions. He wants your sins.
That’s what He came for. He came to be your Savior. He came to trade His
perfection for your imperfection. Don’t put Jesus out of a job! He came to take
your sins from you. Instead of trying to do better, and then when you fail try
even harder – as if you could somehow attain perfection that way – instead,
confess your sins. Surrender them all to Jesus: all of the I gottas, the I
wouldas, the I couldas, the, shouldas turn them all over to Jesus and trust
that His once-for-all death on the cross pays for your sins. You do nothing;
Jesu does it all. You have nothing to negotiate with, so out of His great love
for you, Jesus speaks for you with His Father in heaven. Jesus says, “My life
for his; My life for hers.” The answer to “What must I do to inherit eternal
life” is found at the cross. At the cross, in His dying breath, Jesus declares:
There is nothing left for you to do. “It is finished.”
I started this sermon by saying
that the man’s question was an honest one. While it may have been an honest
one, it was a misguided question. Go back to the question with me one more
time: “What must I do to inherit eternal life.” What must I do to inherit? Answer: you do nothing to
inherit anything. Inheritance is something that is given by the head/s of the
household to those who in the family. You don’t earn inheritance by something
you do. Inheritance is a gift. You don’t buy it, you don’t negotiate for it.
Inheritance is yours by nature of
who you are: a son or daughter. Inheritance is yours by nature of whose you
are: a son or daughter of the giver. Inheritance implies family.
Friday morning, I was privileged
to be a witness at a family’s joy at the adoption of a child into the family. When
the family was called forward to stand in front of the judge, I listened to
every word. The attorney asked the parents-to-be a series of questions,
culminating in this simple question “Do you want this little girl to be your
legally and lawfully adopted daughter?” The parents’ answers were as clear as
our church bell: “Yes!” What was remarkable was that the little girl wasn’t
asked a single question – not by the attorney, not by the case worker, not by
the judge. She had nothing to offer. No one asked if she wanted to be adopted;
no one asked if she could earn her way into the family. She was made a part of
that family by the loving choice of a man and woman to adopt her, by the
authority of the judge, and with the joyful blessing of the State of Texas.
With the tap of a gavel, the girl was no longer a Jane Doe ward of the State.
She became a beloved daughter of two parents, who were willing to sacrifice
greatly to make this child theirs and who gave her their name: Mary Elizabeth Kate
Heller.
This is what God has done for you
in Christ Jesus. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and
into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is
kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded
by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5).
So there is no doubt in your mind
of your adoption into the family of God through Christ, you are given Jesus’
name. You are called “Christian,” which means “Little Christ.” It’s not
something you negotiated with God. God declares it; you simply respond in
faith: Yes, Lord, I believe. There is no negotiation.
Friday, after the adoption, Mom
and Dad were walking down the hall. Little Emmy was following along after.
That’s the image I leave you with. Christ calls; we follow in faith.
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