ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
April 8, 2022
As we continue to approach Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), we find words that can cause distress or denial. We read what happens after Jesus tells a rich young man to give away all of his possessions:
When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Let’s be real! Most all of us, at least by worldly standards, are rich. Households that make $41,000/year in the United States are in the top 3% in terms of riches people in the world. I fall into that category as my household income is over $41,000. This could simply cause me to be distressed to the point of being emotionally immobilized. Or, I could slip into denial and make excuses or dismiss the words of Jesus. It’s tempting. Or another option is for me to give away all my possessions. Whatever the case, I don’t think we will be able to explore faithfulness if distress or denial is the response. Jesus was speaking to a specific rich person in Matthew 19, but I think those words have universal implications. In Luke 12, Jesus spoke more generally about those who follow him and how they need to sell what they have and give to those in need. Does this cause you distress? Are you finding ways of denying or deluding what Jesus said? If you are, I don’t blame you. Yet if we are people who live under the grace of God, why can’t we have these hard and uncomfortable conversations? I’m not suggesting we will all come to the same place, but what would it mean for Jesus followers to talk about this, confess our anxieties, name some of our unhealthy connections to possessions and to seriously ask God for a way forward?
This was what Jesus discussed with his closest disciples in the days leading to his execution. I’ve got to think he was trying to emphasize some critical points for his followers moving forward. Churches often brag on their worship attendance, yet Jesus never asked any of the disciples who were sent out for numbers. What would it be for a church to pridefully speak, not about their worship attendance, but the capacity of their individual members to give away everything? I’m feeling a little distressed, but maybe that’s the way Jesus wants me to feel… a little bit of uneasiness with my current circumstance.
Holy and Magnificent God, I pause to center myself in your grace and kindness. It is only from that starting place that I can enter into the most challenging ideas in scripture. With some nervousness, I ask for your guidance. Amen.
