Jesus has just met the rich man, who’s wondering what he needs to do to enter eternal life. And so he asks. Jesus recounts the commandments – no murder, adultery, covet – the Top Ten. The man answers that yes, he’s done that, so he wants to confirm his admittance into eternal life. Ah, if it were so easy!
To this, Jesus responds that he has one thing left to do. Sell all his belongings and give his money to the poor. This idea of selling everything and giving it to the poor makes the man shocked and grieved. We don’t really know whether he did as he was requested, although there’s reason to believe he didn’t. Regardless, he left Jesus, shocked and grieving.
The disciples see all this, and are ‘perplexed’ (another great word that should be brought back into common use.. I spend a lot of time feeling perplexed!) Jesus response to their concerns is that for mortals, there’s nothing we can do to be saved, but for God, nothing is impossible. I’m not sure that cleared things up; I’m still perplexed. He continues, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Hmm.
There’s a lot to think about in all of this. Wealth. Priorities. Salvation. Service. Poverty. Maybe I’m being simplistic, or maybe I’m just too perplexed to figure anything else out, but I think what Jesus says to the man is brilliant, and actually quite simple. Love God. Love your neighbor.
The man has been following The Law since he was little. He’s been following the prescribed rules, and if that’s all it takes, he’s good as gold. But with his direction to sell his belongings, Jesus is focusing all that rule-following down to its essence. Love God. You’ve asked me what you need to do. As God-incarnate, Jesus tells him. If the man loved God fully, he’d aim to do what God-incarnate suggested.
And what Jesus suggested is the ultimate of loving your neighbor. Take your riches, divest of them, and help your poor neighbor. Love your neighbor. This morning, I’m again thinking about how Jesus repeatedly tries to teach us this simple lesson. Simple but not easy. Love God. Love your Neighbor.
Obviously it’s not easy. I’m not always sure what God’s asking of me. Or if my understanding of what God’s asking is really God, or some self-delusional, self-aggrandizing understanding.
And it’s really not easy to always love my neighbor. Sometimes it’s hard to love my neighbor on the street, in rehab, behind bars, the 1%, Antifa, the Proud Boys. And it’s really really hard to love my neighbor who lives in my house and really sick. Jesus struck that man at what Jesus knew might be the one thing that was interfering with the man truly loving God and loving his neighbor – his wealth. Maybe that’s what God puts in our way to overcome -the one thing that’s interfering with us truly loving God and loving our neighbor. For me, right now, it’s my most intimate neighbors. Love your neighbor.
Today, I’m going to think about what it means to me to truly Love God and Love my Neighbor. And all those places where I feel it doesn’t really count, I don’t really have to fully love. That’s where I’m called. Sell your belongings. Love your neighbor.
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