What Must I Do to Find True Life?
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pentecost 20: October 14-15, 2006
The young man ran up to Jesus from out of the crowd. He wanted to know, and asked Jesus the question, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Young man, it's very simple and quite obvious. If you want to inherit eternal life, choose parents who have eternity in their genes, or in their will. Of course, the answer to this question is not really about the secret power in ordinary names like Will or Gene, nor even about the power in extraordinary names like Jesus. There is no secret passage to eternity. There is no magic potion, no wizard's spell to neutralize death's power and clear the way for our enjoying life forever. Look, whether you call it inheriting eternal life, or looking for true life, finding life's point, meaning, or purpose, so simply feeling fulfilled through the work that we do, the relationships we're in, or the commitments we've made, our Gospel has asked the big question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
First of all, we should make note of the fact that the young man addresses Jesus as a teacher, signaling that he knows he has something to learn. He knows he needs to learn something that thus far he's found elusive. That is the first step in virtually all of the self-help programs that have been devised. You've got to admit there's a problem. Actually, you've got to admit you're the problem, or, at least, that you've got a problem, that there's something missing, and it's not somebody else's fault. Take responsibility. “Good Teacher, what must I do?” This is not like the two brothers who came to Jesus in Luke 12. “Lord, we've got a problem at home. 'Tell my brother to stop it,' the first brother insists. 'No, Lord, tell my brother to stop it,' the second brother responds.” So, in contrast, the young man in our text has it right on two counts. First, he knows he needs to learn from what Jesus has to teach him. Second, he knows he's got to learn. It is his responsibility. He's going to have to do something.
And so Jesus tells him the obvious. “You know the commandments. 'You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. You shall honor your father and mother.'” In other words, don't kill, cheat, lie, or steal, and be a good kid. Do this and you shall live. “All these things I have done … since my youth.” And Jesus believed him. He looked at him and loved him, as if to say, “I can see you're trying. It's clear that you are serious about the question you've asked.” It's not like moping around in a state of denial. It's not even the case that the young man is a poser, just posing what he thinks is a good question to impress the teacher, or the crowd, or himself. Jesus looked at him. He saw his sincerity, sensed his struggle, and loved him. “One thing you lack. Go. Sell everything you own. Give it all to the poor. Then, come and follow me.” That's five things, Lord. But if it's one thing you want, I can do that. So, he does the first thing, which, as you recall, was to go. So, he went. He went away “grieving” the text says, “for he had many possessions.” You know, you don't wind up with many possessions by accident. You can wind up with next to none by accident - due to poor decisions, carefree living, little forethought to consequences for mistakes and the accidents they invite. But you don't wind up with many possessions except by wanting them, working for them, to accumulate and then preserve them. Oh, without a doubt, we can get lucky along the way; but as is sometimes said, we often make our own luck through hard work, good preparation, discipline and persistence. The young man was serious about all these things, since his youth, and certainly as an adult. He had it good, by doing it right. He had it all but he needed more, and not just more of the same stuff he already had.
“One thing you lack,” Jesus says - but not necessarily the first thing I say. “Go. Sell what you have. Give it away. Then come, and follow me.” It is the last thing Jesus says that is the one thing our young man reads. Follow me. Become a disciple. Take up the cross. Bear my yoke upon yourself, and learn from me, and I will give you rest, the rest your soul seeks. That last line is a quote from what Jesus said in Matthew 12. It reminds me of the line Augustine once wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in you.” The Choir Anthem, which was featured in our 8:00 a.m. service, was selected with this text from Matthew in mind. Just read those words on the News Page in the bulletin: “Come, unto me, all who are weary, weak, tired, and lonely. Come unto me…. Strong arms will enfold you and lift you up. Bring your burdens. Show me your wounds…. Find comfort and peace. Live with me forever….”
I must admit that there is a real benefit to paying attention to all of our weekend services, because each one is different, often offering a different blessing with the word God speaks; and this week it's our earliest service on Sunday that surprises us with the right answer to our young man's question. Part of the answer is found in putting our burdens down. Bring me your burdens is what the anthem sings. Show me your wounds is what our anthem invites. Step away from the burdens you carry around like an addiction. Can you give these burdens up? “If you are willing, I'll make you able,” Jesus says; but mostly, we're not willing. You see, it is not always riches that prove to be the barrier to finding what we really seek. How long is it that we hold on to our resentments, or our hurt feelings, or our anger and ill will? “Bring me your burdens; show me your wounds.” “Only if you promise not to take them away!” we respond. But Jesus won't promise that. That's why he's the Lord. That's why he's our Savior. He saves us from ourselves. He saves us from our sins. He saves us for life, true life, life with him forever.
Look, even though a first reading through this passage seems to place the focus on wealth, I don't think that its point for us is to focus on giving money. Believe me, I wouldn't shy away from taking this opportunity to encourage you in the strongest terms to give and to give generously in your support of the work of the church. October, November, and December will need to be strong months financially for Zion to bring our Operating Budget into balance by the end of the year. In the October edition of The Zion Herald, Steve Ross, in his comments on Stewardship, reminded us that the New Testament generally does not shy away from talking about wealth, riches, and our need to give. There it is right on page 3: “Scripture has a tremendous amount to say about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables of Jesus deal with money. One of every ten verses in the New Testament deals with this subject.”
Among the four Gospels, Luke's Gospel takes on this topic most directly. Mark's Gospel, on the other hand, focuses more on the misplaced priorities of idolatry, that is, placing our trust in objects that aren't worthy of it, in things that can't deliver on the hopes we invest in them. Money and wealth are certainly right up there with the idolatries we practice, as are drugs, or infatuation with good looks, the thrill of victory, our addiction to control. The truth is that our society is chock full of false signals pointing to can't miss paths to inner peace and personal wellbeing: exercise videos, fad diets, cosmetic surgery, tanning salons, magic crystals, copper bracelets. Then there's im, tm, tai ji, chee-tos: that's my way to wellbeing, namely, snack foods and ice cream, and don't forget, triple cappuccinos! These are my addictions, the idolatries I fancy, as I settle for false paths to the peace God desires to give through the life and love of his Son.
I've got to tell you that Carol Rossbach has prepared an exceptional presentation for our Sunday School class talking about the infinite variations on pre-packaged self-help approaches to finding the fulfillment we so desperately seek. What a powerful testimony she offers that gets right at the heart of the challenge we find in our Gospel Lesson. The young man's trust is misplaced. His hopes are misguided because his vision is distorted by the idolatries he fancies. Carol says it this way: “I tell you all this [in recounting her low-lights through life] because I have been wondering lately why I never thought to take my fears and problems to God when my life was mostly in shambles. The world offers all kinds of workshops and books and retreats and television talk shows to solve our problems. Why, after attending church faithfully for twenty years, did it not occur to me that I did not have to fix my life myself? I have found that healing myself didn't work. It took God.” It doesn't get any clearer than that. We cannot heal ourselves. It takes God. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Our minds are misfocused until they fix their focus on God. Our lives are aimless until they find their point, their true aim, life's ultimate end and highest goal in the call to follow Jesus Christ.
Peter proudly proclaims, “Lord, we have left everything and followed you!” And Jesus responds, “Who are you kidding?! It's not about what you've given up, but what God has given you, and that is everything of lasting value.” That's the life of His Son in death on the Cross. That's the life of the Son through the Spirit's presence breathing new life into Christ's Body, which is this church. “Truly, I tell you,” Jesus says, no one here gathered, who has left house, family, or friend, no one who bears my yoke, and learns from me life's point, life's aim, life's meaning and purpose, will not receive a hundred-fold, beginning here and now through the service we offer and extending into eternity through the joy that is and will forever be ours … in Jesus' name. Amen.