Mark 10:23-31

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost | October 17, 2021 | Sermon Text: Mark 10:23-31 |

A very funny comedy routine is George Carlin’s classic “Stuff.” While Mr. Carlin was not everyone’s cup of tea, he cuts like a well-skilled surgeon as he examines why we feel we need “so much stuff.” “Be honest!” he says: “your house is just a place to store your stuff; if you didn’t have all that stuff, you wouldn’t need a house! A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on top.” Carlin’s routine could be summarized as: sometimes we realize we’ve got too much stuff, so we move to get more space—but if we’ve got too much space…we know we need more stuff!

Carlin is talking about physical stuff—the things that we buy, inherit, or otherwise acquire during life. From twenty-year-old restaurant menus to Grandpa’s gold watch, from the priceless to the worthless, we see life as defined by our stuff. But it’s not just physical stuff! Our degrees, our accomplishments, our awards, our honors are also a type of stuff that we acquire and insist on carrying around. The debates regarding when to call someone “doctor” are one example of how we also pile on the intangible “stuff” that define who we are. To borrow from Carlin, be honest! Whether it is the acquisition of tangible stuff like cash, stocks, bonds, houses, furniture, clothing, cars, boats and more or of the more intangible stuff like educations, vacation experiences, foodie skills, friendships with the right people and such, we are experts at the process of acquiring.

And Jesus says stuff is useless, to the disciples’ amazement and alarm.

This statement was as shocking in Jesus’ day as in ours. While the 1^st century world in which Jesus lived nuanced wealth and possessions somewhat differently than ours, they would have understood that even as charity was important—be ready to give when called on—it was also important to put enough away so that you wouldn’t be a charity case yourself. Rabbinic interpretation of the time would have expected that young men, such as the one we encountered last week, would work to grow his assets, not disperse them to the wind and be dependent on others.  Moreover, for Jesus to suggest that it is his very wealth that is the problem and being rid of it as the answer to a heart-felt question, would have struck most as absurd—as it did the young man and, clearly, the disciples.

But the point is no longer being put to those first disciples—now Jesus is teaching us about the truth of God’s Kingdom and our place in it. It is no mistake that, as Mark relates this story, these events are preceded by Jesus placing a child in their midst. (vv. 13-16). No child “has” anything of worth; what they do have in abundance is trust—trust that their needs will be met by someone who loves rightly and well! This is what Jesus commends to his followers: God (who alone is good!) loves rightly and well, gives to his children what they need and more, and can accomplish what must be done when all we can do is exclaim “impossible!” Perhaps the young man huffed it out as he walked away—impossible. It is an ironic moment. The wealthy young man could not acquire the one thing that he needed, which was poverty. The disciples don’t get the joke, if there is one here, because isn’t the whole point of having a god is to make sure that you get the stuff that makes life worth living, that protects us from what we fear, that makes sure we get what we want. Again, it doesn’t have to be the physical stuff George Carlin lampooned. It could easily be the “stuff” the world teaches us: about the right kind of wisdom or way of acting, the right opinions or right behaviors, the right friends, the right allies. We are so full of stuff that there is no room for God to give us anything. This is the issue that Martin Luther stressed again and again: that nothing can substitute for Christ, not even (as Peter wishes to claim) our heroic efforts to follow Christ!

One of my favorite little tales is a Jewish story about a rich man. He steps into a bakery one day, and in the process of buying a morsel, turns to the baker and asks, „When others turn to me for help … what should I say?“ The baker did not look up from his flour bowl but after a moment said: „I think ‘thank you’ would be best.“  „What?“ said the man, „Why should I say thank you?“ His voice grew louder as if to boost his confidence. „What can the poor give me?“

„Have you ever met a man whose success is not also a burden?“ said the baker. „To give freely as others ask allows you to lessen your load and walk more freely. In this way having less can add to your life! The poor have done you a favor.“ Now his customer’s voice took a new tone. „I feel like a fool,“ he said. „No,“ responded the baker, „a fool is someone who knows so much, he cannot learn anything.”

Pastor Dave Brooks

Raleigh, NC USA

Pr.Dave.Brooks@zoho.com