What Must I Do?
Mark 10:17-31
October 21, 22, 2006

Some of my favorite moments during worship are the children's sermons-because you never know what profound words will come out of the mouths of babes! You may have heard about one minister who posed a similar question to a group of energetic kiddos as the question we have heard in today's scripture passage from Mark. The minister began, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" The children all responded in unison: "Nooo!" "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?" Again, the answer was, "Nooo!" "Well, what if I was kind to animals and gave candy to everybody and loved my wife and family? Would that get me into heaven?" "Nooo!" The pastor persisted, "Well, what must I do? "How can I get into heaven?" One little girl shouted, "You gotta be dead!"

What must I do? During the next few weeks, we will be considering that question as it relates to the important area of stewardship. And, fortunately, you don't have to be dead to participate! In fact, we would prefer that you remain very much alive-not only physically, but spiritually. Stewardship and the faithful handling of our finances are spiritual matters. So we will be invited to deepen our understanding of our relationship with God and the resources God has given to us. As we anticipate another exciting year of mission and ministry at Beargrass, we recognize that faithful stewardship involves much more than what we share as our offerings and tithes. Stewardship is the recognition that all that we are and all that we have are gifts from God. Stewardship is not just a matter of dollars and cents, but a matter of what makes sense for our spiritual growth. Stewardship focuses not on the need of the church to receive, but on the spiritual need for all of us to give. The theme for our stewardship emphasis this year is "New Hearts, New Spirits, New Living!"

On November 4 and 5, we will celebrate "Commitment Weekend." All of us will be challenged to respond to the question: "What must I do?" as it relates to our giving. As an act of worship, we will make our pledges to the ministry and mission of Christ's Church in this place for the coming year.

"WHAT MUST I DO?" THE QUESTION IS POSED IN TODAY'S PASSAGE. As Jesus journeys closer to Jerusalem, a fervent follower falls at Jesus' feet. Kneeling before Jesus in a humble position of respect, this man clearly recognizes both Jesus' goodness and wisdom. "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus reviews a roster of some of the basic commandments. The man responds quickly, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth!" Then Mark offers this incredible comment that colors the complete conversation. "Jesus looks at him and loves him." We get a sense of Jesus' regard and respect for this seeker who seems so sincere-there is no scathing here, no scolding. In light of this empathy, Jesus' requests and the man's response seem all the more poignant. Jesus actually presents him with two propositions. "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give it to the poor." Then, "come, follow me." This is the path for spiritual treasure, for the eternal life he seeks.

Wow! It all comes crashing down. The man is no longer stoked-but "shocked," no longer jazzed, but jolted, no longer gung-ho, but "grieving." "For he has many possessions." He counts the cost…and sadly slips away. Jesus turns his attention back to the disciples-but they are not the same as they were before this startling conversation. Riches, possessions, were generally assumed to be a sign of God's favor. The disciples are dazed and confused, perplexed and astounded!

"Then who can be saved?" Jesus offers a "holy hyperbole" here-dramatizing the difficulty by describing this incredible image of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. "You can't do it yourself; you can't buy your way into heaven; you can't accumulate enough stuff to make it; you can't 'good work' your way there.-for people it is impossible!" "Salvation is only possible as a gift from God." And, strangely enough, Jesus lets his disciples know that they are on the right path. Peter pleads with Jesus and lets him know that they have done what he has asked-given up everything and followed him. Essentially, Jesus agrees, promising that for all the things his disciples have given up, they will receive back "a hundredfold"-although there will be both blessings and bumps in the road in the days to come.

WHAT MUST I DO? I heard about a man in the diamond business who happened to be sitting next to a woman who was wearing a huge diamond wedding ring on her finger. After their plane got off the ground, their conversation got off the ground. The man introduced himself and said, "I couldn't help but notice your beautiful ring." "I am an expert in the diamond business." "Please tell me about that stone." She said, "Sir, that is the famous Klopman diamond." "It is one of the largest in the world." "But there is a strange curse that comes with it." Now the man was really interested: "What is the curse?" She said, "It's Mr. Klopman."

Some of us may wish to re-evaluate our "diamonds," our possessions, our wealth, with that story and the gospel story in mind. The true curse of any kind of valuable possession is its capacity to steal our hearts and souls. The rich young man is so unwilling to part with his possessions that he sells his soul in order to keep his stuff. And he is alive and well and lives among us-and sometimes within us. Some of you are familiar with Dr. Stanley Hauerwas. Hauerwas is a seminary professor at Duke University, recognized as one of the leading theologians in our country. He often talks about the Church's need for honesty and has called us to tell the truth as a "community of character." If you have read any of his books or heard him speak, you know that he often presents some very challenging ideas. One of them has to do with how churches should receive new members. He proposes that whenever people join the church, they should stand and answer four questions: Who is your Lord and Savior? The response: "Jesus Christ." Do you trust in him and seek to be his disciple? "I do." Will you be a faithful member of this congregation? The answer: "I will." Finally, one last question: What is your annual income? Now, it is obvious that Hauerwas is not the pastor of a local congregation-he probably wouldn't last too long! But when you are a seminary professor, you can say what ministers often wish they could say! Dr. Hauerwas thinks church members ought to name their Lord and Savior and tell fellow church members how much money they make. Of course, his idea just wouldn't work, especially in the American church. Many church members believe salary figures are more sacred than prayer. And many church pastors learn to dance around the subject of money and not talk about it nearly enough. If preachers mentioned it as much as Jesus did, about one out of every six sermons would have to do with money matters.

What must I do? When Dr. Gary Straub met with our elders and ministers, he encouraged all of us to help generate a spirit of generosity within our church family. He cautioned us to be wary of the disease-cirrhosis of the giver. And he mentioned that as spiritual leaders in the church, the congregation cannot go any higher than where the ministers and elders are willing to lead. I chuckled at one of his handouts-it was called "Seven Habits for Highly Effective Elders," and there was a list of suggested books and resources under each of the seven habits. Tithing was one of the seven habits. But instead of suggesting a list of books about tithing, Gary wrote, "Don't read about it-be a Nike Christian-just do it!"

Many of you have had the opportunity to travel, to see the world, to get some sense of just how blessed we are. I appreciate Christine Scott's perspectives as she reflects on her travels and on this story we have heard today from Mark. She writes: "One thing I discovered before going to Asia was that I am rich. We are "the rich" that the Bible speaks about. One thing I learned from going is how rich I really am. There are many frustrating things about India. But what I hated is the way it makes me feel about myself. I feel opulent. I feel rich and I feel like a foreigner. India doesn't let you forget that you're different and that you're rich. This is evident in every little thing you do. From walking down the street, to trying to buy train tickets. When you're shopping, they hike the prices because they count either on your ignorance or your laziness to just give up, because it's probably only a matter of a dollar anyway. You have to struggle and fight every time to be treated like everyone else, because you cannot hide the fact that you're a foreigner. You can wear their dress and even speak their language, but they never let you forget that you're different. The thing I hate most about all this is the fact that India is right. I am different, and I am rich.

The things we own are God's; we are only looking after them. This is a difficult concept to learn. It's hard, but I believe so necessary, to systematically give everything we have back to God. From our clothes, to our beds, to our cars, to our health and our relationships. We need to give up the belief that we have a right to have these things. We don't have the rights to anything. Even our next breath is a gift from God." What must I do? When we choose to follow Jesus, we must give up our rights. We must give our hearts to God, who can make all things possible…and who can make all things new.