Mark 10:17-31

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, suddenly a man ran up and kneeled down before him and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me ‘good’? No one is good but God alone. 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.’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’” The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, I have kept all of these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said, “You lack one thing. Go and sell all of your possessions and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” When the man heard it, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus turned and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for someone who is wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were perplexed by these words and Jesus said, again, “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. Truly I tell you, it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus said to them, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible.”

Peter began to say to him, “Look, we’ve left everything and followed you.” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, mother and father, sister and brother, children and fields – for my sake and for the sake of the good news – who will not also receive a hundredfold, now, in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come, eternal life. For many who are first will be last and the last will be first.”

Have you heard about “Squid Game,” yet? It’s the latest, hottest, hippest Netflix series all the kids are watching. (These are things you learn when you get locked-in with 20 teenagers, overnight on a Wednesday, which I did last week.) Anyway, the show is all about a contest where hundreds of players, from different walks of life, and each in their own kind of financial trouble, are kidnapped and carted off to an unknown location to play a set of children's games (like Red Light, Green Light), with the goal of winning billions South Korean dollars. (It takes place in South Korea.) The twist to this dark, titillating, horror/game show, is that losers get killed as part of each game and the prize money grows by millions of those South Korean dollars with each death that comes to pass.

I won’t recommend it – unless you want to know what your kids or grandkids may be watching – because I’ve only seen a few episodes. The vibe of it all is something like 1984 meets Mad Max meets Saw and War Games and Survivor.

It is SOOOO not for everyone – least of all the squeamish or faint of heart – for lots of reasons left best to the imagination here.

But it made me think about this morning’s Gospel because of how both – “Squid Games” and Jesus – make me wonder about the place and power of money in our lives. See, each of the contestants in Squid Games has been sought out for this deadly competition because of their debts and their desperation and their desire to “be saved” from their struggles in the world. Like the guy who approaches Jesus, you might say they’re looking for eternal life on this side of the grave and beyond – or at least they’re looking to save their own behinds and to survive another day. And like the contestants in the Netflix series, the guy who comes to Jesus has known the rules – and kept them – since his youth.

And the rules are as straight forward as a children’s game of “Red Light. Green Light.” ‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not bear false witness’ ‘You shall not defraud.’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’ And Jesus’ new, wannabe friend dares to suggest that he’s followed all of these rules.

But Jesus gives him more to think about. He tells him there’s a big something he’s been missing all along. Jesus says, “Even if you have kept them all, you’ve dropped the ball on a big one. Sell all your stuff and share the profits with the poor. Give it all away and you’ll win the game. Give it all up and you’ll have treasure in heaven. Give it all away and you’ll know what it really means to follow me.”

It was a hard thing to hear. It was hard for the man who asked the question – he left with his tail between his legs, remember – shocked and grieving. It was hard for the disciples, too. It left them ‘perplexed’ and ‘greatly astounded.’ So what does it do for you and me, this command to give it all away?

It’s not news, I hope. We talk pretty faithfully about stewardship and possessions and sharing what we have around here. And I hope most of us have heard that bit about how hard it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. And about how the odds of a rich person entering the kingdom of God are even slimmer.

We’ve heard all that before. I’ve preached about it many times over the years. But it’s always something that challenges my faith and my life whenever I consider it. I hope it does yours, too. My first temptation is to prove how rich I’m not. But, even though there are plenty of people who make more money than me, statistically, the vast majority of people on the planet will never see the wealth of food and money and possessions that are mine – or yours – as we sit here today.

Another temptation is to pull out the tithing chart and my tax returns and do the math. If Jesus really wanted to know, I could show him the 12% or so of my family’s income that we give to Cross of Grace every year. (And, in case you think I’m bragging about that, please know that I’m quick to point out that that 12% isn’t anywhere close to the “all” that Jesus asks for this morning.)

But Jesus doesn’t want us to compare stuff or crunch numbers or run statistics. Jesus just wants us to give generously. It’s as simple as that. Jesus wants us to share what we have, to help our neighbor and to rid ourselves of the money and the things that threaten to keep us from a real relationship with God – and from real relationships with one another, too.

Think for a minute about how the world around us uses money to keep us from each other – the haves from the have nots; the rich from the poor from the middle-class; the Republicans from the Democrats and everyone’s pretend surprise and outrage over “the debt-ceiling”; and all the other ways we have of drawing lines of separation and building walls of division between one another just by crunching the numbers.

So the thing that always stands out for me about this story, is that moment when Jesus first responds to the man who kneels before him. When the man suggests that he’s done all there is to do in order to inherit eternal life – that checklist of commandments he’s kept since his youth? – Jesus looks at him, loves him and then tells him to give all of his possessions away to the poor. He looks at him, loves him, and then tells him what it will take to experience the kingdom of God – not then and there, but here and now.

All of his talk about giving away stuff and money and more for the sake of others, is said always and only out of love where Jesus is concerned, because he knows it will change everything for whoever believes it and for whoever has the faith and courage to give it a go.

What it means is that our contentedness won’t be tied to the things we own. What it means is that our joy won’t be determined by the stock market. It means our success won’t be measured by the standards of anyone but us and the God of our salvation. It means we won’t compete with or compare ourselves for one more minute to our neighbors, or to our co-workers, to our classmates, or to our cousins, either.

It means we’ll be liberated to be simply grateful for all that God has given to us. And if you’re sitting here now, in this place, at this time, in those clothes, having rolled out of whatever bed you woke up in and arrived in whatever vehicle sits in that parking lot – then you have more to be grateful for – and more to give away, too – than most people in this world, no matter what you, or the world, does to try to convince you otherwise.

And what Jesus says to the man in this morning’s story, Jesus says to every one of us, just the same: that our lives will be changed for the better; that our relationship with God will be magnified immeasurably; that the world around us will be transformed into something like the Kingdom of God – right here and now – when you and I stop measuring ourselves by the standards of this world and start imagining that we’re already citizens of another.

See, Jesus doesn’t need our money as much as our eyes need to see it at work in the world – helping the poor, building up the Church, serving others. The Church doesn’t need our commitments as much as we need to make them. God doesn’t need our gratitude as much as God wants our hearts to be transformed when we humble ourselves enough to offer it. And when we achieve that kind of generosity…that kind of service to others… when we break down the dividing walls of wealth and poverty, of winners and losers among us…we get a glimpse of the kingdom of God right where we live.

I don’t know how “Squid Game” will end. I’m not banking on a profound, life-changing epiphany to come from it all. But it’s always worth wondering about the power and place of wealth in our lives – something Jesus talked and taught about more than anything else, in all of Scripture. And it’s worth hearing, again, God’s call to use our resources – all of them or as much of them as we can manage – for the blessing and benefit of the world.

And mostly, it’s worth remembering that every bit of this calling comes from God’s love for us, God’s desire for us to share and to experience that kind of love for the sake of others, and God’s promise that eternal life has already been won, on our behalf so that, because we know how THIS story ends – with resurrection, grace, and good news – we can live differently – more generously, more courageously, more kindly, more full of hope, in the meantime.

Amen

Mark 9:38-50

John said to [Jesus], “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he wasn’t following us.” Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its flavor, how can it be seasoned? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”

First of all, let’s talk about this limb-lopping, eye-gouging stuff. I don’t want to spend my whole sermon on it – I’ve done that before – but can’t just leave it alone, either. This is always just a good reminder that we get to read Scripture LITERATELY not LITERALLY. In other words, no one in their right mind would argue that Jesus means for us to cut off our hands or remove our feet or pluck out our eyes. It’s nothing more and nothing less than attention-getting rhetoric – and it works. So, if we don’t have to take this bit of Scripture LITERALLY, it’s okay to wonder about the rest of Scripture that way, too. Let that be our in-worship Bible study and now, onto what I really want to talk about…

I did church differently yesterday afternoon, up in Noblesville, with our friends at Roots of Life and Pastor Teri Ditslear. (For those of you who don’t know – Pastor Teri was called to Cross of Grace years ago, before beginning to develop a new congregation up in Noblesville, which we support with a percentage of our Building Fund offerings every month.) Well, Pastor Teri was installed, finally, as their Pastor, even though she’s been their Pastor for about eight years at this point. It takes a while when you have to follow the rules … and the steps … and jump through the hoops and meet all of the expectations of the larger Church. And the funny, faithful thing about Pastor Teri and Roots of Life is that they aren’t big on rules or steps or jumping through hoops – and I love that about her and what their up to there.

See, when I say I “did church differently,” I mean we were outside at a place called Stony Creek Farms – acres and acres of beautiful property that looks more like a movie set than a church property, with an old barn or two, an old house that looks like it might be haunted, something like a greenhouse where the food was served and where I changed into my robe for worship, and a blue and white striped awning under which we worshiped. This is where Roots of Life calls home these days, where they gather for worship, and where they do so much that looks differently from what you and I are used to.

Like, they call themselves Roots of Life “Community,” more than they do call themselves a church, it seems to me. They’re into this new “wild church” thing, too, where they more deliberately connect with and care for creation and nature and where they work for environmental and social justice, just like we’re all called to do. The music yesterday was all bluegrass – a guitar, a bass, a banjo, I think – and songs you wouldn’t find in a hymnal or hear, even, on Christian radio.

And they tweaked the Lord’s Prayer. They said an alternative Affirmation of Faith, rather than one of the traditional creeds. And they gave away grape jelly to guests – grape jelly which they use one Sunday a year as a way to share the sacrament of Holy Communion in worship, instead of wine or juice. It’s enough to make the liturgical police or the religious purists or a modern day Pharisee or John in this morning’s Gospel lose their ever-loving minds.

(Oh, and every start-time at Roots of Life is “ish.” Sunday morning worship begins at 9:30-“ish.” Yesterday started at 4-“ish.” Honestly, I’m wired to struggle more with the “ish”-factor than I am with their Lord’s Prayer or their use of grape jelly for communion.)

Which is why all of it had me thinking about this morning’s Gospel.

See, there are plenty of church people who might think about Pastor Teri and Roots of Life the way John thought about whoever he saw casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John, and the other disciples, tried to stop whoever that was, remember, because “he wasn’t following us,” as John put it. In other words, maybe, “he wasn’t doing it like you would do it, Jesus.” “He wasn’t doing it like you taught us to do it, Jesus.” “He wasn’t following the rules… meeting our expectations… jumping through all of those hoops.”

But Jesus’ instruction couldn’t be clearer: “Don’t stop him." “Whoever is not against us, is for us.” And don’t be a stumbling block, you knuckleheads. Do not – for any reason whatsoever – get in the way of these little ones who believe in me. I’d sooner see you throw yourselves into the sea with a giant millstone around your neck. (There’s more of that hyperbole and exaggeration for you.)

In other words, grace at all costs. Mercy at all costs. Forgiveness at all costs. Love at all costs.

All of this to say, while Roots of Life is cut from the same cloth as Cross of Grace – and Pastor Teri was very deliberate about extending gratitude for the ways we have shared in partnership with them over the years – we do things differently, in our own unique, equally meaningful ways, too. There are plenty of people who would and have taken issue with some of what we do around here, just the same. Neither one is better or worse than the other, necessarily. Just different.

Which is what I think Jesus means when he talks about having salt in ourselves. I think he means that salt is just salt. It just has its flavor – it just tastes like salt – as God created it to taste. And there’s no way to restore that once it’s gone – except maybe by adding more salt.

Roots of Life is just Roots of Life. Cross of Grace is just Cross of Grace. And you are just you. I’m just me. We’re just as unique and special and sacred as God has created and called and blessed us to be. And when we can acknowledge that about ourselves – and celebrate that for ourselves – we can expect and accept and celebrate the same from others, too.

When Jesus says, “have salt in yourselves,” I think he’s saying, “you do you, people of God.” And I can’t know where each of you might be with that – discerning what your salt is; what makes you, you; what matters most for where you’re at these days or where you want to be. I just know that God already and always loves and blesses the salt that gives your life its most unique, authentic, holy, baptized kind of flavor and that God wants more of that for you and from you in this world.

Where our life together at Cross of Grace, as part of God’s church in the world is concerned – and for the partnership we share with places like Roots of Life and Zanmi Fondwa, and Wernle Children’s Home and more in our community – I’m reminded of what matters most these days – of our salt and where we get our flavor, I mean. And that is our call to share grace at all costs, to be generous to a fault, to love radically, with no strings attached – and to help others do the same – so that we can live at peace with, and in support of, the many and various ways God calls us to follow Jesus, to be God’s people, and to do it all for the sake of the world.

Amen