Improbable Possibilities

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

August 25, 2013

Improbable Possibilities

Mark 10:17-27

The image is almost absurd, isn’t it?

Pushing a camel through the eye of a needle?

Could we push a goat through the eye of a needle?

What about a cat?

A mouse?

It cannot be done;

It is not possible.

It is utterly impossible.

We’ve tried to explain Jesus’ illustration in other ways,

rationalizing his words.

Some have argued that the word we translate as camel

really should be translated as rope;

others have said there was a gate that led into Jerusalem

that was called the “Needle” 

which was a tight squeeze

but which still allowed a camel to get through.

But no, Jesus meant it just as it sounds:

he is talking about something impossible,

something that cannot happen.

We are dealing with hyperbole,

exaggeration,

a favorite teaching technique of our Lord:

“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble and sin,

cut it off and throw it away;

If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, tear it out.”

(Matthew 18:8)

These are the words of our Lord,

not meant for us to take literally, of course,

but for us to learn from – Jesus the teacher,

using different ways to get his points across.

In our lesson, Jesus exaggerated

so his listeners 2000 years ago,

and we today, would understand:

An elephant, a camel, a blue whale –

the most enormous of animals

stand a better chance of squeezing through the eye of a needle

than a person with money does of getting into heaven.

So much for the wealthy!

Aren’t we glad that none of us is wealthy,

no Donald Trumps here in this congregation.

The message our Lord teaches and preaches is chillingly clear:

If you’ve got a big pile of money, enjoy it now,

because when you draw your last breath,

that will be that, the end.

As our Lord said in the gospel of Luke:

“Woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.”

(Luke 6:24-25)

Mark tells us “the apostles were perplexed at these words.”

Or, as the apostles said of another of Jesus’ illustrations,

“this teaching is difficult.”

Who can be saved?

Who is lost?

How do we define “rich” or “wealthy”?

What is the cut-off?

Is it just the 1% who need to be worried?

The top 10%

The top 53%?

This is difficult teaching;

it is perplexing.

After all, in this country we admire wealth.

We admire those who are financially successful.

We admire them and, if we are honest,

we are envious.

Who among us wouldn’t want even a little more

in their bank account,

in their retirement account?

How much nicer my vacation in Vermont would have been

if, rather than having to spend 10 hours in a car on Interstate 95,

I could have driven to our local airport,

boarded a private jet,

and landed in southern Vermont an hour later,

a limo standing by to whisk me away,

a private chef waiting in the kitchen with lunch ready,

the refrigerator full of favorite foods.

What happened to the good old days,

those Old Testament times when having wealth

was thought to be a good thing,

a sign of God’s blessing?

“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth”

we read in Proverbs,

capturing what most thought,

even in Jesus’ time

(Proverbs 10:22)

The problem with wealth is that we become attached

to what we have –

our money and our possessions.

Our money and our possessions define us,

begin to rule us, govern our lives.

Our lives become more and more focused

on enriching ourselves materially and financially,.

That’s not the life our Lord calls us to, though,

when he says to you and me, “Follow me.”

He calls us to lives spent enriching ourselves spiritually.

                          

But who among us would have responded any differently

from the young man in our lesson?

He sounds like any of us:

a person of faith,

trying to live with integrity, goodness,

studying Scripture,

striving to follow,

taking his call, his faith, his religion seriously.  

He abided by the word of God,

God’s teachings and Commandments:

You shall not murder – Check!

You shall not commit adultery – Check!

You shall not steal – Check!

You shall not bear false witness – Check!

You shall not defraud – Check!

Honor your father and mother – Check! Check!

But then Jesus added this new commandment,

one the young man had never anticipated,

never even thought was a possibility,

much less a requirement:

“Go, sell what you own,

and give the money to the poor.”

We can picture the look on the young man’s face –

the smile, the look of eager hopefulness

suddenly gone,

like air let out of a balloon,

the young man stunned into silence,

thinking to himself,

“Did Jesus really say what I think he said,

‘Go, sell what you own,

and give the money to the poor?’

Is he serious?

He can’t be!”

But the young man knew Jesus was serious,

and so he turned slowly, sadly,

and walked away,

for he had many possessions.

What if that was the standard for joining this church:

that we required anyone wanting to join,

wanting to become a member,

to demonstrate their faith by selling all their possessions

and giving the money away –

How many people do you think I’d be talking to

on Sunday morning?

                                                              

It isn’t that Jesus is against money or ambition or success,

but he knows what happens to us as we accumulate more:

money becomes more and more the idol we fix ourselves on.

                          

Jesus wants us to put all our trust in him,

not in what we have, or who we are,

or where we live,

or the job we have.

He wants us to store up treasure in heaven,

not treasure on earth.

He tells the story of a foolish wealthy person

who had so much

he needed to build a larger barn to hold all he had.

But the very day his new barn was completed,

the man died.

The lesson Jesus wanted his listeners to draw from the story,

the lesson for you and me is that,

one’s life does not consist

in the abundance of possessions, …

Instead, Jesus tells us, be rich toward God!

(Luke 12:13ff)

The story of Zacchaeus, Jericho’s chief tax collector,

shows us that Jesus was not laying down

a hard and fast rule in our lesson.

After Jesus dined with Zacchaeus at his home,

the man who had grown wealthy through corruption

stood up and announced

that he would immediately give away

half his possessions to the poor.

Half, not all.

Half.

Did Jesus bang his fist on the table and shout,

“Not good enough; Try again”,

like God’s unspoken response to Cain’s offering?

No, Jesus responded with joy,

“Today salvation has come to this house.”

(Luke 19:8)

Jesus isn’t interested in an accounting of what we have

in our bank accounts.

He hasn’t set a cut-off at a certain level of wealth.

What he cares about is what we care about:

are we more concerned with our treasure on earth,

or treasure in heaven?

Jesus wants our all,

every part of us,

body, mind, heart and soul.

He doesn’t want our minds elsewhere,

distracted by things, by possessions

by worries, by money.

He wants us to embrace fully the life he calls us to

as his disciples, lives of endless riches:

riches of peace,

of contentment,

of love,

of grace,

of hope.

It is a life not only of endless riches,

but of endless possibilities:

possibilities not dependent on how much we’ve saved up,

or the limit on our credit card,

but possibilities grounded in God,

endless possibilities,

because with God all things are possible.

With God, the improbable becomes possible.

With God, the impossible becomes possible.

And so, with God, all the hungry can be fed.

With God war can cease and we can live in peace.

With God we can live in and with racial justice.

What may well sound like the idle musings of the naïve

are in fact grounded in the words

we stamp on our money: “In God We Trust”.

And here is one more improbable idea,

as improbable as a camel passing through the eye of a needle:

life eternal.

Yet, we believe in that promise we’ve been given

by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Peace, justice,

righteousness,

compassion,

acceptance.

No war,

no hunger,

no want,

all humanity living together in harmony.

These are all things our Lord teaches us to work for,

all things Scripture tells us are the foundation

of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yet they all seem beyond our grasp,

things we think we’ll find only in Heaven,

things that on this earth are improbable,

impossible.

And yet, there is our Lord speaking such an eloquent,

simple,

hope-filled truth:

“With God, all things are possible.”

AMEN