Letting Go of Attachments: A Sermon for St. Barnabas, Proper 23B

Christ and the Young Rich Ruler by Heinrich Hofmann

There are things you are taught in seminary, such as theology and Biblical scholarship and research. 

But they couldn't prepare me for some of the challenges of parish ministry, especially strong opinions about koi ponds. St. Barnabas has had a koi pond on its property for more than 20 years, and its been both a source of peace and vexation. Our vestry has reached the end of its rope with the necessary care of the koi, but it is a feature of a garden that was built in memory of a beloved Sunday School teacher. There was never an official dedication, and instead, another beloved member with a yen for the outdoors and landscaping paid for and designed the pond herself. This week has been spent with our vestry clerk researching all of this information and me searching for any family member who might be able to fill in the history, and drafting a letter to the congregation (which now needs to be rewritten given all of our new information uncovered from the past church records) seeking help from anyone who would like to make "Koi Care" their ministry. All this while crafting another letter for kicking off a stewardship campaign. And writing a sermon, interestingly, reflecting on attachments that get in the way of our commitment to living into our call to Christian service and mission. Hmmmm....

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 Main text: Mark 10:17-31

“How hard will it be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

If we look closely at this statement, we see that it is not worded as a question. In fact, in our text from the N-R-S-V translation, this was a declarative statement from Jesus, complete with an exclamation point.

“How hard will it be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

Of course, Jesus then answers this statement with another famous declaration, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” In other words, it is impossible for a rich person.

Now, it can be easy I’m sure for many of us who don’t have the fortunes of an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos to stay focused on Jesus chastising the super rich. It’s always so much more fun to see Jesus scolding others and not realizing that his imperative is directed at us.

So I would like to invite us to think a little bit more about this passage…and the meaning here of “wealth” and “rich.” I’m not talking about money and stock portfolios.

Rather “wealth” and “rich” could mean anything that we take as “things,” the comforts of life living in the western world.

This story is often referred to as “The Rich Young Man.” That would be true if we were reading Matthew’s account (Matt 19:20). If our lesson came from Luke, this character would be called “a certain ruler” (Luke 18:18).

But unlike Matthew’s “young” man or Luke’s even more lofty “ruler,” Mark’s version tells us that this is “a man.” We learn throughout the exchange that this “man” is someone who obviously has some level religious devotion and clearly has a lot of possessions; hence he’s labeled “rich.”

I think it’s important that Mark hasn’t established that upfront. Here…he’s “a man.”

“A guy”

“A dude”

He’s more “one of us” than a “one of them.”

This man comes running (I love Mark! Everything is immediate, fast-paced!) This man has something singular on his mind, something  important to ask. And he wants to put his matter before this incredible rabbi he’s been hearing about, and so nearly breathless he asks,

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”

Wow! What a bold question!

What. Must. I. Do?

What feat of great strength or extraordinary effort must I put forward to gain favor and enter the kingdom of God?

The question reveals so much about this man. Somehow, he has gotten the impression that eternal life with God requires him to put a spotlight on some feat or skill that proves his worthiness.

And he thinks that flattery will buy him an instant answer, maybe one that confirms his self-identity propped up by his many possessions.

Jesus decides the best course is to begin at the beginning.

“Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

Jesus is letting this guy know, “I’m not some post-doctoral scholar here who’s gonna drop pearls of wisdom on you, buddy. And if you came here for a simple ‘to do’ list for eternal life, you’re in for a rude awakening.” He then gives him the various commandments that this man ought to know and be adhering to in his life.

And as one commentator notes…Jesus specifically highlights a commandment that is not explicit…telling the man “You shall not defraud.” Definitely a zinger and questioning the way this man came to be so rich in the first place.

The man clearly is not satisfied with this answer. His self-centered desire is for Jesus to give him some sort of silver bullet, or a golden nugget that will answer his question.

The man puts up a protest.

“I have kept all these since my youth.”

“Come on, Jesus! I’ve done all the stuff, but I don’t get it. Nothing is different. When I am going to get eternal life?!”

Then Jesus looks at him. He sees him from the top of his head to his toes. And---this one is only in Mark’s Gospel—Jesus loves him.

“Love” here is not a romantic or sensual love. A quick look at the Greek reveals that this “agape” love is a spiritual love and God’s desire for us to be in right relationship with God and neighbor. Jesus can see that there are “things” getting in the way for this man.

Buddhism labels these “attachments.” And in a similar way, this man has so many “attachments” that he can’t even really live into the commandments. And this is when Jesus gives the man the only answer that will satisfy his question.

You must give up all your attachments, your things, those items that you believe define you. Give them away to the poor, the ones who are the have-nots. Once you have let go of all of that, you will be free and then you must follow me.

Walk my path.

Care for others.

Help the helpless and the disinherited.

Challenge those who will not do right by widows and children.

This, dear friend, is the answer to your pressing question about eternal life.

And that’s when we see the true colors of this man. In his free will, he turns and sulks and walks away.

He has too much. And he can’t let go.

Even if it means helping someone who has nothing.

Are we really surprised?

As I was contemplating this passage, I was reminded of a phrase in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, “The Cost of Discipleship.” Bonhoeffer was the Lutheran scholar and pastor who was killed by the Nazis for plotting to murder Hitler during World War II. He says the call to discipleship comes down to a two-pronged statement about obedience.

“Only a person who believes is obedient, and only a person who is obedient believes.” (D. Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship).

If we are going to follow Jesus and respond to His call to be disciples of his word and his mission…be “obedient” … we must first let go of our attachments and making excuses for why we need this or that to happen for us to really believe.

There is such a temptation to set conditions…expectations…before we make a real commitment to live and follow the teachings of Jesus.

We keep wanting to have a God who conforms to our image, confirms our biases, meets our demands. Those with means can fall prey to the false belief that somehow having wealth shows how much God loves us.

Not to get too far down a rabbit trail here, but I hear a lot of that in Job’s bitter complaint we heard this morning. We can hear in his words the sorrow of one who had possessions…and can’t understand why bad things have now happened to him.

And yet, even though Job is complaining (and if we had heard the horrible advice of his friends about his particular calamities, we’d understand why he was so distressed at this point), he demonstrates a greater faith than this man in Mark’s gospel.

Unlike the rich man, Job, now having nothing, is oddly free.

He is free of “things” that prevent him from turning to God, even in bitterness, to make himself heard. The mere fact that he can do this shows that he has, despite everything, remained obedient to God. Job turns toward God; the rich man turns away.

The call to us in discipleship is first to be willing to see how our “things” …our wealth…those identities and possessions that make us “rich” …can get in the way of us having a real relationship with Jesus. When we hold onto “things,” we are not really able to follow Jesus into the places that He needs us to go or meet the people and problems of the world he desires for us to address.

For Jesus, the entry into eternal life…is not an academic issue or something requiring a focus group.

As followers of Jesus…eternal life is experienced when we let Jesus transform our hearts…and see our true mission is to care for others, treating one another with respect and dignity.

How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.

How hard it will be for those with attachments to “things” to be free enough to be in a life-giving, life-affirming relationship with Jesus.

How much easier it will be for us to feel the joy of eternal life when we make that first difficult step to stop holding back pieces of ourselves from God and hanging on to our old ways and attachments.  

How much richer our lives will be when we allow ourselves to be transformed by God’s deep love for us and this planet, so that we can offer that same love to each other.