An Embarrassment of Riches

Who doesn't love lists of 10 things? Here are 10 sermon topics for this coming Sunday!

This blog focuses upon the Gospel lesson for the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23B) Mark 10:17-31.

This Sunday’s Gospel lesson in which Jesus and a man have a conversation about the love of money getting in the way of eternal life is an embarrassment of riches. No, this is not just my attempt to make a bad priest/dad joke. I mean something more by this comment. For those of us who will preach on the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost on Mark 10:17-31 there is so much to choose from that it’s an embarrassment of riches, while talking about someone who was embarrassed by his riches. Here are ten options—yes that’s right ten of them!!!—that might be worth pursuing this coming Sunday:

1.The Opening Words

Mark sets the stage for this text by pointing out that Jesus is about to begin a journey. Where is Our Messiah going? What is he going to do on this journey? Why does he stop to listen to this rich man? There could be an entire sermon preached on the faith journey that we live with Christ and what obstacles get in the way of us even starting to follow Jesus on the way. 

2.God Alone is Good

We might find Jesus’ words shocking when he said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” It makes me think about a common greeting, at least here in the Southeastern United States. Someone asks, “How are you doing?” Often people respond, “I’m good.” And, when they do I want to say to that response, “You are good only by the grace of God.” However, I only respond that way in my head because I don’t want everyone I meet to think I’m a psycho-priest. So a second sermon idea might focus upon goodness. If Jesus did not call himself good, then how can we? Spoiler alert: Only by the grace of God!

3. The Commandments Are Not Enough

This man who approached Jesus is either a liar or an admirable person. Some scholars like to point out that the only way to get rich in those days was to do something dishonest (i.e. disobey the commandments). I’m not sure that is universally true, as it is not true in our current context. Still, Jesus makes it clear that blindly following the rules is not enough. This sermon could connect with #5 below as the preacher explores how many things, even good things like rules keep us from following Jesus.

4. Jesus’ Loving Glance

Love did not get thrown around in the New Testament a whole lot. In fact, in Mark this is it for Jesus loving someone. Strange, I know! This man who had money, who followed the rules, and who sought a very good thing in eternal life might be compared to a person in a position of power in this day (white, educated, rich, and male). And yet, Jesus lovingly looked at that person too. Maybe love is included here because those examples of Jesus tending to the outcasts were obvious instances of love. As a friend once said to me, “Rich people need Jesus just like poor people do.” Another sermon might explore Christ’s loving look at all of us.

5. Possessions Obstruct Us from Following Jesus or Riches in God’s Reign

As previously stated, even following the commandments blindly is not enough. A powerful sermon might explore how many things distract us from following Jesus. To build up riches in God’s reign, to build up treasure in heaven we must let go of our love of things in this life.

6. Salvation Comes From God Alone

Hidden in the background of this text is a powerful truth about God’s grace. When the disciples were puzzled with what Jesus said they wondered who it was that could save the rich. God is the obvious answer, but behind this statement is a truth about what that salvation looks like. There are two parts to it. First, the desire to turn away from a love of worldly things. Second, the turning towards God’s grace as one experiences the fullness of eternal life now and always. One sermon could focus on the double nature of God’s grace (shout out to all my Calvinist friends!).

7. For God All Things Are Possible

In this unique moment in human history what problems need addressing? Political division? Climate change? Addiction? Poverty? Violence? There is a list that goes on and on, and it is chock-full of overwhelming dilemmas that we cannot solve on our own. Perhaps at the root of all the problems though lies a misconception that we ought to love things and use people instead of the other way around. This could be a powerful sermon that addresses how we have prioritized wealth over the wellbeing of ourselves and our neighbors.

8. Humble Bragging Discipleship

Everything was going so well, and then Peter just had to open his mouth (shake my head). Actually, we are all like Peter. At times, all of us throw out a subtle compliment, like “I’m so tired from my workout this morning,” (alright we know you worked out today!) or “My schedule is so busy” (okay, you’re so important I get it). Peter humblebrags by pointing to his own and the disciples’ own dedication to Jesus, such that they left everything else. While Jesus answers this comment pointing to the reward of good discipleship, one sermon might address how we are called to examine our motives for following Jesus. This leads into another sermon idea.

9. The Rewards of Following Jesus

Why do you follow after Jesus? For rewards? What kind of rewards? Are you looking for a certain feeling? Do you crave some sort of accolade that someone will give you for being a good Christian? Are you following Jesus simply for consolation? How is it that you can focus instead on the journey itself? How might you choose to follow Jesus solely because you want to walk with Christ? This could be a good and challenging sermon examining why we want to be Jesus’ disciples.

10. The Last Will Be First and the First Will Be Last

God’s Kingdom is a mixed up kind of place. However, this saying of the first being the last and vice versa often gets frozen in time like a photograph. A tenth sermon idea could examine how God’s economy, community, and life calls us to dynamically move with this often used tagline of God’s way. The first are last, but then they become first, which means that they are last, and again they become first. It’s fluid when God rules. How is God calling us to move to be a part of the Kingdom together?

Which sermon idea seems most appealing to you? There are countless other ways to approach this text. In what direction is God calling you to go?

Matthew 1:18-25: Defying Our Own Good Intentions

This week's gospel (for Advent 4, Year A in the Revised Common Lectionary: Matthew 1:18-25) opens in a very matter of fact manner, "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way." Then, unlike the Gospel of Luke, which our Nativity-focused culture tends to love, we hear about Joseph and not Mary. The Eastern Orthodox Church calls Mary theotokos, or God bearer, and with them I heartily rejoice in her willingness to continually say "yes" to God, which is so beautifully described in the Third Gospel's stories. Yet, when I put myself in Joseph's shoes I find his own response to Christ's coming into the world another complete act of Faith in God's working among us.

Joseph was a righteous man, we discover from Matthew's words, and he was going to do the noble thing when he found out that Mary was with child. He was to "dismiss her quietly" from their engagement. Ending a proposed marriage in a small town, like Bethlehem, would hardly be a quiet act, but Joseph set about accomplishing this before he lay down for sleep one night. Joseph held as his intention that no shame be brought unto Mary, and this points to the virtuous way in which this son of David lived his life. Today, we still have disparity in the way in which men and women are treated, especially around issues of sexuality and "illegitimate" pregnancy, so for Joseph to do as he was planning was indeed outstanding and righteous! Yet, all of Joseph's good intentions were dwarfed by what God had in store for him through the Holy Spirit and his partner Mary.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him not to be afraid of taking Mary as his wife. Upon awaking Joseph who was so convinced by the vision that he did as the messenger told him. Yet, we must be careful not overlook the riskiness of this move from a societal perspective. If anyone found out that Mary's child was not Joseph's own, he would have been scorned, shamed, and humiliated by those around him. One's status in Jewish society in the First Century would have been correlated with her or his moral credibility. Joseph's livelihood depended upon the respect of others. So for Joseph to go from a quiet dismissal, which would have been in and of itself risky, to something that could have led to complete societal isolation himself shows just how profound Joseph's faith in God was after having this dream. So what does Joseph's faith show us?

I believe, as strange as it sounds, that Jesus really was born of the Holy Spirit within Mary. I believe that an God truly spoke to Joseph in a dream. I believe that Joseph was indeed a righteous man intending to do what was least shameful to Mary, yet God's will can defy even our best intentions. God's salvific (salvation-focused) work does not typically happen in a manner that appears logical to us. Remember from this last week's gospel, Jesus referred to the great John the Baptist saying, "the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he," and elsewhere that even the wisest on earth are fools in the kingdom of heaven. So even those who appear to be most "godly," "righteous," or "Christ-like" and even we who work towards the best laid plans can often come up lacking. This does not appear to be very good news on the surface: even my best intentions, even my righteous ways, and even my best attempts are not always in line with what God is doing.

However, good news rests just beneath the surface, or better yet, just behind our sleepy eyelids. In a season when we are warned to keep awake (for we know not when God will come like a thief in the night), the good news for Joseph appears ironically when he is sleeping. For Joseph his ways are righteous, but they are not God's most abundant will. God's work sometimes will come in such a way that we cannot even believe it, nor understand it. This is so hard for me as a rational, intellectual, and heady person. How can Mary be a virgin? How can Joseph stand by her? How can God actually come into the world? The difficulty is in resisting the urge to attempt to explain away God's Mysteries. Maybe that is an unsatisfying answer, but God's will brings comfort in that we do not have understand everything, that we cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt Mary's virginity, Joseph's dream, or Jesus' divinity. Leaning into the mysteries of God, withholding our attempts to explain away God's ways, and living into Faith allows for the gift of grace to transform our own righteous intentions into God's miraculous working in the world.