First Presbyterian Church
Why Bother?
Sermon for October 15, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Job knew that God was glorious and almighty, but he had trouble reconciling what he knew about God with how his life was going at the moment. In chapter 1, God and the accuser wagered on Job's faithfulness. Later, Job's property and family were taken away, and he himself was afflicted with sores.

His friend Eliphaz has advised Job to seek God through prayer, repentance and submission. But Job knows he has committed no great sin to deserve such punishment. Job seeks the resolution of a trial, where he will be heard and vindicated. He alternates between confidence and dread, aware of the overwhelming power of God.

Most of us have heard the saying, “the patience of Job. “ But Job is not patient or quiet about his suffering. He refuses to be silenced. Job can't let go of his core belief that God is a god of justice. But God is elusive, and Job demands God's presence.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Job 23:1-9.

1 Then Job answered: 2 "Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! 4 I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. 6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me.

7 There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. 8 "If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; 9 on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.

This ends our reading from the book of Job. Job is anxious to feel God's presence, but has to wait over 15 chapters.

Last week in our gospel lesson in Mark 10, Jesus concluded his sayings about letting the little children come to him, and now the gospel turns to the problem of economic class and privilege. Like the debate about divorce, someone asks a legal question, Jesus answers him, then gives a private explanation to the disciples.

At the start, a man comes to Jesus, kneeling, with a request. He calls Jesus ‘good teacher,' hoping to flatter him. He tries out a compliment and perhaps hopes to be greeted with a title in return. Instead, he gets a reproof.

Some of us have heard this scripture as the story of the rich young ruler, although Matthew is the only one who says he is young, and Luke is the only one who calls him a ruler. Mark just says he has great possessions. 1

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Mark 10:17-31.

7 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 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.' "

20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words . But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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."

26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"

27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."

29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not 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. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

This ends our gospel reading.

This saying about the eye of the needle isn't unique to Jesus; part of the Jewish oral law has a similar saying about an elephant going through the eye of a needle. The elephant was the largest animal in Mesopotamia and the camel the largest in Palestine.

Our reading from Hebrews draws on the prophet Isaiah's words from God, which are like a sharp-edged sword. “The God who spoke still speaks.” 2 The words of scripture are words of God to us today. The word is living and active.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Hebrews 4:12-16.

12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

This ends our gospel reading. In verse 13, the word translated ‘account' is really ‘logos', word. We have been given God's word and we are going to have to give our word to God. Just like the word of God is active, so our response must be active as well.

It is not what we say, but what we do, and indeed, it is our very thoughts that God knows. So just as we are judged in verse 12, and laid bare in verse 13, we are suddenly encouraged to approach the throne with boldness, because we have Jesus, who sympathizes with us in our weakness. Let's listen to the choir celebrate.

Anthem: Crossing Over There

Most of us got to see the play last week, “The Case of the Mysterious Benefactor” put on for us and with us by the Presbyterian Youth Group. You couldn't miss Missy and Sissy, with their matching outfits, perky ponytails, and feather boas, portrayed by Dallas and Alyssa.

Missy and Sissy were given a gift, delivered by messengers, and thought the gift came because they shampooed a sheepdog, brought cookies and pink lemonade to the road maintenance crew all summer, erased all the pencil marks in the hymnals, and needlepointed the frescoes of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. But it turned out the message from the mysterious benefactor said “You could not have earned them, or won them, you see, The gifts that I give aren't earned, they are free.” 3 The girls were supposed to slow down a little. Too much busyness can keep us from paying attention to God and God's grace.

Why do we need to pay attention? Why do we bother worshiping God? If there is grace, why bother at all? Why not just expect God's grace to save us in the end and do what we want? Because then we miss out on years of knowing God's grace. If we act as if grace is going to happen no matter what we do, our life is empty of what matters.

God bothers with us because God loves us. God wants our lives to be filled with what matters. We fill it instead with other things. And lots of things. The man in our gospel reading had many possessions.

Most of us don't hear Jesus' words to the man about “selling all he has” without feeling a little guilty. We have so much compared to other people in the world. That can make us self-satisfied, and appreciative of our blessings, along the lines of “Thanks God, for not making me poor like people in Haiti” or “Thanks God, for letting me be born in America, not Iraq.”

Or these words can make us uncertain. Do we really have to sell our possessions and give them to the poor? If we sell everything we have, and give it to the poor, then we become poor ourselves, and need someone to help us.

So perhaps Jesus wasn't addressing us, but this particular man. Why did he ask Jesus about eternal life? If he kept all the commandments and was a good Jew, why did he need Jesus to tell him what to do? There is plenty in the old testament, the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish law, that condemns economic exploitation and calls people to share their wealth and conduct business in just and righteous ways. Perhaps the man kept the letter of the law about giving, but not the spirit of the law, and selling all he had would help him pay attention to the spirit.

Or was he, like the rest of us, just anxious to hear Jesus say, “Yes, you will inherit eternal life for sure and you don't have to worry about it”?

Jesus didn't say that. There is very little any of us can do to guarantee an inheritance, although we try. My grandmother had an elderly relative who she visited at least once a year in her assisted living facility. The relative was cranky, but Grandma always went. She called it “protecting her investment.”

But really, there's no guarantee that we will get an inheritance. Inheritances are matters of gift and grace, not contracts.

I think this man was looking for a guarantee.

It sounds to me as if this man with so many possessions was relying on himself just a little too much. He was supposed to give away what he had, and depend upon God for a change, not counting on himself to take care of himself, but learning to rely on God.

I don't think Jesus would fault anyone for earning a living or saving for the future. He joins the old testament prophets who challenge those who are earning a dishonest living exploiting others.

I think we need to be challenged by the phrase “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.” The active person in this case is not the rich man, but God. God can bring anyone through the eye of a needle. But no one can enter that way, not even a man with many possessions, much power, and good social standing.

When Jesus tells the disciples, they are again surprised; if the pious wealthy men, who are the patrons for community events, synagogues, and other civic works, if these can't get in, who can? The idea that wealth equals blessing from God is an old one; not even the ancient book of Job and all his suffering can destroy the attractive idea that we get what we deserve and God visits the goods of the good life on those who are good. We human beings have a tendency to think of wealth as a sign of God's approval and blessing, and poverty as a sign of moral inferiority. And this is despite one of the themes of Job, that poverty and calamity come to people who don't deserve them.

The Reverend Russell Conwell wrote a speech called “Acres of Diamonds” He told his followers, “I say you ought to get rich, and it is your duty to get rich. There is not a poor person in the United Sates who was not made so by his own shortcomings, or by the shortcomings of someone else. It is all wrong to be poor, anyhow.” He was joined by Bishop William Lawrence, who said, “Godliness is in league with riches.” Rev. Horace Bushnell said “Wealth was a reward and honor which God delights to bestow on an upright people.” 4 These pious men spoke a hundred and fifty years ago, but their ideas live on. How godly men can get there with all that Jesus had to say about wealth and suffering, I don't know.

Can poverty ever really be taken care of? Jesus answers: What is humanly impossible is not for the God from whom all things are possible.

I read last week about the Rev. Ian Paisley, who was called “the firebrand churchman and unflinching boss of Protestant politics in Northern Ireland.” He once called the pope the antichrist and the Roman Catholic church “the mother of harlots and the abomination of the earth.” I'm embarrassed that he's Presbyterian. Yet last week he managed to sit down for tea and scones with the Roman Catholic archbishop of Armagh. Perhaps there will be peace between the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Last Friday, Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh won the Nobel Peace Prize. He started the Grameen Bank, which gives tiny loans to people who are poor. “Loans as low as $9 have helped beggars start small businesses and poor women buy cellular phones and basket-weaving materials.” Loans of less than $100 are enough to pull families out of poverty and let them start their own businesses so they can stay out of poverty.

‘Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said…. ‘Micro-credit is one such means.'

Yunus said ‘You cannot go on having absurd amounts of wealth when other people have problems of survival….If you can bring an end to poverty, at least from an economic point of view, you can have a more livable situation between very rich people and very poor people, very rich countries and very poor countries. That's our basic ingredient for peace.'”

Peace, an end to poverty, the confidence that you matter in the world, that your pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars can be used by God to do what otherwise would be impossible. Those are all good reasons to bother with God.

1 Luke also calls him “very rich.”

New Interpreter's Bible, XII, p. 54.

3 Bopp, Brian, “The Case of the Mysterious Benefactor,” p. 11.

4 Coontz, Stephanie, The Way We Never Were, p. 106.