Mark 10:17-31     NT p. 44 or 1240

10:17 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?"

10:18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

10:19 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.'"

10:20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."

10:21 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."

10:22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

10:23 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!"

10:24 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!

10:25 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."

10:26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"

10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

10:28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."

10:29 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,

10:30 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.

10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. "

NRSV (ComLec) (c) 1989 NCC

INTRODUCTION:

H. Jackson Brown, the author of "Life's Little Instruction Book" also wrote a book filled with wit and wisdom from kids. It's titled: "When You Lick A Slug, Your Tongue Goes Numb." The title is what caught my eye. And it's filled with some hilarious bits of "Kid Wisdom". So, in honor of our special guests, the puppet troupe, let me share a few.

"When your mother is mad and asks, "Do I look stupid?" it's best not to answer her.

You should never laugh at your dad if he's mad or screaming at you.

You should never pick on your sister when she has a baseball bat in her hands.

It's no fun to stay up all night if your parents don't care.

You should not be the first one to fall asleep at a slumber party.

You can't hide mashed potatoes in your hat.

No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

Of course they do offer some really good advice and insight as well.

"Making a good grade on a test you studied hard for is a glorious feeling.

The greatest teacher is not the one who talks all the time, but the one who listens.

When you pray, you get a happy feeling inside like God just walked into your heart and is warming Himself at a cozy fire.

It's funny how God uses simple people to do great things.

Nothing hurts more than guilt.

My three favorites from the book are:

You will never be happy if all you do is think about all the things you don't have.

It's OK to fail, but it's not OK to give up.

It does not matter how much money a family has. If there is a lot of love in a home, that family is richer than any millionaire could be. (1)

That last one is something that the rich young ruler in today's passage didn't quite get, isn't it.

I. THREADING THE STORY:

A.. THE QUESTION: This is the very familiar story of the Rich Young Ruler who hears of Jesus' acclaim. He comes to listen to him preach and teach. And then he asks Jesus what he should do to have the eternal life Jesus has just been teaching about. Scripture says that Jesus immediately loved this guy. He looked at him and smiled. He saw his potential.

But the rich young ruler had a question. After listening to Jesus, he realized there was something he was missing in his faith journey. Even though he was being a good Jew and following the commandments since his youth, there was something missing. So he asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life."

B. THE RESPONSE: Jesus gave him a shocking answer that went against everything the culture of that time believed. They believed that riches and blessings were directly related to how God thought of you. If you were good, if you followed the commandments, if you went to synagogue and prayed, then God would pour out the blessings of life on you. You were one of God's favored ones.

Jesus's response went against the norm and tradition. "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."

C. THE REACTION: There were two reactions. First the rich young ruler was too tied to his wealth to do what Jesus instructed. You can almost feel the anguish in his heart, and see the look of utter disappointment in his eyes. You can almost see his slumped shoulders and bowed head as he leaves. the price was just TOO high.

The other reaction was from the disciples. They begin questioning Jesus about what just happened and he replies: "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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."

Well, that put them into a tailspin. It threw all the cultural understanding of who was favored and who wasn't out the window. Wealth had been a way of knowing who was favored. So the disciples started asking, "Well, if not him, then what about us. We gave up everything to follow you."

So, what did Jesus mean? And how does this apply to us.

II. WITH A CAMEL?:

A. A couple of years ago a friend gave me a new Bible. That's not unusual. Preachers are supposed to have Bibles, right? Well, this Bible is a little different. The translator, George M. Lamsa, used the Aramaic text, the original language of Jesus. He claims that the language hasn't changed much and that most translators have missed a few idioms in Aramaic. For example, the word "camel" in our passage today, looks almost identical to the word "rope", in the Aramaic.

Now that makes more sense to me then trying to thread a needle with a camel. The Lamsa Bible reads "My sons, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (2)

That's a much more powerful image. It doesn't leave you with that, "Huh, what's He mean by that?" feeling. It describes the struggles of the rich young ruler. He couldn't see that the love in God's home, in God's kingdom, was more powerful than all his wealth but it was blocking his way.

B. I think it's interesting that one of the things we have to teach our children, is the value of money. Until we teach them how important it is. They don't care. Their value is on the family, their friends and their pets. Their values are built around relationships and not things. Not the stuff that money can buy.

Oh, sure they play with the things we buy them. But they don't need everything we buy them either. I'll never forget the first Christmas we could afford a Christmas. We went all out on the tree and presents for our son Paul who was about 3 ½. I stayed up late putting together toys while Mary wrapped. The next morning was pure kid Christmas heaven. Paul opened all of his presents, was excited about and played with everyone of them. As he opened them up, he lined them all up; cars, trucks and everything else. About 30 minutes after all the toys were opened, we looked over and he was playing with the boxes. The toys were sitting there all lined up and he was building stuff out of the card board boxes.

Now, I'm not saying don't give our kids presents or don't let them have stuff. What I'm saying is, that sometimes, they can show us life in the proper perspective. I think that's why this passage about the rich young ruler comes directly after Jesus' teaching about receiving the Kingdom like little children.

C. While we care for them, and while we provide for them, we need to remember that our children are in ministry WITH us. Just as the puppet troupe showed us today. Our children can serve God, too. That was the theme of our Vacation Bible School this year. we have Can Do Kids. They can do the things that please God. They can be an inspiration. They can help us in worship, through puppets, choir, chimes and any number of other ways. They can be and are an important part of our ministry.

That's partly addressed in our budget every year. It's partly addressed through Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. And it's partly addressed by everyone who gives of their time and their gifts to support and teach the children of this Church.

That's being good stewards of the gifts that God has given us. And that's building the wealth that really matters. The wealth of God's kingdom. A wealth that makes us "richer than any millionaire could be," as the one little girl said.

CONCLUSION:

Where is your wealth? Are you having a hard time threading the needle of your life? Are you trying to shove that camel through the needle? Or that rope? Jesus wasn't telling us to get rid of everything we own. Jesus was telling us to get rid of what ever it is that keeps us separated from Him and God. For the rich young ruler it was his wealth. What is it for you?

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Bibliography

1. H. Jackson Brown, "When You Lick A Slug, Your Tongue Goes Numb." (Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, TN, 1994)

2. George M. Lamsa, Holy Bible from the Ancient Eastern Text, (A.J. Holman Co. 1961) p. 1002

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