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COLESVILLE
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
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And next moment they are on the road. They have left the old life and the new life has begun. But this man doesn’t follow the script. This time the man went away sorrowful. What happened to our happy ending. The story gets off to a good start. This man came running. There is excitement in the air as we hold our breath to see what he would say. Something has been bothering him, and now he has decided to face it and fix it. I think it was James Baldwin, noted writer, who said “You cannot fix what you will not face” Moses had to face Pharaoh in order to fix the slave problem David had to face Goliath in order for him to fix the giant. This sermon is to challenge you and to encourage you to face the problem so that you can begin to fix the problem. If we are going to get the most from life itself, we need to take a good, hard, long look at ourselves. This young man did and so he came running to Jesus. Facing ourselves is difficult because sometimes we don’t like everything we see; and it is easier to blame everybody else including God for everything that’s wrong with us. We cant go through life blaming Mama and Daddy, our poverty, our background, our looks, our race our sex, or the system for everything that is wrong with us. At some point we become grown enough to make our own decisions and be held accountable for our own actions. At some point we decide who we will serve and who we will listen to. At some point we decide the kind of boy or girl, man or woman we will be. That is why before we can fix what is wrong in our lives, we need to face ourselves. Many times we are what’s wrong. But this young man had decided to face himself and to fix it. So the text says he came running; running indicates the urgency, the passion, the need for immediate attention, no time to lose; he not only came running, but when he reached Jesus he knelt down, a position of humility, and he had his life-changing question on his lips: What must I do to that I may inherit eternal life? But this is the wrong question. This is an upside- down question, because we don’t do anything about inheritances. The answer is Show up after the death. Eternal life, like inheritances, isn’t earned. Its grace, given to us because we are connected to someone who has it to give, we don’t need to flatter Jesus by calling Him good. We don’t need to show our 10 commandments badges. Jesus knows that you don’t obey the 10 commandments to earn eternal life. You obey because you love the Lord. I don’t give my wife birthday present or Christmas present to earn her love; I give her presents because I love her. Jesus looked steadily at him, and loved him. He knows that the man is tired of Perrier water, and instead is thirsty for the water of life. He knows that the man has reached the limits of what he can earn, and now he wants Grace, but he doesn’t know what that means. Jesus sees all the through – all the way to what holds this man back. Jesus knows that love is honest and true and he tells the man the truth, but its not the truth the man wanted to hear: “You lack one thing”… Someone has said the opposite of rich is not poor; the opposite of rich is free. If we believe that every good thing has to be earned, we are never free to accept Grace. The young man doesn’t argue with Jesus. He knows he has heard the truth, but he cannot let go. And Jesus says: How hard it is … Hard because money gives us the illusion of self-sufficiency and control; We believe that money is power - the power to control our lives and our environment. Every time we turn on the news some celebrity is struggling with life, asking such upside-down questions like how much money do I need to feel important? How rich must I be to compensate for the love I cannot feel? I watch some of the interviews of larry King with Anna Nicole Smith before she died, and she said I cant trust anyone; she said they take advantage of me. She was looking for love. We see the sad stories of Brittany Spears. Transformation occurs when you can say with Paul the Apostle old things are passed away; behold all thing have become new. You lack one thing. For this man it is his wealth. And so he cannot and will not let go. But anything can keep us from experiencing eternal life. Anything can keep us from accepting our inheritance as children of God: Prejudice, Anger jealousy, addiction, pride anything. Sometimes we feel like the disciples, and we cry Who then can be saved? CS Lewis once said: All things are possible. It is even possible to get a camel through the small eye of a needle, but it will be very hard on the camel. Lets go back to the question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Eternal life is given at unexpected times to people unexpected. Given to Mary Magdalene. |