November 24, 2024 Generosity Sermon Week 4 Matthew 19:16-30

 The story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life makes us very uneasy.  Are we to sell everything and give it to the poor?  Are we damned for eternity because we will not do this thing?  But if we do, then how are we to live?  And won’t every one of our family and friends think we’re some sort of religious nut?

Well, I’m not going to try to make the text comfortable for us.  It is intended to make us uncomfortable and keep us in that place.  During November we’ve been using materials from the national church for a stewardship drive on generosity.  This text was not chosen as a way to get people to sell all their stuff and give all their money to their church.  This text was chosen because underneath it is a great lesson in generosity.

Let’s remind ourselves about this rich young man.  It is always easy to picture him as haughty, arrogant, and elite.  Possibly we picture him as greedy or shrewd.  Whatever the case, it is easy to picture him as someone other than ourselves; who has obvious flaws because of his wealth.  But you’ll remember me saying this every time we look at one of the Bible’s stories about this guy, those images are a mistake.  What picture should come to mind when we read about this guy?  It should be a picture of perfection.  He is the kind of guy every parent wants their child to marry.  He is a young adult who is smart, handsome, and kind.  He is wealthy.  He is not a playboy but virtuous with his wealth.  He genuinely cares about his neighbors.  He probably gives generously to local charities.  He sponsors the local soccer team.  He’s an all-around great guy.  You want him in your neighborhood. 

We’re not supposed to play favorites when visitors come to this congregation for worship, but we do it anyway.  If this guy walked in the door many people would be paying attention to him. He’d be clean cut, well dressed, and have an authentic air of graciousness.  People would be inviting him to sign the guest book, come to coffee hour, and come to worship next week.  People would be lining up to tell me about him and tell me to get in touch with him.  He is conscientious, authentic, humble, agreeable… you name it.  Or to sum him up in one word, perfect.

            Jesus says, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

            You can bet the jaws of the disciples dropped when they heard Jesus give him that answer.  Here was the perfect disciple of Jesus.  He would be the poster boy of their movement.  Think of him as the image of what an ideal follower of Jesus would be!  If this guy can’t make it no one can.  The disciples ask, “Then who can be saved.”  Jesus gives the answer: It is impossible, but for God all things are possible.

            So how does any of this have anything to do with generosity?  It all sounds like absurdity!  That is where our minds go with this text.  But we easily overlook what sets up the whole scene.  This perfect young man comes to Jesus and asks, “What good deed must I do to inherit eternal life?”  This man, perfect as he is, is trying to enter into a transactional type of life with God.  This man will do his part to please God.  God, in turn, will repay him with eternal life.  This young man will be able to hold his head high – not in arrogance or haughtiness.  (I suspect there was a genuine humility to him.  He wasn’t arrogant or boastful or rude.  He comes to Jesus with respect and addresses Jesus as any good Jew would address a well-known rabbi.  He calls Jesus “Teacher.”)  The man would hold his head high because he is a model of the good life for others to emulate.  I believe you can do that with gracious humility.

            Jesus, though, will have nothing to do with this transactional model of discipleship.  He points out the flaw in this man’s self-understanding.  Jesus says, “Why do you ask me about what is good?”  Notice a key word there: what.  What is good?  Jesus goes on, “There is only one who is good.”  It’s not about what is good.  It is about who is good.  God alone is that who.

            This young man, wonderful as he undoubtedly is, was focusing on the what.  As long as he did that he would not focus on the who.

            Any time our lives are based on the what we’re living in a transactional relationship.  That’s not necessarily evil.  The ‘what’ of utility bills and food and the necessities of life are not bad.  But they are not the path to eternal life.  We make a mistake if we think doing the what right has salvific importance.  It doesn’t.  That was the man’s mistake.  It is impossible to do the what of life well enough to earn eternal life.  Jesus makes it very clear.  You can’t get to heaven.  It's impossible.  It’s a camel going through the eye of a needle.  It is about the who of eternal life because for God the impossible is possible.

            When we can focus on the who then authentic generosity with the what comes.

            With daylight hours being short at this time of year it is a good time to do some stargazing.  No matter how early you go to bed, the stars are almost certainly out.  Perhaps you know many of the constellations and can identify whatever planets may be up in the sky.  Perhaps you just gaze at the moon with it’s brightness and detail.  Stargazing is a good way to realize just how big God is as the Who behind it all.

            I didn’t like Carl Sagan and Neil Degrasse Tyson and other scientists who simplify and belittle Christian beliefs so they can dismiss them.  But these personalities indeed do a good job of inspiring wonder in us and help us to realize the enormity of the universe.  Billions of galaxies.  Trillions of stars.  A universe so vast that we can’t even see across it even if given billions of years for light to travel.  Let there be no doubt about it.  The Who of the universe is big.

            We humans are stuck here.  We can get to the moon for a short time.  I know we’re trying to get humans to Mars in a bit over a decade, but there are serious problems with that.  And while I want to say that nothing is impossible, there is simply no way we’ll ever be able to launch radiation protected spacecraft with significant energy on board to ever get a human past Mars alive.  In the scope of this universe we don’t even count as dust.  Our ideas of powerfulness are ludicrous.

            There’s nothing in the what of life that can please or impress God.  But we can be in awe of the Who of the universe who has put importance upon us creatures of dust.

            St. Paul reminded the Philippians of this when he wrote, “Christ Jesus, though he was in the from of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:6-8)

            God’s love for us is pure gift.  God not only creates us and sees us, God also came to be with us in Jesus – the Incarnation.  Then as Paul tells the Corinthians, God doesn’t even just come to visit us for a while and then leave.  Jesus certainly could have ascended without having to be crucified.  But Jesus does die at the hands of us creatures of dust.  God has been very generous with us – ultimately generous.

            Do we owe it to God to be generous towards each other in return?  You could certainly make that argument!  But that would be missing the point.  Jesus didn’t tell the young man that he owed it to God to sell everything and follow him.  His instructions were nothing about owing at all.  A relationship with God is not about owing things.  A good and “perfect” relationship with God is being in awe of God’s generosity.

            None of us ever reaches that perfectly.  We’ll always have our doubts and fears.  But I think keeping God’s generosity in the front of our minds shapes the way we do everything else.

            Finally, God knows full well that we need the whats of life.  Jesus said to his disciples, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.”  (Matthew 19:29)  For the original readers of Matthew this was comforting news.  The decision to follow Jesus had cost them close relatives – relatives they depended upon for survival.  The church, then, would take the place of those essential relationships.  Generally we are not forced into such a situation.  But the blessings should be real for us.  Our faith community is God’s community.  It is a community that asks for our generosity and should be able to reflect our generosity in the world.