MONEY!

by The Rev. Dr. John D. Lane

This sermon is based on Mark 10:17-22. An audio version of this sermon is available here.

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?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 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.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 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.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Yes, folks, today’s gospel is about money. Coincidentally, this is the time of year when people complain, “I go to church and all they talk about is money.” Jesus talked about money and possessions in something like 38% of his teaching. So preachers, if they are to be true to the gospel, talk a lot about money. Blame Jesus. He can take it.

But aren’t we all reluctant to talk about money? Even to raise the subject publicly seems tacky. A psychoanalyst recalls a patient he had been seeing 1-2 times per week for 3 years. They had talked about virtually everything, laying bare all the joys and problems of the man’s life. The patient opened up about his difficult upbringing, his marriage, his children, his shortcomings as a father and husband, what we would call his sins, the dishonesty that often pervaded his life, and so on. He described in vivid detail aspects of his life that could certainly be called kinky if not outright degrading. The analyst thought all was going well until he asked the man about his money and how he spent it. “That’s none of your business! I didn’t come here to talk about that!”

When we talk about money, people often feel either guilt or shame–guilt that we are well off and don’t do enough good with what we’ve got or shame that we aren’t able to keep up with the Joneses. As Erma Bombeck wrote, “Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.” A lot of us think that the world is too permissive, that people no longer blush or feel guilty about much of anything. Money may be the one exception. Like the man seeing the psychoanalyst, we don’t want to talk about how we use our money, particularly our pattern of giving, because we feel guilty about it. This morning in this particular instance, as something that goes against all my bleeding heart liberal tendencies, I’d like to endorse guilt. It can motivate us to do better.

He said to [Jesus], “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 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.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Jesus finds the man’s biggest vulnerability, the thing that keeps him from becoming a true follower. His wealth gets in the way of his faith, and probably some other things as well. Rather than being a comfort to him, his money is a millstone around his neck. Like the analysis patient, the man had not come to Jesus to talk about money, but it is his vulnerable spot.

A couple of weeks ago, stock broker Roller Shipplett spoke at Rotary. Like Warren Buffett, Roller is wary of diversification as an investment strategy, and counsels his clients to limit their holdings to those companies they can understand and follow carefully. Find something you like and concentrate on it.

About 20 years ago, I took our son Edward to talk with a college admissions director, a year before he would be applying anywhere. She met with him then called me in. She said, “Edward is a fine student, high test scores, high grades, good recommendations from teachers and others. He is involved in many different extra-curricular activities, sports, church choir, pop quiz team, a nicely balanced record. But what I’m looking for is passion. I asked him, ‘Edward, what is your passion, what really grabs you and won’t let go?’ and he couldn’t really answer. My advice: before you begin to apply, find your passion, follow your bliss.”

What the rich man lacked was passion. Jesus was interesting, intriguing, inspiring, but money was the stumbling block keeping him from becoming a devoted disciple.

Around the time Edward was talking to the admissions director, I ran into a clergy friend whose two sons had recently completed college. How did you survive the financial pressure? I asked. “Well, it’s kind of like Alice in Wonderland. It’s completely impossible, but somehow you come out the other side and everything’s okay.” The same is true of increasing your giving.

I’m a strong believer in commitment, commitment to things that are important: God, relationships, civility, generosity. We have received many gifts, and we need to give back.

Over the next few weeks, you will be invited to cottage meetings to discuss your faith and God’s mission in this place. You will also be asked to fill out a pledge card. I implore you to attend the meetings and to fill out a card. And I ask that you give enough that it feels good to be doing it. If you don’t, you may feel guilty. And we then lie to ourselves that we don’t give as much as we can because we don’t like something at the church. They never sing hymns I know. People aren’t friendly. The bathroom is dirty. The clergy don’t seem to know me. I don’t like the preaching–particularly true this Sunday, I suspect.

If you are generous, you won’t have to go through all this bugga-bugga. I exhort you to be generous, to be more generous than you had planned, and for sure to be more generous than last year. A few of us have reasons why that isn’t possible, but I’m speaking to the rest.

I had a friend named Purnell Eggleston. He was an attorney in Roanoke and seemed to hold the office of Stewardship Chair for Life at St. John’s Church. Every October, Purnell would get up in front of the congregation and give an impassioned speech about why everyone at St. John’s should tithe–or start working toward tithing. Purnell was a wonderful man, and it was clear that he was deeply committed to what he was saying. It was his passion. On one such Sunday after church, a friend came up to him and said, “Purnell, you were really great this year! You almost convinced me.”

I’m no Purnell, but I hope I’ve convinced some of you to give generously. The pleasure of generosity is one of life’s hidden secrets. Try it. You’ll like it. And you’ll never go back.

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.”