The Eye of the Needle
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Mark
10:17-31
The gospel reading
and Amos's prophecy are a stark warning for us today. Our society sees that the
only way to get on in life is to seek power, fame and wealth. Not only do the
rich seek to keep their wealth and privilege but those at the bottom of
society's pile see that the only way out of their relative poverty is to seek
fame and fortune for themselves.
Like the rich young
man, they cannot give up the idea of having wealth, even if it means they lose
the treasure that is in heaven, the life everlasting in union with our heavenly
Father. Like the warning given to Israel by Amos, the wealthy and those who
seek wealth for its own sake will not live in the grand palaces that they have
built or drink the fine wine from their own vineyards, because it only comes at
the cost on treading on others to get to the top.
Having wealth first
in your mind instead of God, whether you have wealth or not, is the greatest
hurdle to the kingdom; getting through the eye of the needle is a tough call
with the idea of moneybags the size of a camel.There is a doctrine of wealth that is popular, particularly in America, that states that if you do everything that God requires of you, give generously to the church and perform good works, God will bless your life with abundant wealth. It is a self seeking and self reliant and self deluding doctrine that is against the teaching and sacrifice of Jesus and seems completely to have over looked this Gospel story. The riches that God wants to bless us with are those which will not tarnish and no one can steal; they are treasure that is heaven.
Jesus tested the rich
young man by asking him if he had kept the commandments. He had, every one. He
was a very pious young man. In saying that he had never committed adultery,
killed anyone, lied, thieved and had honoured his parents, he was saying that
he had never done any harm.
'But,' Jesus replied,
'have you ever done any good.' And of course he hadn't. With all his wealth,
what good had he done, where had he gone out of his way to bring strength and
comfort to others by using his privileged position. The answer is, 'He hadn't'.
There is a great difference between respectability and Christianity, so said
William Barclay. Respectability consists of not doing things; Christianity
consists of doing things. That is where many of us fall down, just like this
young man.
The
Prime Minister stated in his speech to the Conservative conference that he was
privileged but wanted to spread privilege. This not God way. God's way is not
to offer handouts as if he was doing us all a favour or, indeed, to withdraw
things that aren't good for us. God's way is get alongside the poor, the down
trodden, the unlovely and the unloved.
I recall the words
of that great preacher Charles Spurgeon, 'As sure as ever God puts his children
in the furnace he will be in the furnace with them'.
In that, it is not
just giving up our wealth that is important. The rich young man could have
given up his wealth and lived in poverty or isolated himself like a hermit.
What Christ asks of us all is, 'What do we do to make a difference in the world'.
Not by adding to the poverty but by helping to alleviate its worst effects to
the point where those suffering can lift themselves out of it.
Will you come and follow me?
We ache desperately to follow Christbut are we willing to give up all we have.
Is our faith just for show
or can we put Christ before everything.
Not just our wealth and position,
but our time, our talents,
our families, our friends
our freedom,
our own plans
given in service of His kingdom.
He asks us if we are ready
and test us with these words,
'Go and sell everything
and give it to the poor'.
Can we pay this price
to find treasure in heaven.
Help us, Lord, to come and follow you.
Amen.
