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"Only God is Good"
The great comedian Jack Benny was a comic who built his career on the reputation of being a tightwad. His main interest was acquiring and counting his money. He liked his money and never wanted to spend any of it. Some of you perhaps remember the classic skit from the Jack Benny show? A hold-up man approaches Benny and demands: "Your money or your life." Benny does one of those famous takes, pausing with his hand on his cheek. The thug shouts, “Well?” To which Benny pleads, "I'm thinking it over! " It’s a hard choice for Benny to make. It’s a hard choice for the rich man in Mark’s gospel to make. You see, that’s the choice Jesus gives him. Your money or your life. The truth is, it’s a hard choice for us to make. The wealthy young man approaches Jesus and wants to know what he could DO, to INHERIT eternal life. I’m struck right off by two things in that first question. First, the young man speaks of eternal life as an inheritance. Secondly, he wants to know what he’s going to be able to do to get this inheritance. That seems odd. You see, an inheritance is a gift. I mean, in the end, what can any one of us DO to get an inheritance. An inheritance, seems to me, comes down to two things—the relationship with the one who is doing the giving, and the generosity of giver. A person can work on the relationship some so as to better the chances that they will be cut into the will, but finally, any inheritance depends upon the person leaving the gift. There is nothing more that can be done by the person seeking the inheritance, is there? Oh, some try! They might manipulate and hint and outright ask, but ultimately, my inheritance is solely in the hands of the giver. Am I right? You might notice Jesus tries to help the man see the conflict in his question. “Why do you call me good? God alone is good,” he says. In other words, “this inheritance you want so much does not depend upon my goodness, but upon the goodness of the one who has the authority to grant it to you. God alone is good. The rich man doesn’t get it. He asks for his inheritance, and asks what he can do to earn it. I don’t know how the man came by his wealth. Maybe he inherited it. Maybe he had it given to him. And maybe, just maybe, he thought it was because he deserved it. That he had done something worth receiving it. That he was the favorite son. That he was the responsible one. The good one. That that’s why he received his riches. I don’t know, but something made him wonder how he as going to earn the gift of eternal life. Perhaps he thought that if he were just good enough, responsible enough, if he could do something that would show God that he was worthy of the gift. It must have been a relief when Jesus asked about his keeping of the commandments. “Oh yes!” he says. “I have kept all of these since my youth!” Then Jesus looks at him. Looks into him. And, Marks tells us, Jesus loves him. Loves him enough to try to help the man see the error of his thinking. Loves him enough to try to help him understand that it isn’t about what you do, after all. It’s about your ability to receive eternal life as a gift. A true inheritance. A gift which depends solely upon the goodness of the giver. Jesus looks at him, loves him, and tells him that there is one more thing. And the one thing Jesus tells him he must do, is the one thing the man couldn’t hear. “Sell all your possessions; give the money to the poor.” Jesus tells him. “Your treasure will be in heaven then, not here, on earth. You’ll live not for what you have here, then. You’ll live for what you have in heaven. You will not make decisions based on what you have invested here on earth, but you will make decisions based on what you have invested in the kingdom. Do that, and come and follow me.” And that was the one thing the man could not do. You hear it? He couldn’t DO that. And he went away, grieving, for he had many possessions. Jesus knew that ultimately, the man could never DO enough to earn God’s gift of eternal life. He could never do enough to be worthy of the gift. For that’s exactly what he tells the disciples when they don’t get it. Jesus told them, camels go through needles slicker than rich men get into heaven. Did he say that because they are rich? I don’t think so. I think its because those of us who have much often think we deserve it. That we have somehow earned it. That we have done what it takes to get what we have . And I believe that Jesus was telling his disciples that people with that attitude, really have a hard time understanding the nature of an inheritance. That people like that misunderstand that eternal life isn’t something one EARNS after all. The disciples wondered who, if anyone, would ever make it into the kingdom. “Lord, then who can be saved?” Silly folks. Who can be saved? It was as if the disciples were beginning to grasp the idea, but couldn’t quite see the answer. Who can be saved? Can anyone make it? Can anyone ever DO enough to be saved? No. Of course not. Not the rich man, who went away. Not the disciples. Not me. Not you. Not one of us will ever be able to DO it. You understand don’t you? We cannot DO it. I imagine that, like the rich young man, whenever we find that we can do what we think will justify our place in God’s kingdom, then Jesus will always think of yet one more thing. Maybe you’re better than the rich young man, maybe you could sell all your belongings and give them to the poor. Does that mean you’re in? No. I think Jesus would say, “you lack one more thing,” handing out a task that is even more difficult. But suppose that you could do that more difficult thing, are you in? No. There will be yet another thing. And another. And another. Until you reach the limit of what you are able to do. Then can anyone be saved? No, not if your being saved depends upon what WE are going to DO. The point is, for humans it is impossible. Isn’t that what Jesus said? For human beings, it is impossible. But for God, all things are possible. Get it? It’s God’s gift to give. Only God is good. You see? We’re back to the basic principle of an inheritance. Only God can do it. For God, all things are possible. Too bad the rich man walked away. He was so close the kingdom. He came right up to the turning point, realizing he couldn’t do what it takes. But he didn’t stay around for the rest of the story. That what he couldn’t do, God alone could. His inheritance was just there, waiting for him, the whole time. The rich young man had no idea just how incredibly rich he might have become! Our inheritance awaits us as well. It is not ours because we are good enough. Responsible enough. Worthy. It is ours, because God is good. Isn’t that what Jesus said, after all. Only God is good. Thanks be to God. |
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