Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31
Rev. Kenneth M. Locke, Interim Pastor
Orchard Park Presbyterian Church; Carmel, IN
October 13, 2024; Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
The Letter to the Hebrews is a mystery. We don’t know who wrote it. We used to think it was Paul. But the really smart people have compared the Greek and determined, no – it wasn’t Paul. We don’t know who the Hebrews were or even where they were. Scholars have speculated but there’s nothing concrete.
All we know for sure is the Hebrews are a congregation on the edge. They’ve accepted the faith, but haven’t really embraced it. They’re undecided.
Fred Craddock, the great Bible scholar and pastor, called the Hebrews a congregation in the parking lot. They’re committed enough to drive to the church, but do they really want to get out of the car and go inside? They’re trying to decide. Do we get out of the car and go in, do we drive away, or do we just sit here, undecided?
We can appreciate why they’re undecided when we read the first part of our Hebrews Lesson. (Hebrews 4:12-13) Whoa, wait a minute! That’s scary! You want me to get out of the car now? Do you suppose the man in our Mark lesson felt that way?
A man comes to Jesus. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Remember, eternal life is not just life in heaven after we die. Eternal life is living in loving relationships with God and others now, here, today. Eternal life is something we can enjoy now.
Jesus reminds him to follow the commandments. Live well with others! That’s the brief summary. Notice that Jesus says nothing about ritual purity or animal sacrifice. His concern is about living well with others.
Yes, I’ve done that since I was a boy.
In that case, says Jesus, get rid of everything that could possibly come between you and God. Get rid of everything that could possibly stop you from living the life God wants you to live. Get rid of everything that could possibly come between you and loving relationships.
And then, follow Jesus. Live Jesus’ life of self-giving love. Live Jesus’ life of self-giving love. Do you want eternal life in the here and now? Get rid of everything standing between you and God, and devote yourself to living Jesus’ life of self-giving love.
What does that look like for us? What are our riches?
Recently, I read an advice column. I forget where. It doesn’t matter. A 20-something man had written in about a problem with his girlfriend. He loved her very much. She’s wonderful, best in the world. We’re getting married someday.
His problem, though, was she was taking up too much time. He was having to cut back on his video-gaming. Seriously, he had to cut back on his video-gaming. He had this wonderful woman, he wanted to spend his life with her, but mmm. Cutting back on video games? Was that asking too much? Was it worth it?
It’s funny, but it raises an important question. What are the habits, the ideas, the riches coming between us and God? What do we need to give up to follow Jesus in his life of self-giving love, to live eternal life?
I’m not saying wealth is bad. And of course, compared to Jesus and the disciples we are unbelievably wealthy. All of us have a better diet, better medical care, better clothes, and better housing than anyone Jesus ever knew. We are rich. We are the rich.
Which is not necessarily bad. But when you’re as blessed as we are it’s easy for something to come between us and God. We have to be vigilant that nothing – money, power, friends – comes between us and God.
Which is hard to do. We like our riches. We don’t want to let them go. But that’s the price of eternal life: giving up our riches and embracing God’s riches. Embracing the life of Jesus.
The good news of God is what seems impossible to us is not impossible with God. With God’s help, by following Jesus, we can let go of our riches and live eternal life now, here, today.
And this takes us back to Hebrews. (Hebrews 4:14-16) Jesus knows about being human. Jesus empathizes with our weakness and our struggles. Jesus has compassion for us. So we can approach God with confidence and ask God to help us re-orient our lives and grow closer to God, living eternal life now.
Friends, I don’t know where we all are, but I’d wager on any given Sunday a good chunk of us are either in the car or wandering around the parking lot. Letting go of so much, and devoting ourselves to God, is scary. We’re scared of giving up being 1st in our school, 1st in our sport, 1st in our job. We’re scared of giving up our personal prejudice and secret sin. We’re scared of reconciling with our family and forgiving our enemy. And on our own we never will.
But with God, nothing is impossible. Through Jesus we can let go of whatever is holding us back and live eternal life now.
So I say to you, my beloved, let’s get out of the car. Let’s stride across the parking lot. Let go of whatever is holding us back. We can do it. Jesus understands. He was human, too. And with his help, we can fully and completely walk into our faith and live eternal life now, here, today.
My friends, this is how much God loves us. Thanks be to God! Amen.
