If You Don’t Want To Hear Truth, Don’t Ask The Question.

Pay attention. Watch what’s about to happen. The well-dressed man in the front row clears his throat loudly. An attention getter. A hush falls over the crowd as Mr. Prominent rises to pose a question to the guest teacher. Here’s what he asks: ”Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He didn’t ask “what MUST I do…” or “what must I DO…” He said: “WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?” (All CAPS means he said it in a very LOUD voice.) The “I” in the question sounded like this: ”What must I do…” Upper case “I” in a large, bold font. And all the audience whispered among themselves: Why, he is a religious leader, a man set apart for Yahweh. Jesus will probably run to him and give him a big welcome hug. Jesus didn’t. In response, the teacher listed a few important life responsibilities, like, don’t murder somebody; don’t steal; be good to your parents. Everybody nodded. Once again, Mr. Front Row cleared his throat to alert everyone that he was about to say something significant. And again, not in a soft reply, he announced for all to hear: I HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS SINCE I WAS A CHILD. Yea! He’ll be at the front of the line for the bus to eternal life. And then Jesus dropped the bomb. In a rather matter-of-fact voice, the teacher told him, sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor, then come and live with me. Wham-O! In fact, it was a double Wham-O. Jesus punctured his pride and hit him in his weak spot….possessions. Money. Riches. The stuff the man prized most. Stuff, indeed. This story is told in Luke 18 and makes this point: in the time of Jesus, rich people, particularly wealthy religious leaders, were generally thought to be less than honest, not very charitable, sometimes downright crooked. Two observations: if you were then, or if you are now, among the less than rich…among the struggling or the poor…rich people still stand in question. ”Why does he have so much when I have so little? How did he get it, anyway?” Second, you and I are rich. Don’t giggle. You and I are among the wealthy of the world. Surely that is obvious. So, don’t be too quick to dismiss the story as old, out of date or irrelevant. It would be a gut punch if Jesus said that to any of us. This is not about surrendering position or power or prestige. This is about accepting an alternative manner of life that is directed by a different set of principles. What is the ultimate commitment or allegiance in my life? What do I value most? What gives me the greatest, the deepest joy?  What or who could I never walk away from? You’ve just named your “god.” The Teacher never said his way was easy. It’s not. But it is authentic. Authentic.