Cold Feet
Did you ever go in search of something, determined to get it when you find it, only to change your mind when you see it up close?
Usually I prepare myself ahead of time, thinking through the value of the purchase, rationalizing the need and justifying it before I decide to go for it.
But from time to time it happens. I have decided to take the plunge only to have cold feet at the last minute.
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. - Mark 10L21-22
In today's reading, Jesus makes the decision to buy a tough one. The price is much higher than the man thought and so he goes away disappointed.
If the man is like me, he will weigh the pros and cons heavily when he gets home and perhaps he will eventually do what Jesus told him. But we don't get to see that. Mark focuses on the moment of indecision and frustration.
He wants us to be that man, to be as uncomfortable as he. And he succeeds because he starts out with the man asking for help. He approaches the salesman and asks the price, thinking he has already set aside enough for his ticket to paradise.
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?"
And Jesus seems to set him up for disappointment, telling the man that he knows the price.
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.' "
At this point, the man is excited and we are too.
He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
We like to believe that we keep the commandments and are worthy to be called good citizens of God's kingdom, but something is wrong.
Mark has led us into the trap and now we have completely associated ourselves with this man. We, like he, believe we will hear good news, that we have earned our way.
But there is one more thing. The one thing we lack is the ability to let go of all we have acquired in order to be truly free of the trappings of this world.
So, what do we do?
Do we go home and think this through or do we go ahead and make the deal?
Everything I want or need, I acquire only by making a trade. I give up something I value for something else of value. When the value of what I have is greater in my mind than the value placed on what I want, I walk away.
That's where this man is right now. But is that the end of the story?
Perhaps it took him his whole life to get what he has, but once he gives it away, the story doesn't end. He continues on, rebuilding, perhaps, what he gave away, knowing that what he has stored up in heaven is so much greater than anything he could value here.
These are tough choices, I know, and to make them requires more than faith and hope. It requires love. Because I can only give up everything I value for someone I truly love, and that's the key to this message for me.
Jesus is not just saying make yourself poor and you will be rewarded. He is saying something for more difficult. Love your brothers and sisters so much that you will give them everything you have.
Can we do that?
Maybe, but it makes my feet cold to think about it.
More to come...
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