Trinity 20

Opening Verse of Scripture  Amos Chapter 5 Verse 6

Seek the Lord and live.

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

God, the giver of life, whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church: by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ  and make us eager to do your will, that we may share with the whole creation  the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

God, our light and our salvation: illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

First Bible Reading Amos 5.6–7, 10–15

Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it. Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,  and bring righteousness to the ground! They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone,  but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,  and push aside the needy in the gate. Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,  just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Second Reading Hebrews 4.12–16

The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Gospel Reading  Mark 10.17–31

As Jesus 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?’ esus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 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; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ 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.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’ Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’

Post Communion Prayer

God our Father, whose Son, the light unfailing, has come from heaven to deliver the world from the darkness of ignorance: let these holy mysteries open the eyes of our understanding that we may know the way of life, and walk in it without stumbling; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commentary

In the reading from Hebrews, a letter we don’t really know who wrote, but it’s very unlikely to be Paul as the style and thinking seem very different to his other writings, we see a similar theme to that of the reading from Amos.  The big question for the writer of Hebrews is how humans can approach God.  The clue is in the title as to who the book is written for, probably Hebrews, but seemingly too, a people who are wavering between Judaism and Christianity, trying to work out the right path for them.  To help them work through this, the writer compares and contrasts the person and activity of Jesus with the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial systems.  The writer explains that Jesus is the realisation of all that the old system stands for, the perfect priest offering the perfect sacrifice, to turn away from Him is to lose everything.  God’s word is all powerful, living and active.  It’s not a seemingly dead and empty and old code of the law.  The High Priest He has sent is the great high priest who has made the ultimate, perfect and final sacrifice.  The Hebrews, and the whole world therefore are being offered a reformed and transformed better way of living.  Just how the word of God is living and active and like a sharp sword and just what that reformed and transformed way of living is we see revealed in the gospel reading.  A man runs up to Jesus and asks him what he needs to do to inherit eternal life.  The man appears to be a good and serious man.  He has studied the Jewish Law and been diligent in keeping it all his life.  It seems to him that in the context of his understanding and heritage God has rewarded him. He has everything he needs and more.  But perhaps, in the very corner of his mind, there is a niggling question. Is it really enough, is it sufficient, is this all there is to life?  In response Jesus gives a reply which is almost classically rabbinical, a framework with which the man would be very familiar.  Jesus speaks about adherence of the law and commandments.   But it’s clear that there is more to it than this when the man responds that he has done all this.  Jesus then says to him that he must go and sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor, and come and follow Christ, then he will have treasure in heaven.  It’s another example of how Jesus turns everything upside down.  Ever since they have been established as a nation the Jews have spoken about their inheritance, their possession of the land which they believe is rightfully theirs, and being chosen and special, marked out for God’s favour.  Many times in the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures it seems to be that God blesses the righteous with prosperity.  Jesus now seems to be saying something different, give up and sell your possessions and inheritance, give it away to others, so that others may know God’s real riches, favour and blessing.   It would seem it’s a message for Israel as much as for the young man itself.  Give it up and give it away so that others can know the reformed and transformed life that is possible in Christ, the Great High Priest, and the ultimate fulfilment of the law.  But the message isn’t just for Israel of the time, it’s for the young man and for us all.  Because the fundamental question that is being asked is about how we are living and what’s our attitude to the things that apparently bring us security?  What is it that might stop us from being the authentic imitators of Christ we are invited to be (in Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and Corinthians for example).

For the young man it would appear that it is his attitude to the material things of the world (as it had been for many in the past and would continue to be in the future for countless others) that inhibits and impedes him being an authentic imitator of Christ and living out his gospel calling to the full.  As Jesus says the very words, we can see the two-edged sword of the word of God that the write of Hebrews speaks about incising into the man.  It’s that surgical.  From his attitude and reaction we know that the words have hit home.  There is no questioning or debate by the man, he knows what he has heard is true.  The word has penetrated his life, and life can never be the same again for whilst wealth can be a blessing from God, it can also become a snare.  It seems to have made him dependent on it for his security and has made it more difficult for him to see what is really important in life and act on it.  Jesus isn’t saying we need to go out and sell all we own.  We have responsibilities to care for ourselves and for others and we cannot depend on others to feed us, as Jesus seems to have done. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the good things our money can buy if our attitude to these things is right, and we still know and live out what is really important in life  As we see in the gospel reading man’s life and attitude to his wealth and possessions needs to be reformed and transformed if he is to enter into the Kingdom of God and eternal life.  For him it would be a radical change.  He’s a rich man and it appears it too much to ask.

Jesus turns to His disciples and speaks to them of how hard it is for those who do not want to give up their security and perhaps their apparent source of identity and for whom their attitude is self-centred rather than God centred to enter the kingdom of heaven.  They have been ensnared and it’s difficult for them to be released.  This obviously hits home at the disciples too who then begin to ask if anyone can then enter the Kingdom of heaven, the bar seems a very high one to get over.  Yet Jesus reassures them.  In submitting everything to God, all things are possible, but it will involve a reformed and transformed life and ensuring our attitude to the material things of the world is what it should be.  The Gospel brings freedom from the need to acquire things, and God who can do the impossible enables us to hear its message, the message of the Kingdom.  And that is the ultimate challenge, where the two-edged swords needs to penetrate each one of us.  How do we live out the message of the Kingdom?  How do we become so radically different in the way we live out our lives that we don’t become ensnared by the world and its riches?  What is it about us which is distinctly different?  For the young man, he seemed to do established religion very well.  What he seemed to miss out on was how to do the Kingdom.

Perhaps that’s the challenge for us.  Do we allow our lives and our attitudes to be reformed and transformed as we increasingly live out the Kingdom of God in our lives and our attitudes?

Sam Cappleman

Meditation

There is an underpinning theme of reformed and transformed living in all of our readings today.  In the Old Testament reading from Amos, a contemporary with Hosea, we see a prophet from the south, Tekoa, 12 miles South of Jerusalem, going to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to speak out about the social and religious corruption which are so prevalent in the land.  Jeroboam II is the king and it’s a time of wealth and prosperity, of influence and of status.  But beneath all this the nation is rotten and festering.  Does that sound familiar?  Amos’s message is simple and clear.  ‘Seek the Lord and live’.  And it’s not a seeking after the Lord with more sacrifices at corrupt places of worship, but by a reformed and transformed way of living that reflected their calling and inheritance.  Perhaps not surprisingly he was told in no uncertain terms to go away, and the nation carries on with its corrupt and deceitful ways.  Sometime later, some 30 years after Jeroboam’s death in around 722 BC, the Kingdom falls to the Assyrians and many of Amos’ words are brought home with a new meaning.

Sam Cappleman

 

Additional Material

Commentary  Wealth and Riches

We read today about the rich and how hard it is to have wealth and God. The choice between God and Mammon is perhaps one of the single most difficult things to speak about. It is highly emotive because it questions something which we all hold very dear - our possessions, our wealth our money. We have all learned the phrase very well from 1 Timothy, money is not the root of all evil, it is rather ‘the love of money which is the root of all evil.’ So it is that we tell ourselves that we are OK because we don’t 'love' money, wealth, property - we just want enough of it.
The problem is that Jesus knows we are all really just fooling ourselves. It is really hard to have any attachment to wealth, our possessions without it corrupting us.

Mammon is mentioned in two places in the New Testament in Matthew and Luke, both times on the lips of Jesus who was holding out the choice which has to be made between serving God and serving ourselves. Jesus is in the business of calling people to be disciples and the problem he recognises is one of divided loyalty. Jesus recognises this and he is very specific that if people chose to follow him they must abandon the lure of possessions. He uses language throughout the gospels which is full of urgency and calls for unwavering commitment and so there must be no room for a half hearted response, which is the case if you have one eye on your future financial stability. So Jesus states

• It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person to go to God
• Sell all you possess and follow me

This is hard for us because we live in western society and in our culture of materialism possessions are an enormous attraction for us and a great distraction from serving God. Few of us live as though possessions are not really important. We do our utmost to excuse ourselves from guilt but the truth is that few of us looking inside ourselves would be able to avoid the truth that we place far too much attention on mammon. Mamon is represented by our possessions, our property, our money, these challenge our commitment. We live in a society which is about creating wealth, we call it a consumer society, and Jesus would understand very clearly that this word ‘consumer’ is very appropriate because things do consume us. The reason why Jesus singles out money for such attention is because it is so very consuming.

Although Jesus uses the word mammon only on two occasions, nevertheless he speaks about money and possessions and wealth a lot. Perhaps you haven't thought of it before-but did you realise that over one third of Jesus' parables and sayings concern the relationship between faithfulness and money? Jesus talks so much about money because, when push comes to shove, loyalties are revealed by what people do with their wealth and how they feel about it. Indeed the contrast must be drawn between the things which Jesus got worked up about and the things which we get worked up about. As a church we are very worked up about sex and gender, about which Jesus said next to nothing, but we don’t get very worked up at all about wealth, about which Jesus said a great deal. Indeed when the church does speak out about money it is usually to ask for more !

The reason why this statement about wealth is so significant is because mammon is the most difficult of distractions. We can conceal our preoccupation very carefully, so carefully that we deceive even ourselves. The careful saver who builds money for their retirement may appear wise and sensible, but dependence upon material affluence and financial security is mammon. I suspect that Jesus would single out our desire for retirement nest eggs as a classic case of mammon. He would say, ‘You cannot serve God and your cunning plan for retirement.’ Mammon is that in which we place our trust going forward. Jesus very carefully allowed his followers to pray that they might receive their daily bread, bread for today not for tomorrow, the asking of God to meet our need and not our greed.

The great Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, once defined anxiety as "the next day." We don't know what will happen "the next day," which creates anxiety this day. Therefore, we are consumed on this day with trying to anticipate future calamities against which to protect ourselves. Since there is no end to the calamities we can anticipate, we're always uncertain and constantly chasing after something which, we hope, will decrease our level of uncertainty. This never works. Acquiring things doesn't reduce anxiety, rather it generates anxiety. This is the paradox of consumerism the more I have, the more I want and the less I am satisfied.

As is so often the case Jesus is concerned with a lot more than just personal piety. It is worth remembering that when Jesus spoke these words, only about 5-10% of the people of ancient Israel had any wealth at all. A few were very wealthy indeed -- rich beyond belief. Everybody else was poor and operated at a bare subsistence level. This calls into question our interpretations of this statement. Jesus cannot be giving his poor followers a lecture on how they ought to get better at handling the money which they didn’t have. His listeners would readily have agreed with Jesus that "you are not able to serve God and mammon." They were taxed to the hilt and near starvation under occupation. They were being exploited by the greed of others who lived well at their expense, while the people themselves were near starvation.

So who are the target of Jesus words, what was he getting at? Well we are told in the passage today that the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. Remember people wanted to kill Jesus not because he had a new theology, but because he threatened to take away their mammon. Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus because he threatened to become a king. When Jesus gave his teaching in Matthew 25 that those who looked after the hungry poor and sick would be saved, the response of the chief priest and elders was that they wanted to kill him.

In Mark 11 we read about Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Then we are told

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

When we remember Jesus taken up on the cross we do well to remind ourselves that he was killed because he threatened the economic interests of the privileged few. He died because he challenged the vested interests of the ruling classes. He threatened their wealth and power, his actions threatened to deprive them of their mammon. So Jesus is not just exhorting his poor peasants not to serve wealth ! Jesus is much more radical than that. Jesus is laying down a challenge to the system. Jesus does not sit comfortably with those on top. Jesus scolds those who wear fine clothes because they were the outward mark of social rank, and those who live in King’s palaces. The wealthy, including priests and scribes connected with the Temple establishment, were easily identified by their glitzzy robes. Jesus is deeply concerned about social justice, rather more indeed than individual piety. This should not surprise us, you don’t fall out with the authorities for telling people how to pray nicely.

There are several places in the Bible where God rejects the worship of his people because they lack justice (eg. Micah 6:6-8; 1 Tim. 6:9-10, 17; Matt. 6:19-21), but nowhere in the Bible does God reject the justice of his people because they lack worship. Does this mean that social, political and economic justice are more important to God than worship? Possibly it does, what it most certainly does mean is that worship which doesn't grow out of justice is shallow. How does Jesus tell us that we inherit eternal life ? Luke 10 and the parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that it is by looking after those who are less well off than ourselves, showing pity and spending our mammon to care for those who cannot care for themselves. The parable used the illustration of a Samaritan, a hated religious enemey, Jesus was making the point that the ones which we must care for are those we hate most - even religious enemies. Only by doing this can we show our love for God.

Matthew 25 tells us that those blessed with inheriting the kingdom will be those who fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, cared for the stranger, clothed those with nothing and visited those in prison. They will be surprised because they thought they were just engaged in social justice, they never knew that Jesus was sharing the poverty of the lost and lonely. Therefore we as Christians we must be engaged in addressing the circumstances which give rise to poverty as did Jesus. When our wealth is built upon the sacrifices of others, that is not acceptable. As Christians we should be using opportunities to speak of a new way.

The church to needs to constantly seek out its place in society to liberate people. In his penetrating book 'The First Circle', Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the famous Russian author who defected to America, makes an interesting observation about how the Russian authorities handle the church. He writes:

"No one stops them from ringing their bells; they can break communion bread anyway they please. They can have their processions with the cross. But they will in no way allow them to have any connection with social or civic affairs."

The church was allowed to go through the motions; it could have a presence, but it dare not have an influence. we must seek to be an influence, to be God’s presence in the world. The church needs always to question where it stands and at times we have sided with wealth and protected it, sanctified mammon.

There is no easy teaching here on the right use of money. However there is an imperative for society to get a right understanding on the use of money. There must be a wise use of our collective wealth which recognises need and the plight of the very poor to whom Jesus devoted so much of his time and energy. The church has for so long worked hard to care for the vulnerable, the church is well placed to live out the commands of Jesus to be his loving presence in society, to care for the hungry, the sick and those most at risk.

Hear 1 Timothy
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Meditation

Hymns

• Be thou my vision
• Take my life and let it be
• God whose giving knows no ending

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

God and Father of us all, in Christ you gave us one Lord, one faith, one baptism; look in your love upon the church, the fellowship of the baptized, and renew her life in unity and peace. Amen

May Almighty God order our days in His peace, and grant us the gift of His Blessing. May He set us free from our anxiety, and firmly establish our minds on the foundation of His peace and tranquility. May He adorn our lives with the jewels of faith, hope, and love; may He keep us from all harm in this present world, and lead us safely into life everlasting. Amen Archbishop Robert ca 1000 AD

May the living waters of Christ cleanse us, may the Spirit descend upon us, and the blessing of God be with us, this day and for evermore. Amen

Commentary

It was not uncommon at the time of Jesus to consider that a person who had wealth and riches was blessed by God. Believe it or not, it is still a view which exists today. Some people think that when things go badly for them that this is a sign of God's disapproval. Occasionally if a person suffers prolonged illness they will be heard to utter the words, 'What have I done to deserve this?' The answer is of course 'Nothing'. God does not reward us with blessings, or punish us with curses.
This explains why in our reading today Jesus is able to say that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. The wealth of the rich is not a sign of God's blessing, indeed Jesus sees wealth as having the potential so to divide our commitment and loyalty to God, that the rich are in a perilous position. Considering that many of us are a lot wealthier than the folks living at the time of Jesus, we need to listen to the words of Jesus this week very carefully.

Notice how Jesus does not mention some of the commandments which we might expect. Jesus does not say

1. have no other gods
2. no graven images
3. no taking God's name in vain

Instead he tells the man to sell everything which he has and give away the money. This is a sure way of ensuring that there was no possibility of the material possessions of this world distracting the disciple form Jesus.

The gospel story describes a seemingly impossible situation. How could a camel pass through the eye of a needle? How could a rich man enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Through our own efforts it would be impossible, but with God, nothing is impossible. In the gospel readings over the past few weeks Jesus has spoken several times about the need to come to Him as a child. To come to Him not as a rich person who, through power and money can exert influence, can make things happen, can be in control, but come to Him as a child who is totally dependent on the Father. To rest in His love and favour, to allow Him to make the impossible happen. Psalm 90 speaks about being contained in God’s love, about being secure in God’s presence, and implores us to measure our days so that we might gain a heart of wisdom so that we can rest in His love and let His favour and grace touch us. To allow Him to make the seemingly impossible happen for each one of us. To trust to Him as a child trusts their parents. For us, just as it was for the rich man in the gospel, the more riches we have, the harder it is for us to hold on to them lightly and trust in the Father alone. Indeed, for some it will be as hard as getting a large camel through the eye of a small sewing needle. For others, the camel becomes so small that the eye of the needle becomes a gaping hole through which it is possible to walk with comparative ease.