Sermon for Sunday 11th October

Each day of our lives there should be a moment within it when we like the young man in our Gospel reading, consciously place ourselves at the feet of Jesus. That might be some formal prayer time, perhaps attendance at one of the Morning Prayer services or Holy Communion on Friday, or simply a less formal acknowledgment of Jesus as we begin each new day. A time when we commend ourselves and all that we are going to be about during the rest of the day to him for his blessing and guidance.

And this morning, perhaps just for a moment we can put ourselves into this Gospel story of the encounter of the young man with Jesus, perhaps as a bystander or one of the disciples, or even the young man himself. But first note that before Jesus responds to the question put to him by the young man he queries the man’s assumption that he, Jesus, is good! ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus is quick to point out to the man, that only God is good and that it is from God alone that all goodness has its source.

Perhaps there are times when we make a favourable comment to another person without really knowing who or what they are. We make a judgement about them based upon some part of their life which we know or have heard about. But do we really know them? Or in deed do they really know us?

Last week at the family Worship service we invited and asked the congregation to consider ways in which they might become involved in the life of this church, using their gifts in being part of it. And for some, there may well be an area within the life of this church for them to engage with – to become ‘involved.’ But the question the young man asked was not how can I be involved but ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life? Or putting it another way, what sort of things should I be doing now to make that prospect become a reality at the end of my life.

Jesus response to him is to quote the ‘Godless’ commandments. Those which deal with our relationships with the people around us, and who will suffer most, if we break them. What Tom Wright the Bishop of Durham refers to as our ‘Horizontal Journey’ rather than our ‘Vertical Journey.’

But when pressed further by the young man, Jesus substitutes the first three commandments with three others – ‘Sell up. Give it away, and Follow me.’

Riches vary for each one of us. But Jesus tells us that where our treasure is there will our heart be also. For Jesus is also calling us today to consider what is most important in our lives today. In effect what might we be prepared to give up in order that our relationship with him (God) can bring us closer to him?

We all have possessions sometimes those possessions are not material, for they can also be our interests or our hobbies which possess us. For this young man however, it appears that he had great wealth, and he wasn’t simply being asked by God to put that wealth to work by using it to earn more which could then be given away to the needy – no he was being asked to free himself of the burden of his wealth and follow Jesus. Francis of Assisi whose feast day occurred last Sunday literally stripped himself naked in the market square, and forsook the wealth which he believed created a barrier between himself and God. The disciples express their concerns by saying, well if that is the benchmark who can be saved? For in reality there is not one class or category of people on God’s earth who are excluded from the problem. There is also no stereotype ‘Kingdom of God person’. For when Jesus convicts us of our sin – we are meant to feel the pain of our failure. Jesus could feel the pain of the young man – a person whom we are told Jesus loved, but who because of that love for him, required Jesus to be honest in responding to the question put to him. Brutal in its frankness, even Peter is moved to seek reassurance from Jesus regarding their positions.

The disciples must have thought that this man was an ideal candidate for discipleship. He was an enthusiastic seeker, and he had a good moral record. According to Matthew’s Gospel he was young and according to Luke he was a ruler. And to top it all he was very rich. The good news for us is that Jesus does not make every one respond in the same way as he challenged the young man in our Gospel reading today.

But do we from time to time need to reflect upon our own position?

As always when we come together to worship or when we read the bible elsewhere, we should seek God’s guidance on how that part of scripture we are focussing on impacts on our own lives and how we should respond to it, and then review our relationship with God, in the light of those readings.

God knows us for whom we are, for there are no secrets from God. For one day we will all have to render an account of our lives’ stewardship, for as the writer to Hebrew’s warns us – ‘before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account’.

But let us have confidence in our faith for we do have a high priest – who has gone before us and who has spoken on our behalf – an advocate – Jesus Christ who is the righteous one.

And if from time to time we are unsure of the path that lies ahead of us, then we must look to Jesus who is not only the ‘pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ but who is also the light of the world, for it is from him that we derive our light and not only for ourselves – but so that others may also tread into the darkness confidently. So that others may, with ourselves, finally come to that heavenly city, where we shall see God – face to face.

As a church we have a vision statement – as most churches I suspect today also have.

It states very simply and for me personally and inclusively what we claim to be about for –

‘ We seek to be a Christian community in which all can come to know and accept God’s love for them and reflect that love wherever they are’.

So let us encourage all those who choose to make their spiritual home St. Andrew’s, and where and if it is appropriate, embrace them within the life and organisations which are an integral part of it.

But let us also remember to challenge ourselves and others to continually reflect upon our faith and its outworking so that we might in the words of the writer to the Hebrews – ‘approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’

AMEN

© Revd Peter Vickers October 2009