The following sermon was delivered in Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia on September 25, 1977. The speaker is the Reverend John W. Howe, Rector of Truro Church. 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. 

If you can remember all the way back to the scripture lessons this morning, both of them put the subject of wealth right before us in a rather painful way. As a matter of fact, I wonder if it sometimes grabs you the way it does me when we read a passage like that one from Amos, And he says, woe, woe to you, woe to you rich. And we end up saying, thanks be to God at the end of the passage.

My daughter asked me a couple of weeks ago, Daddy, are we rich? I don't know how to answer that. If your standard is the median in America, we're about median.

If your standard is most men, most women throughout the world in most times, then we're unbelievably wealthy. Unbelievably wealthy. That word ought to sober us up very quickly.

He stopped ever to think that some of the poorest in America have luxuries that the greatest kings of antiquity would have coveted. Have you ever thought about the luxury of hot running water? Electricity at the flip of a switch.

TV dinners. So I don't know, are we wealthy or are we not? Scripture has a great deal to say about wealth.

But I've noticed that neither Jesus himself, nor any of the apostles or prophets, or as far as I can tell, any of the other spokesmen in the scripture ever condemn wealth per se? The question is our attitude toward wealth, how we use it, and how we view it. Scripture is often misquoted at this point.

We hear people saying money is the root of all evil. That's not what the Bible says. What it says is the love of money.

And that word love in that particular context carries with it the connotation of an inordinate, avaricious, lusting after material things. That's the root of all evil. Money in and of itself is neutral.

It's like bricks. You can build a temple with bricks, or you can use them to beat your neighbor over the head. What are you doing with your money?

What's your attitude toward it? Well, I want us to turn to another passage that deals somewhat with the same subject, but from a little bit different point of view, and then opens up some generalities that will go well beyond money. I'd like you to turn with me, if you would, in the Bibles there in your pews to page 878.

Part of Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, and we'll begin with verse 17. this is the story of Jesus and a young man who elsewhere is called a rich young man and in one place is called a rich young ruler evidently he was a man of some nobility and some authority we meet him here in Mark 10 verse 17 Jesus was setting out on a journey and this man ran up and knelt before him and asked him a very hard question good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life so although this man had a great deal of material wealth he was aware that it wasn't enough there was something lacking he had a hunger he might have well-being just now but there's a larger question of eternity perhaps he saw something in Jesus that he thought would give him the answer. That this one who was being recognized as a prophet sent from God could point him in the direction of eternal life.

Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. I can't tell you how many sermons I've heard on that particular phrase that would tell me that Jesus was here attempting to deny his divinity.

who's saying, don't call me good. That's reserved for God alone. Call God good, not me.

I wonder if any of you have heard similar sermons that Jesus was attempting to say, yes, I'm a prophet, a teacher, but don't call me good. Not in that ultimate sense. That belongs to God.

Didn't want us to kneel down in front of him. Didn't want us to worship him. Didn't want us to think that here indeed was God in the flesh.

Have you heard sermons like that? I think on a closer reading of this paragraph, we're going to see that this is one of the farthest reaching, most searching claims to divinity that Jesus could possibly have uttered. And in fact, what he's really saying to the young man is, if you call me good teacher, You are, in fact, using a name that is really proper for God alone.

Are you prepared to follow me with that same kind of allegiance that you owe to him? Are you prepared to take the name good teacher to its logical conclusion? Are you prepared to deal with its implications?

And so he goes on. The man is asked a question. How do I get eternal life?

And Jesus says, you know the commandments. How do you get eternal life? Obey the commandments.

And he recites them. Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother. The young man has the audacity to say to him, Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.

I have a little show of hands here. How many could say that? I couldn't say that.

But this young man says it. And isn't it interesting? Jesus called a spade a spade.

He didn't let people get away with great statements about themselves if they weren't true. The Pharisees would make some bold claim and he'd say, you brood of vipers nice parlor talk you whitewashed tombs you hypocrites doesn't do that here doesn't say to the young man you liar you phony how dare you claim to have fulfilled all these commandments doesn't say that says he looked at him and loved him we don't hear enough about that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ reaching out embracing people Jesus loved this man of course he didn't fulfill all those commandments perfectly of course not but Jesus didn't look at him and call him a hypocrite he reached out to him in love and then he went on and said this you get A plus on your report card but you still lack something go and sell what you have give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me now that statement usually makes people very nervous but for the wrong reason. I don't think that Jesus is saying to all men everywhere, go sell everything you own and be a pauper.

That's what we really worry about, but that's not what he's saying. It's a word addressed to this particular man, and we'll see why in just a moment. But the thing that ought to make us a little bit nervous is this.

if the young man has fulfilled all the commandments what more could he lack? how do you get eternal life? do the commandments the young man is bold to say I've done the commandments and Jesus doesn't say no you haven't he says very good but you still lack something what could he lack?

I haven't fulfilled all the commandments and if he lacks something I'm in the deepest kind of trouble take another look at that list I wonder if that struck you as I was reading it that there's something very funny about that list do you notice it? how many commandments are there? Ten commandments.

How many did I read? Only six. What's missing?

I know you didn't expect a quiz in the middle of the sermon. What's missing? Have no other gods but me.

No graven images. Love thy neighbor as thyself is a summary statement. Two others are missing.

Keep the Sabbath. Don't take God's name in vain. No other gods, no graven images.

Don't take God's name in vain. Keep holy the Sabbath day. Now, an interesting thing about this.

If you go into any Jewish synagogue today, somewhere on the wall, you'll see a representation of the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. And interestingly enough, they're not nice and neat five and five, as we might arrange them. They're four and six.

As a matter of fact, if you go into our chapel and check out the Reridas, four and six, you look in the old prayer book, where they run on two pages, page 68 and 69, 4 and 6. Why? Because the first tablet has to do with my relationship with Almighty God.

And the second tablet has to do with my relationships with my fellow man. A vertical dimension and a horizontal dimension. Which also tells us why when the young lawyer comes to Jesus and says, what's the greatest commandment?

He says the first and great commandment is love God. And the second, like unto it, is love your neighbor. Do you see what he's doing?

He's summarizing the two tablets. First, love God. Second, love neighbor.

This is no haphazard list we've got here. Jesus very deliberately has taken the latter six those commandments which have all together to do with our relationships with our fellow man in society now do you see what's at stake when he says you lack something what does he lack? the whole weight of responsibility of the first tablet his whole relationship with God.

Which drives us to a very important conclusion. Many times you'll hear people say, I can be just as good a Christian as you can without believing in God. What they're really saying is, I can be just as good a person as you can.

And they probably can. They probably are. but what about their relationship with God to be a Christian is not merely to be a good person it's not simply to be a good humanist you can get A plus on your report card for being a good neighbor and still lack something of your relationship with God to follow Jesus Christ isn't simply to be a good Samaritan to have entered into a love affair with almighty God my relationship with God is not simply the sum total of my human relationships do you see that?

so that when Jesus says you lack something go sell what you have give it away and come follow me rather than denying his divinity do you see what he's really claiming for himself? the whole burden of your responsibility with God the Father is summed up in these two words, follow me. It's an extraordinary claim to divinity.

The whole bulk of responsibility from those first four commandments, follow me. Have no other gods, but follow me. Let nothing else become to you an idol.

Follow me. take God's name in all reverence and acknowledge me as your Lord give to God do worship and honor and praise by following me but it says that at this saying the young man's countenance fell and he went away full of sorrow because he had many possessions you see what Jesus was really doing here he wasn't making a general statement for all men everywhere he was speaking to this particular man and putting his finger on what in that man's life had become God a God before God he's saying your problem is that you've made a God of your wealth. And until you get rid of that false God, you can't possibly have a relationship with the true God.

Get rid of it. Give it away. And come follow me.

And the man had an awful choice to make. Which God? And he made the wrong choice.

and he gave away heaven for a few years of comfort. Remember what we just saw a moment ago. Jesus loved him.

I believe if you read between the lines here, you see the heart of Jesus Christ breaking over that man's choice because he knows the consequences. But he doesn't reduce the standards. He doesn't call them back and say, oh, you've misunderstood.

Let me put it some other way. He doesn't go chasing after them. He lets them go.

He loves them, but he lets them go. Maybe that some in this room this morning are prepared to come and give lip service to this Lord Jesus. We call Him good master, good teacher.

We come, we sing His praises. And yet if the truth be known, Jesus would say to us, that's the name of God Almighty. And calling me that involves implications of allegiance.

Are you prepared to give me your total allegiance and follow me. And he might put his finger on our wealth and say, you know, you're really hung up on your possessions. You call me God.

But the truth of the matter is there's a competing God. Maybe that others of us have no problem whatsoever with our wealth or lack of it. But we're equally hung up on some other false deity.

Our job, our status, our position in society, the neighborhood we live in, our house, our car, our spouse, our children, our reputation, our popularity, our friendship, our sexuality, our image. Jesus would say, what is your God? What is the thing you really worship that stands in the way of complete freedom in knowing God Himself?

And He'd enjoin that same choice upon us. Choose this day whom you will serve. You call me good teacher.

You're right. So I am. but that involves complete abandonment to me.

Will you get rid of whatever it is whatever the barrier is whatever the hang up is whatever the bondage is will you give it away and come follow me. I believe he looks at each one of us same love and compassion and tenderness and care and concern. And He forces the choice.

He won't lower the standards. And He won't chase after us. But He asks us to give all.

that we might receive all in return. Let's pray together. he went on to say to his disciples there is no one who has left house or brothers or sister or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life Lord Jesus we would see you in our mind's eye standing in front of us this morning and in all your tenderness and care for each one of us personally putting your finger on that thing which stands as a barrier to our unspenting, uncompromising allegiance to you.

And we'd hear you offering us that choice to allow it to be God or to get rid of it that you might be. And Lord, with your strength and your help by the power of the Holy Spirit we would do away with lesser things that we might belong wholly to you for your great name's sake. Amen.