20th Sunday after Pentecost
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Today’s readings force us to ask, what does it mean to live?
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
The young man comes before the Lord and asks, ‘Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
Amos 5:6 tells us to seek the Lord and live.
In my own life I remember a big time when I thought I was really living:
I remember my first big time concert was Dave Matthews Band and tickets were sold by Ticketmaster. I had to wait in line for hours outside of a rite-aid in Spokane only to have the poor cashier come out and say ‘tickets for Saturday are sold out’ then 20 minutes later, Tickets for Sunday are sold out’. The gorge amphitheater seats over 25k people. In 20 minutes 50k people decided that what it meant to live was to participate in a live concert. I got my ticket and 5 minutes later they closed sales. Almost 80k people spent over $100 in 2001 to go to a concert in the middle of nowhere.
The tagline for Ticketmaster today? Let’s make live happen.
Here’s what I love about our gospel reading today. Jesus gives the young man the most challenging account of what it takes to really live. To secure eternal life he must give up everything.
Isn’t that exactly a description of Christ? Jesus teaches us how to live. He gave up everything, He numbered His days on earth, squandered healings, and miracles, and teachings on us poor sinners and then assumed the Glory of God.
The prophecy of Amos is a picture of Jesus LIVING:
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
Look at John 8:40
but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
Again, Amos:
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
Jesus fulfills the call of life, to Love the poor:
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
We could do this for an hour but thats called bible class and not preaching. Preaching is about giving you good news.
Here’s the good news. Because of Jesus, your days are infinitely numbered. Because of the generosity of Jesus your wealth and lives are committed to a holy and mighty purpose. Because of Jesus, Justice has been established and He will come again to perfectly exact vindication, retribution, and declarations of innocence for His people.
Now. This is the long term game, the eschatological view, the days yet to come. But what do we do with the numbered days before Jesus returns?
The Psalmist exhorts us to work.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
What does that work look like? Well, on this side kingdom of God it may look and feel like affliction.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
This idea of work as affliction is evidence of the fall:
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
This is where there has been a miscorrection in the narrative solution of our culture. The answer to work as affliction is not to avoid work. The answer to affliction is not leisure.
The answer to afflicted work is to flourish with redemptive work. How is work redemptive? It is embedded in the last words of Jesus in our gospel pericope today.
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Those words, come follow me. These are the words of baptism.
These are the redemptive words of Christ that convert the curse.
Your work at this point is to be a publisher; to follow the story wherever it takes you.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
To come back to the rich young man’s question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is that one must hold and herald the good news. Here in this place we exude the Gospel. It goes forth through you, into the world.
What I appreciate about Isaiah 52 is that it does not actually portray work. The good news of the gospel, of the kingdom of God actually transforms the person. Their feet are beautiful! Through Christ, everything automatically becomes a witness. A published good work.
Think about feet. They’re not beautiful. Last week at camp we were playing in the ball field and because there was abundant grass there, there was also abundant scat. Let the reader understand.
People kept playing the game? Why? because the game justified the act, more than that it required it. To be in the game meant that you HAD TO STEP IN IT.
Friends, the gospel of Jesus christ does not call us to create lounge wear. The gospel doesn’t call us to netflix or concerts. The gospel calls us to our neighbors. The ones who speed or are annoying.
The gospel propels Christ into the mire. Christ, the Lord God, exchanged all that he had, gave it all for us for our pride, our arrogance, our lack of trust, that we may be His own. He has transformed you from a sinner into a tale of spiritual, mental and physical redemption. You and your neighbor have value.
This means that every cell of our bodies and every thought we have is an endeavor to testify to the greatness and grace of God. Our wages should tell stories of His generosity, our hands should be worn from service and our hearts full, engrossed in mercy and love. He was handed over by a bribe and He was pierced for our transgressions.
He sold it all.
He is mercy incarnate. The justice of God established. The favor of God spent.
A heart of wisdom then, is a heart that knows and fears the God who loves.
The Lord is good. He loves you. May we spend our lives on the world as He does.
Amen.