Scripture text: Mark 10:17-31
Revision of Sermon first preached on 3/24/2009 in Davis, WV
In the three years I’ve served here as pastor, I think most of you have figured out my passions and my interests. The things that fire me up. The things that push my buttons. There is a certain congruence in what I do and who I am. For instance, I like stories about the conflict between good and evil, whether it’s sci-fi or fantasy or a real world setting. Similarly, I preach about what I see as evil in our world (and in ourselves) and the ways in which we Christians should stand against it.
Image thanks to RaptorKraine at DeviantArt
There is a danger in that perspective however. All too often our definitions of good and evil are highly skewed. Our own biases, perceptions, and experiences influence what we see as good and evil in the world and it can blind us to the truth. What we often mean by the words “good” and “evil” and what God means by them are often two radically different ideas.
So what is the human definition of good? What is the human definition of righteousness? We’ve each got one; in each of our minds we’ve got a definition of good. Mind you, we don’t really think about it much, but we use that definition every day, all the time. It’s really this list of characteristics. Things about a person that define them as good.
For instance, a person’s definition might look something like this: White male American. Goes to church. Doesn’t murder or steal. Doesn’t drink, smoke, swear. Gives to charity. Works hard. Votes Republican. Member of the Rotary club. Member of St. Josephs-on-the-corner church. That’s a very basic example of how we might define “good.”
Now here’s the thing. Each of us has a list like that, and each one of our lists is different. Now there might be some similarities, but no two are the same. But here’s the rub. Whatever your list is, I guarantee you that you posses the majority if not the entirety of the items on it. Your personal definition of good will ALWAYS define you as good. Our lists of “good” characteristics tell us that WE are righteous. Our lists justify us.
It’s funny just how strong that mindset really is. Now suppose there’s an item on our list that we don’t possess. Say we think giving to charity is something good, but we don’t do it or don’t do it as much as we’d like. What do we do with that item in our definition of good? Well, that’s something good, but it’s really not that important. You don’t have to do that to be good. If it doesn’t serve to justify us, we downplay it. We dismiss it as unnecessary and unimportant. We’ll excuse ourselves.
Now let’s talk about evil. For every item on our list, there is corresponding opposite. If you’re not a Christian, you’re what? Some other religion or atheist. If you’re not American, you’re what? A foreigner. If you’re not a Democrat, you’re what? A Republican. If you’re not straight, you’re what? Gay. These opposites are how each of us defines evil. We all do it and just as our list of good is different for each one of us, so too is our list of evil. There might be some similarities, but no two lists are alike.
Now what are we supposed to do with evil? What are we to do with the people who fit our definition of it? Those who are not like us? Well, for the most part, we put up with them, we ignore them, we tolerate them. But you know, with a little change in circumstance, change in laws or politics or whatever, we might get to do more. We might get the chance to get rid of them entirely. After all, isn’t that what good is supposed to do? Defeat evil. Destroy evil.
But you know something, if we are constantly labeling others as not good, as evil, are we truly obeying Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor? What would we do if a gay man walked into this sanctuary right now? What would we do if an Arab in their turban and other traditional garb were to walk in here right now? Aren’t they evil? For many people, they are. Perhaps for some of us. What would we do? Would we throw them out? After all, they’re evil. They don’t deserve to be with us good people. What would you do? What would I do?
These are challenging times for us as Christians. We are living in a time of great change and with great change comes great turmoil and anxiety. The pointing of fingers, the scapegoating of this group of people or that, the identification of “the other” as evil is becoming so commonplace as to be almost blaise. Donald Trump gets up and accuses the whole Latino people of being rapists and murderers and not only are people not offended, they nod along in agreement. We hear tale of numerous examples of overreach by government authorities, but because the majority of these incidents are against the African-American community or they are committed by people we almost universally admire as “good” (i.e. law enforcement), we shrug our shoulders in apathy.
When we so casually turn our back on others, we prove what Jesus says in today’s Gospel lesson. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Despite our best efforts to prove to ourselves otherwise, we usually end up proving just how right he is about that.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus challenges the man’s definition of good by revealing his idolatry of greed. “Sell all you have.” He states, knowing the outcome, knowing the man cannot and will not do it. Do not let the specifics of this tale distract you from its core lesson however. All of us have something we will not give up. For some, it is a prejudice that will not be swayed by any fact. For others, it’s a blind loyalty to some cause or ideology that will not be tempered by truth. But whatever it is, it stands as our idol and we will not give it up.
The disciples sense the whole of Jesus’ teaching. “Who then can be saved?” They get it. Our goodness is not enough. We fall short. We cling to idols of our own making. We turn our back on others. We do not live up even to our own ideals. We fail and because we fail, we will never be good enough to earn the kingdom of God.
And it is for that reason that it all depends on grace. “For mortals, it is impossible.” Jesus agrees with his disciples’ dismay. But then it’s not up to mortals. It’s up to God for whom all things are possible. God’s the one who chooses salvation. God’s the one who grants it to those he wishes. It’s his call. Not ours.
That can be a disturbing truth to many of us. It’s out of our control. We have no way to sway the outcome one way or the other. It’s all up to a divine being over which we have no power. But we don’t need that control or that power, because as the Scriptures highlight hundreds of times if not thousands, it is God’s will to save us. It is his promise to save us, in spite of all the ways we’ve let him down.
In a few moments, we will again come to the font to baptize and to welcome a new member of the Christian community. Baptism is an act of trust, a tangible sign of that promise that God gives to save us. No matter how much we fail to live up to our ideals or his, nothing can take this from us. Baptism is our gift, a sign of the impossible gift that God gives, where he chooses to save sinners like you and me in spite of our failures. That is a real definition of good. Amen.
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