Preached at Grace and Canadochly on October 14, 2018
Preaching text: Mark 10:17-31
There is a theological idea out there that there is no such thing as a true atheist. Of course, there are plenty of people who claim openly to have no belief in any sort of deity, who say that reality has no room for the metaphysical or the supernatural. However, this theory claims that even such people as these have a “god” to which they hold allegiance, something in which they place their ultimate trust, something they will not question or criticize.
Often the god of such people is something tangible, not something supernatural or mythological but rather something of this world. It is their own ego or the luxury of wealth or it is the cold facts of science. The options could be endless. And while it is easy for us to point fingers at unbelievers and claim that their “gods” are folly, it is also easy to forget that many religious people also cling to such gods over the course of their lives. Many of the people in pews such as these have another god that they worship, and in some cases cling to even more so than Christ.
That, of course, is the context of our Gospel lesson today. Jesus encounters a wealthy young man who has a dual allegiance. He is a moral upright figure, yet holds to his riches and will not surrender them. His “true god” is money and his relationship to Yahweh is akin to how a philandering husband may keep a mistress on the side. Yahweh is his “side god” and wealth holds his greatest loyalty.
He is far from alone in that.
No, there are a lot of folks even today who have a “true god” they place their full trust and confidence in, and while they may sit in the pews of a church each week, they only keep Jesus around as their “side god.” They hedge their bets. They trust their “true god” for salvation in this life and use Jesus as their ticket to the life beyond.
Like the rich young man of the story, many of these folks hold to money and wealth as their “true god.” There’s a whole portion of the church that now teaches faith is a means to achieving wealth and prosperity in this life. We call this, appropriately enough, the “prosperity gospel.” Believe hard enough and God will make you rich beyond the dreams of avarice. Christ becomes a means to an end. And that’s a good clue where one’s allegiance lies. If Jesus is the means to something instead of your end goal, it’s a good bet you’ve got another “true god” than him.
Power is another “true god” for many. How many of us have had to deal with that one person who once given some measure of authority turns into a raging tyrant? The office bully, the tyrannical boss? Now my perspective is that of the church, and I grew up in a very conflicted divided congregation as a child. We had them all. The bullying altar guild lady, the demanding top giver, the monstrous organist, and (to be fair) the tyrannical pastor. People whose power and authority was not to be questioned or criticized. Their word was law and God help you if you dared to stand up to them. I’ve been lucky in my adult ministry. With one notable exception on my internship, I’ve managed to avoid pretty much all of these types as a pastor myself. But they are out there. People whose power is their “true god.”
We’ve also seen an upsurge of another “true god” of late, the god of hate. Although, in truth, it’s really the god of self-superiority. Yes, it manifests as hate, hate of people of color, hate of gays, hate of women, hate of foreigners, but it’s origins lie in the idolatry of self. I’m white, that makes me better than others. I’m straight, I’m male, I’m American, etc. I’m superior as a result and should be treated as such. I deserve to have society bend over backwards to please me. Many of these are in the church as well and see Jesus again as an ardent supporter of their ideology. But like with the prosperity gospel, if Jesus is just a means to an end, it’s a good bet you’re not really worshipping Jesus.
Such idolatry would be among the greatest of sins, a violation of the first commandment: You shall have no other gods. And yet we have so many. But what does Jesus do when he encounters such a person? What does he do with such a sinner?
The first thing he does is he’s honest. When the young man begins the conversation, Jesus gives a mild rebuke. “No one is good but God alone.” He acknowledges that truth we humans would like to hide away from: we are all sinners. He also calls the young man out for his idolatry of wealth, commends him to surrender his riches, and yet he knows the man cannot do it.
But he also does something else, something which is even more important than his honesty. As Jesus is talking to the young man, Mark tells us that Jesus loves him. Love? Why? He’s betrayed God. He’s surrendered his soul to greed. Yeah. Jesus loves him anyway.
It’s not too many chapters after this where Jesus is arrested, taken to trial, convicted, and put to death on a cross. Jesus did all that for the sake of this man, because he loved him, in spite of his disloyalty, in spite of his idolatry. Jesus loved him enough to die for him.
You see, Jesus understands something. We can’t really help it. The lures of this world are many. We are drawn away all the time by the allure of money or power or ego or tribal identity or any number of countless other things. It’s what makes achieving salvation so impossible for us. But as Jesus himself says, what is impossible for us is possible for God. And so God, in the form of Jesus, goes to the cross for our sake, for all of us cast in the mold of this rich young man, trapped by divided loyalties and idolatries we sometimes aren’t even aware of. He does this, because he loves us.
Now, he loves us but he’s also honest with us. And it’s rarely a pleasant thing to be called out for our allegiance to another god. I find it interesting that the rich young man walks away saddened by Jesus’ demand of him. My experience is that people typically are angry when their true gods are questioned or criticized. But we need that jolt. We need to remember that we are sinners, that our gods will not save us, and there is a better god than all of them, one who gives all for our sake. One who does what we cannot do. One who does what is impossible for us. That is a true god. That is god we come here to worship each week. The one who can and does save us. Amen.
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