Sermon - Proper 24, 2024 - Mark 10:23-31

Saint John on Patmos, Limbourg Brothers, 1416 

We accept our lot now, and look forward to eternal life in the age to come

1. Wealth doesn’t help us enter into the kingdom of God

2. We may suffer much for the sake of Christ and the Gospel

3. Whether much or little in this life, regardless of the toil and persecution, we enjoy the days given us and anticipate the reward awaiting us

The way life often works today is that if you want something you can have it, and it's just a matter of paying the right price. In some ways this feels liberating, because it makes you feel like you can have whatever you want, so long as you can afford it. In other ways it feels very depressing, since it means that if you can’t afford the things you want they remain just out of your reach. But this is not the way that it works with eternal things; it’s not a matter of affording them, instead it’s a matter of humbly receiving them. Regardless of how much or little we have, we are to accept our lot now, and look forward to eternal life in the age to come.

In fact, the mindset of being able to have anything we want so long as we can afford it, is a very dangerous one, because that leads us to believe we can gain heaven on our own terms and by our own merits. This is partly what Jesus’ warning is getting at: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” The rich person believes that he can have whatever he wants because he can pay for it. But that’s not how it works with the kingdom of God. Our wealth does not aid our entrance into heaven, and in fact it makes our entrance even more difficult. 

On top of the rich man thinking he can purchase his own salvation, his riches often entice him away from the faith. He’s used to having everything he wants and never being denied his desires, sacrifices are exceptionally challenging for him. The Christian life is a life of sacrifice, since we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus. There are many sinful things that our hearts desire, and we must repent of those things and turn away from them. The Christian life consists not only of feasting, but also fasting, and denying ourselves worldly pleasures. Christianity means that we learn to recognize our sins and vices and thus try to stop doing them. Christianity means forsaking all worldly treasures and treasuring only Jesus. Those who are unwilling to make these sacrifices and follow Jesus only will be unable to enter the kingdom of God, since it would be easier for a camel to enter than they. 

For the apostles this seemed ridiculous, since in their eyes the rich folks were likely the most religious and the most likely to be saved. Just as it is today, it’s somewhat assumed that good things come to good people, and if you’re really rich then that must mean you’re a good person, and God loves you more. So in the Apostles’ minds, if the rich people weren’t going to be saved, then certainly the poor wouldn’t either, and they concluded: “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus clarified this, saying: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Indeed, it is impossible for the rich and the poor to be saved! None can save himself. Therefore, it is only by the grace of God that sinners are saved and won for heaven, for all things are possible with God, even saving sinners such as us. 

But for those of us who are here today, who make tremendous sacrifices for our faith, who know our sins very plainly, who try to walk the narrow and difficult road while daily rejecting the broad and easy road, is it worth it? Is it worth it to remain a Christian today? Is it worth the sacrifices? Is it worth losing friends, and angering relatives? Is it worth forgoing our desires and changing our lives for the sake of Christ?

That’s an important question which we need to answer. The apostles wondered that too: “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Remember from last week when Jesus told the rich young man that he had to “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor,  and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” The rich young man went away sorrowful because that seemed like too much for him. But the apostles had done just that! They left businesses and wealth behind them. As far as we can tell they weren’t day laborers, but some of them were fishermen with boats and nets and employees; they were hardworking business owners, maybe not really rich, but also definitely not poor. So when they left their businesses behind them, they made tremendous sacrifices in order to follow Jesus.

So you can see why the apostles would be a bit dismayed to hear how difficult it will be to be saved, since here they had left everything, and now were concerned that it may be all for naught! Maybe all of their sacrifices for Christ were a fool’s errand!

But their sacrifices were not foolish; Jesus reassured them: “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters 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. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Or Jesus also says to them elsewhere, in Matthew: “You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Their sacrifices are not in vain, and the Lord knows those who have forsaken much for His sake, and they will be richly rewarded in the Kingdom of God.

Dear Christians, many of you have sacrificed a lot for your faith. The Lord sees that, and He knows your suffering, He knows your persecutions, He knows your pain, and He promises you an eternal reward in the kingdom of heaven. Your sacrifices are worth it, and in the end you shall receive a reward of far more value than anything you lost in life. 

To that end, let me say thank you and well done good and faithful servants! Just by showing up here in church today you are making a sacrifice. You could be somewhere else, doing something more entertaining or profitable in a worldly sense, but you chose to make a sacrifice of your time and those things for the sake of eternal treasures. Now more recently by coming to a church like this you are marking yourself as someone who opposes the evil ideologies of this world. By coming here you are labeled a hater of the sinful things that this world celebrates. That may cost you friendships, job promotions, and even your family. But you are making this sacrifice because you love the Lord Jesus and are forsaking all worldly treasures in order to follow Him. Just as the apostles were inspirational examples to us, so are you examples of faithfulness to the generations yet to come. Thank you for your faithfulness, good work, keep the faith and do not let it go.

Finally, let me conclude this sermon by encouraging you to find joy in whatever your lot in life may be. To some God has given many worldly goods, and to others God has given very few worldly goods. To some large families, to others small. To some a life of too many “friends”, and to others a life of loneliness. The sacrifices we make differ according to our lot in life. Yet, whatever your station in life may be, God has called you to a life of faithfulness. Regardless of the toil and persecution in life, we enjoy the days given us and anticipate the reward awaiting us. 

This is the wisdom Solomon gives in Ecclesiastes: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” Indeed, this life may consist of much wealth and possessions, or very few, but at the end of the day let us find joy in the toil and sacrifices set before us, as we await the promise of eternal life yet to come.