A Fourth Church Sermon by Joanna M. Adams

October 20, 2002 | 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

The Needle’s Eye

Joanna M. Adams
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church

Psalm 106:1–8
Matthew 19:16–3

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 19:24 (NRSV)

O Lord our God, our years come and go and we ourselves live and die, but your love, your mercy, and your grace have no end. We thank you for the privilege of proclaiming the glad tidings of your everlasting love. We pray now that by your grace we might be free to say that which is true and right, and also free to hear what is true and right. May we be blessed with peace and well-being, not only within our human spirits, but in our city and in our world, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. (1)

Some years ago there was an evangelist who worked out of New York City. He was relatively infamous, in fact, a fellow whose integrity was somewhat questionable but who was known far and wide for his ability to separate people from their money. He used regularly to stand in the pulpit and issue a bugle call for his congregation to let go of their money by saying, “Sisters and brothers, you have got to learn how to tangibilitate.” (2) “Tangibilitate” is, of course, a contrived word, and if I were you, I wouldn’t practice saying it alone, but it means that there is a connection between the tangible and that which is intangible, that the tangible has potential for both good and evil, and that potential for evil is vanquished by a willingness to let loose of that which is tangible. (3) For Father Divine, the goal was a lot of money in the offering plate, much of which he is alleged to have run off with himself, I understand. But Father Divine was not wrong about the connection between material giving and spiritual freedom. He was right in his conviction that the only way the tyranny of the tangible can be defeated is by being willing to let go of that which we hold close in order to protect and secure ourselves.

The scriptures offer some important and challenging words in this regard. I can think of no story in all of scripture that has the potential for making us feel uncomfortable than the story of the rich young man whom Jesus advised to sell his possessions and to give the proceeds to the poor. The story is told in three of the four gospels, implying that it is central to understanding the coming of the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ. We might as well plow directly into it and listen as the young man asks Jesus the direct question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Mark tells us that Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, saw his goodness, character, and promise. Jesus wanted him to find the way to eternal life, that is, the life that is rich in its provision of communion with God. After the young man and Jesus had discussed the keeping of the commandments, the young man announced that he had kept them all. Then he asked another question: “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor.” More is needed for the joyful, abundant life than either obedience to the law or a plethora of material possessions.

Jesus wanted the young man to consider what his “bottom line” in life was. (4) He wanted him to realize that he couldn’t get to the bottom line of a full and abundant life, to be rich spiritually, in other words, by following all the rules and by relying on what he was able to secure for himself. It is not true that the one with the most stuff at the end wins. As the gospel reminds us over and over, we save our lives by being willing to let go of them.

I think of the memorable passage in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, as Napoleon’s army is retreating from Moscow. The army takes everything it can carry: paintings, sculpture, jewelry. Slowed by all that baggage, the army bogs down in the snows of winter and perishes. Tolstoy compares this tragic misadventure to that of a gorilla who stands before a large jar containing beautiful colored marbles. The gorilla can get his hand through the mouth of the jar, and he can grab hold of a handful of pretty marbles, but he cannot withdraw his hand from the jar as long as he is grasping as much as his fist can hold. The gorilla is caught. Because he will not let go of the marbles, he is stranded and dies. (5)

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the young man asked Jesus. When Jesus gave him the answer, the young man “went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

After one of the earlier services this morning, a worshiper at Fourth Church said to me, “I wonder if I am good enough to be a Christian. Is this story suggesting that I should sell my condominium? How can I live a life that is faithful to this kind of demand?” Certainly, the message is not that all people ought to take a vow of poverty as Francis of Assisi or Mother Theresa did, but the challenge comes directly to every single one of us: Don’t be possessed by your possessions.

The disciples, as they listened to the exchange between Jesus and the young man, were silent. Later when the disciples were alone with Jesus, he said to them by way of explanation, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” He was not being judgmental; he was simply being descriptive. The disciples were horrified. They could not imagine why the young man was missing the mark.

There is a story from the Native American tradition about an old Cherokee telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside him. He said it is between two wolves. One is evil: envy, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, inferiority, false pride, superiority, and so on. The other wolf is good: joy, peace, love, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, and generosity.

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee replied, “The one I feed.”

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That is the question for which we all want an answer.

The great Jewish philosopher Hillel once said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” reminding us that we must care for ourselves and not be irresponsible or dependent on others, if we have a choice about that. And yet, the great philosopher went on to ask, “If I am only for myself, who then am I?” We who live in an age of enlightened self-interest can never forget that excessive self-interest will lead us into the dark.

There is a word that appears often in the New Testament. It is the word charity. In Greek it does not mean emotion or condescension. It means “giving from the heart.” (6) Jesus wants the young man’s heart: “Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also” (Matthew 6:21). When we give of ourselves, our time, our energy, our resources, our hearts are changed. As our hearts are changed, we are more willing to give of our time, energy, and resources. This formula of the changed heart by means of giving is crucial to understanding the secret of eternal life, here and now and in the age to come.

Marc Miller spoke earlier of our church’s reputation of being a light in the city. I was concerned to learn this week that we are two dozen people short in our Tutoring Program and in our Kid’s Café. Both programs have begun already, but we are barely able to cover the needs of the children who are here, much less the several dozen more children who could participate but will not be able to unless you and I give of ourselves. If you remember nothing else of the story of the rich young man, remember this: It costs something to follow Christ. We cannot simply say we are a light in the city. Each of us is going to have to give of ourselves. This is the way that we bring hope into this city and find our own individual way to salvation: by being in solidarity with those with whom God is in solidarity.

I think of a young family in a congregation I once served. They were expecting their first baby and struggling to pay their bills. Yet they decided together to mortgage their house so that they could build a new church. That is the path to abundant life. In the South, where I come from, there is a lot of talk about conversion and “born again” experiences. The rich young man went away grieving because he had many possessions. He chose not to change. I believe that it is genuinely possible to be converted through the power of God. I do not believe that it happens immediately, except in rare circumstances. Conversion takes a lifetime. Every day we make choices, and those choices become patterns, and those patterns become our lives, and of our lives, we get only one.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is all cluttered up to enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said a long time ago.

“Who then can be saved?” his disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with mortals is possible with God,” which is to say that in the end, it is divine grace that saves us, which no money on earth can buy. But don’t move to grace too quickly today. This is a story that ought to challenge your priorities—how you spend your time, energy, and money. Be less tolerant, for Christ’s sake, of your obsessive self-concern. Trust God to do God’s part, and be brave to do your part in return.

This has been a serious sermon on a serious subject, so I would like to end with a baseball story. To many of you, and certainly to my colleague John Buchanan, there is nothing more serious than baseball. I have been brokenhearted over the past ten days over the sad demise of the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs.

I remember how it was, that in the summer of 1997, a promising pitcher was sent up to the New York Yankees from the minor leagues. He was to be paid $13 million. He pitched three games and then was sent back to the farm team. The Yankees’ manager Joe Torre explained the pitcher’s problem with one simple sentence: “He got all cluttered up trying to be too perfect.” That is the name of our problem. We get all “cluttered up” trying to hold ourselves and protect ourselves. We forget to receive the gift of everlasting life. How can we receive the gift if our hands are always full?

O God of the needle’s eye, we pray for the wisdom to know what we possess that possesses us, that keeps us from you, that causes another to go without. Show us the difference between what we truly need and only think we need. Show us what we may use as resources for the kingdom of Christ. Amen. (7)

Notes
1. Adapted from “A Prayer for Year’s End,” Karl Barth, Selected Prayers, as reprinted in A Book of Reformed Prayers. Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
2. Bennett J. Sims, “Tangibilitation,” Turning Point (The Institute for Servant Leadership) September/October 1998.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. As told by K. C. Ptomey in “Two Rich Men,” Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee, 9 October 1988.
6. Sims, Ibid.
7. I found this prayer in my files with no source noted.