October 12, 2003
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Mindekirken Oct. 12, 2003 It is a privilege to have been invited again to Mindekirken to participate in the annual remembrance of Leif Ericsson. The second son of Eric the Red, the colonizer of Greenland, Leif sailed in the year 1000 to Norway and was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Tryggvason. The following year King Olaf commissioned him to bring Christianity to Greenland. On his return, Leif sailed off course and landed on the North American continent, which he called "Vinland." Coming back to Greenland, he converted his mother to Christianity and she built the first Christian church in Greenland at Brattahild. We turn now to the gospel for the day, which tells of a man who came to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Three evangelists, Mark, Matthew and Luke, tell this story, and they all agree that the man was rich. Matthew adds that he was young. This rich young man is an attractive figure. We can imagine him listening to Jesus proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God in his village. What he has heard moves him, but he has not spoken to Jesus. Now Jesus is leaving the village and already out on the road. The young man runs after him, kneels before him and asks, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus is not impressed by this flattery. He reminds the young man that worship is to be directed go God alone, and in response to the man's question lists commandments certainly already familiar to him. The young man responds saying he has kept the commandments since his youth; his question remains. Jesus now looks at the young man a bit more closely. Mark tells us Jesus loved him. Here was someone who possibly could become a disciple, joining Peter and Andrew, James and John, who had left their nets and their boats, and Matthew, who had left his tax booth. So Jesus said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, . . . then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he was rich; he had many possessions. We do not have so many accounts of Jesus calling his disciples, and only one other account where the invitation was refused by a man who said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father" (Luke 9:59). The man very likely had an aged father, whom he did not want t o leave until he had performed the filial duty of burying him. Just now hanging in Christ Chapel on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus is paintings of the Apostles, the Twelve plus Paul. The artist is Michel 6stlund of Uppsala, Sweden. The paintings have already been shown in Sweden in the cathedrals of Uppsala and Lund, and they are now on a world tour that may e n d at the Church of St. Peter in Rome. The rich young man in today's gospel could conceivably have become one of the disciples, who became the apostles. If so, he would no longer b e anonymous; we would know his name. But because he had many possessions, he chose not to accept Jesus' invitation. What, then, does the invitation to discipleship in today's gospel mean for us. Let us consider three of these meanings. First, all Christians today are invited, as this young man was, to be followers of Jesus. During Jesus' earthly ministry only a few were able to follow him, as he went from town to town preaching good news to the people. After his resurrection, however, it became possible for all people to follow him. Furthermore, ever since the first century it has been possible to follow Jesus in the context of local congregations. It's no longer necessary to leave one's home, family, and local community to follow Jesus. It is necessary, however, to be able to hear his voice. If we intend to be followers of Jesus, we must keep within earshot of him. We need to hear Jesus speak to us in worship and Bible study, so that we can learn the secret of his kingdom, so that we understand the relationship between the gift the kingdom represents and the obedience it requires. Is it easier to be a disciple today than it was in the first century? In some respects perhaps it is, though the basic commitment is still the same, and there are many who find it difficult to make that commitment. Given all the voices we hear, the many claims to our time, not least on the weekends, there are too many who seem unable to let the voice of Jesus regularly get through to them. The author of the Letter t o the Hebrews writes: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for h e who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as the habit of some, but encouraging one another" (10:23 -25). The second thing to be said about our common obedience as Christians is that, though we follow Jesus with others in local congregations, Jesus calls us to different tasks. Jesus suggested a particular calling to the young man who came to him. So also he has a particular call for each of us. There are many different things that must be done in God's kingdom. We sometimes speak of choosing our calling, but it would be more correct to say that we respond to a call we receive. All of us should be able to view the daily work we do as a divine calling, whether it be operating a business, caring for children and maintaining a home, working for an employer, or providing some kind of professional service. If we, furthermore, feel called by God to d o what we are doing, it will make a difference in how we do it. This means that there are choices that we must keep making every day. This may not be easy. There can be, for example, kinds of work that need to be done, but in the context of which it is difficult to determine just what Christian discipleship requires. In the news we have heard that the chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange recently resigned in response to the controversy over his $139.5 million pay package. All of us who live and work in this capitalistic society must decide at what point the amount of pay we are willing to receive becomes a moral issue. One wonders if the wide cleft between the richest and the poorest in our society would be as wide as it is if there were more persons with financial power who sought to use this power as disciples of Jesus. Dag Hammarskjold, the second Secretary General of the United Nations did take seriously what was required of him in the work he was doing. In 1952, a year before he became the UN Secretary-General, he wrote in his journal, Waymarks: "Thus - when work thought patterns lose their grip, this experience of light, warmth, and strength. From the outside --. A sustaining element, like air for the glider, water for the swimmer. . . . Through me sweeps the vision of a psychic energy field created in a continual present by the many, in word and deed constantly praying, living in holy obedience. -- -- -- "the communion of saints" and - in this -an eternal life" (52:14). A third thing that today's gospel has to tell us is that we must be prepared in responding to the call to discipleship to cut our ties with everything that might hinder us. In the case of the rich young man, whom Jesus invited to follow him, the hindrance was his wealth. Wealth need not be a hindrance, but it can be. One of the greatest philosophers of the last century was Ludwig Wittgenstein, born in Vienna in 1889. Of Jewish ancestry, he had been baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. When his father died in 1912 Wittgenstein came into the possession of a large fortune. Upon his return from World War 1, however, he gave it all away. Thereafter he lived in great simplicity, at times even with extreme frugality. He must have regarded his wealth as a possible hindrance. There can be other hindrances. Jesus say, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. . . . If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out" (Mk 9:43,47 NET). Jesus is, of course, speaking figuratively, but he is saying that whatever may stand in the way of our obedience must b e removed. Today's story of the young man who came to Jesus asking, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?' does not have a happy ending, for the man went away grieving. The story of your and my discipleship can, however, have a happy ending. May God help us all to respond to his call every day, and may grant us the joy of fellowship with others who have responded to the call to discipleship, as well as the joy of sharing with them in the ministry and mission that our Lord wants to carry on in the world through us. Amen. |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |