ROME IMPROVEMENT 10/10/2021

MORE POWER!  MORE GLORY!!  MORE SPIRIT!!!

SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 10:17-31

Ever since the blind man saw “people, like trees walking around” and “everything from the very far away to the dawn of time” (Mark 8:22-30, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  9/5/2021), we have been presented with images of God’s kingdom community engaged in learning “what this rising from the dead might mean” (Mark 9:2-10, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  2/14/2021). We have been given the comparison between healthy living in the body of Christ and the unhealthy social powers that would destroy that relationship of hope (Mark 9:38-50, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  9/26/2021); we have been shown the kingdom of God in the questioning child (Mark 9:30-37, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  9/19/2021 and Mark 10:1-16, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  10/3/2021), in the “disabled” body of Christ (Mark 9:38-50, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  9/26/2021), the broken relationship of communal turning away from God’s mercy/divorce (Mark 10:1-16, see ROME IMPROVEMENT  10/3/2021); and now this week we see Jesus’ agape/love for the communitarian vision of egalitarian equity.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

And as [Jesus] was going out on the way, one having run toward him and having fallen on knees before him, was interrogating [Jesus]. “Good teacher, what might I do in order that life eternal I might inherit?”

But Jesus said to him, “Why me you speak good? No one is good except one—God. The commands you know: not you might murder, not you might commit adultery, not you might thieve, not you might testify/bear witness falsely, not you might defraud, honor your father and your mother.”

The one but said to [Jesus], “These all I have guarded from my newness.”

But Jesus having seen into him, agapeed/loved him and said to him, “You have one disability. Go! As much as you have, sell and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Come! Follow me!”

Having become gloomy on the word, the one went off grieving for he was having many acquisitions.

And having seen around, Jesus says to his disciples, “How difficult the ones having wealth will have going into the kingdom of God.”

 The disciples were amazed at the words of [Jesus]. Jesus, again answering them says to them, “Children, how difficult it is to go into the kingdom of God. It is easier work for a camel through the needle hole to go than wealthy to go into the kingdom of God.”

And they were totally gobsmacked, saying to themselves, “[Given that], who can be saved/rescued/made whole?”

Having seen into them, Jesus says, “With humankind? [Can’t happen.] Impossible. But not with God. For All power/possibilities are with God.

Then Peter began to speak to [Jesus], “Look here, we have sent off everything and have followed you.”

Jesus was saying, “Truly I say to you, no one there is who sent off house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or fields, on account of me and on account of the good news who will not receive 100 times now in the time of God: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields amid persecutions and into the coming ages, the life eternal. But many will be first ones, last ones. And last ones, first ones.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

How wealthy is this man who falls on his knees before Jesus? Is he “Jeff Bezos/Warren Buffet” rich? Or is he “just” a millionaire? Or maybe he is governor-rich, not owning his own riches, but responsible for managing the wealth and health of the people he governs?

As we continue on the Way with Jesus, with the communitarian vision of servant leadership, this story takes on greater meaning when we consider it from the standpoint of living in the “engaged” resurrection world. From the moment when the man calls Jesus “good teacher” to when Jesus states the “first to last and the last to first”, this passage speaks of the aspirational vision the blind man saw back in chapter 8.

Although, in pre-crucifixion thinking, readers/hearers of the story could say, “Of course. Isn’t it ironic that he was so close but didn’t know it?”, the goodness of the teacher, when seen through the lens of the resurrected Christ, is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ true identity. Jesus’ response, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the One, God,” is less reproof and more a request for clarification. It evokes the unrecorded response, from the man, the onlookers, and us, “Well, yeah, that’s who you are.”

When the rich man asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus reviews the commandments, skipping the first three because the man has already acknowledged them in his words and actions. The rich man’s reaction to Jesus’ response indicates his confusion within the catechetical process as he attempts to reconcile what he has long been taught with a post-resurrection understanding.

Jesus places him in the metanoia (repentance) world of rethinking the “how” of living to the “why” of living. It changes what we do from “in order to inherit eternal life” to “because we have already inherited eternal life”.

In this context, we translate the rich man’s guarding of the commandments from his “newness of life” not as from his “youth”, but from his baptism. When baptized in the post-resurrection, we are adopted into the communitarian-resurrection family of God, affirming our justified and egalitarian relationship with God and one another.

The instruction, “as much as you have, sell and give to the poor,” is not necessarily a great liquidation sale leading to impoverishment. In a communitarian post-resurrection reading, this text speaks of surrendering power and status in order for equity to stand as a desired goal. It is the relationship Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden. The proper hierarchy of the world places God at the top, not us.

Some among us are particularly gifted by God to be leaders. Without them, our social structures would crumble, and chaos would ensue. With the acquisition of power, these leaders continue to stumble forward doing the best they can. It is no more possible for humankind to create a fully equitable government than it is for humankind to “do” anything to save themselves. As salvation is “done” for us by God, in the person of Jesus, through the cross and resurrection, so too, a truly equitable society can only be done through Godself.  Only then can the first be last and the last first.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The story is told of a Cheyenne chief who, on a buffalo hunt, saw his only son thrown from his horse. When the buffalo had passed and the hunt was over, many buffalo had been killed and the winter food supply was plentiful, but there was no evidence of the chief’s son. The people found some things of the son—a bow, a few broken arrows, his medicine bag, a moccasin, his lance sticking out the side of a cow—but nothing of the son himself. His body had been trampled into the ground leaving nothing to offer up to the God.

As the noise surrounding the butchering ended, as the meat was being taken to the village, each person knew that though the hunt had been successful, the feast to follow would be a somber affair. Because of the tragedy, the people left the one cow alone not knowing what to do while the chief grieved the loss of his son.

Finally, the only people left at the hunting site were the chief and three women waiting to learn the chief’s wishes about the dead cow. While the chief was saying that he thought the last cow should remain as a gift to the wolves because the cow was responsible for the son’s death, they heard a noise from the ground. They were filled with fear and trembling when they heard the voice of the chief’s son crying out to them. The chief moved forward to better hear what his son was saying and then began to laugh. The chief had heard, “Is anybody out there? Can someone pull this buffalo off me?” With shouts of joy and laughter, the chief and the women quickly began butchering the cow. They found the chief’s son relatively undamaged underneath.

That night, after giving the meat from the holy buffalo to the widows and the elderly, as a celebration of his son’s life and the gift that God had given him in preserving his son’s life, the chief began to give away everything he owned. He gave away all his horses, all the meat his wife had prepared for the winter and the pots his wife cooked with, his weapons, the buffalo robes in his teepee, even his teepee. Finally, he gave away the clothes he was wearing. All of his wealth and cherished possessions were gone.

The people said to one another, “Our chief is the wealthiest man in the world. Look at all he has given to us. Look how he sits there by the fire. With his wealth and his generosity, he has made all of us rich too.”

Later, one of the people came to the chief with a gift. “Take this shirt, my chief. It is too big for me, and it will protect you from the cold.” Another came and said, “These leggings are too long for me. Please take them so that your legs can be protected.” Still another came offering a pair of moccasins, “I have more moccasins than I can wear. Please accept these inferior moccasins to wear until you can find better.” A blanket was presented. A back rest appeared to give him ease. And so, the evening went until all that the chief had given away had been restored to him.

And then, the whole village began the celebration. The drummers drummed. There were songs of thanks for the Chief’s son, the abundance of the world, and the protection of the buffalo. There was a new dance that brought delight in the people, a dance that was remembered for many years to come celebrating the day when the chief’s son had died and how the great buffalo returned him to his father when all had lost hope. They ate, sang songs, and danced, celebrating the life given back to them and the abundance of the food they had for that winter. They ate and sang and danced celebrating that they were the wealthiest people in the world. Everyone had enough, and enough to give away.

HANGING THE TRIM

As we, with the rich man, consider the immensity of all we have, let us hold what we have loosely enough that all might share the abundance of our riches.

Happy Indigenous People’s Day this coming week.