Healthy Treasure

The fall season is one of the best times of the year in New England.  Tourists visit our states to enjoy the rich and varied colors of leaves before they fall and decay into the depths of winter months.

This past week I heard a story about a person who preserves some of the most beautiful leaves with a glycerin/water solution so they can remain relatively flexible.  The natural moisture present in the leaves is replaced by the glycerin solution, maintaining the leaf's texture and form.  Some of you may remember preserving leaves between two pieces of wax paper.  I recall doing this when I was in grade-school.  But the person I heard about sells three colorful preserved leaves for $20.00, but for me $20 for nature’s free gift just doesn’t feel right.

Frederick Buechner, a Christian writer said, “If the government declared that leaves of the trees were money so there would be enough for everybody, money would be worthless. It has worth only if there is not enough for everybody.”

“The value of money, like stocks and bonds, goes up and down for reasons not even the experts can explain and at moments nobody can predict, so you can be a millionaire one moment and a pauper the next without lifting a finger.  Great fortunes can be made and lost completely on paper.” 

In the gospel of Mark we heard,  “a man ran up and knelt before Jesus and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’  Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

Then, when Jesus told his disciples, “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," they were perplexed and astounded.  They questioned whether anyone could be saved.  Jesus then reassured them,  "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

This story of the rich man questioning what he must do to inherit eternal life is one of Mark’s stories about healing.  It’s about healthy treasure, what we do with the possessions we have.  Our problem is our cultural insistence that wealth is the measure of success; the more wealth you possess the more successful you are.  It’s all about the accumulation of wealth, not about how we spend what we have.

When the man asked Jesus his question Jesus said he loved him but he lacked one thing.  Although rich he still lacked something. "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Writing in The Christian Century magazine Stacey Simpson asks, “What is the healing that this man needs?  What he lacks is that he does not lack. This man is possessed -- but only by his possessions.  Jesus is offering to free him of his possession, to cure him of his excess.  But the rich man turns his back.”

The point of the story is that we are not to be obsessed with our possessions.  It doesn’t matter how many possessions we have; eternal life is not something we control.  Materialists may be first now, but as the Gospel says, “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” The only dependence we have that matters is our dependence on God.  “For God all things are possible.”

One of the disciples, Peter, was not satisfied with Jesus’ statement.  Peter said, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."  Jesus makes it clear, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age… and in the age to come eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

This past week I visited a former parishioner who is recovering from a severe stroke.  He is a highly intelligent person, a college professor, who is now confronted with knowing how fragile life is.  He is completely vulnerable, dependent on the care that others provide.  The only thing that matters is the struggle to continue on the hard road to recovery.  His doctor says it will take at least three more years.  Feelings of anger and frustration are complemented by feelings of hope and gratitude. We shared Holy Communion and felt the healing words of Jesus: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Healing and health have to do with accepting the limits of life.  It is about letting go of the material things we rely on in order to know and see how much we are dependent on God’s gift of life and the healing power of his love.  There is nothing we can do ourselves to inherit eternal life; it is not a reward for good behavior.  When asked, “who can be saved,” Jesus said, “for mortals, it is impossible, but not for God.”  So, enjoy the fall colors; preserve and sell the maple and oak leaves.  But know what really matters.  It is God for whom all things are possible.  Amen.