Sermon for 20th Sunday after Trinity – “Living in the Kingdom”, preached at the Eucharist, Sherborne Abbey on Sunday, 13 October 2024 by The Reverend Robert Green (Hebrews Ch 4: v 12 – 16; Mark Ch 10: v 17 – 31).

Captain Lawrence Oates came from a quite affluent family, and served as an officer in the Sixth Inniskilling Dragoons, and his act of self- sacrifice continues to set an example to the soldiers in his regiment today. In the Boer War he was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his bravery. He was also one of the men who joined Captain Scott on their expedition to the South Pole in the Terra Nova which took place between 1910 and 1913.We remember him as the man who suffering from severe frostbite realised that he would be an increasing burden to the rest of the men, he decided to sacrifice his own life, and left the tent with these words” I am just going outside, and I may be some time” He died in the cold and snow. Although as we know all the members of the expedition died subsequently, Captain Oates intentions were entirely in the interest of his fellow companions.

In our Gospel Reading this morning we heard the story of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus; “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Notice that he is not asking how to go to heaven when he dies, and Jesus understands that by telling him like a good Jew to keep the commandments, but he only quotes some of them, the first three are omitted. This is significant as we shall see. Instead, after quoting some of the commandments, which the young ruler replies that he has kept them since he was a boy, Jesus then looks at him and loves him. “One thing you lack, go sell everything you own, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” The young man was profoundly shocked by this and went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus’s words represent a loss for him- the loss of a place in the kingdom. Yet he is prepared to grieve this loss, rather than suffer the loss of his many possessions. It is a very human decision, and perhaps a misunderstanding what he really wants.

Jesus follows this up with another challenging statement: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God”. The disciples were perplexed by this; “Who then can be saved”? Peter then takes it personally,  ”Look we have left everything to follow you”, but Jesus reassures him that “no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields )” and here Mark adds “and with them persecutions”. By the time Mark was writing his account the church was already experiencing persecution .

We know that persecution of the Church has not gone away, and even today there are Christian brothers and sisters who may risk their lives for their belief in Jesus, and we need to remember them in our prayers. In the story about Captain Oates we heard how he was prepared to sacrifice his life for his colleagues, whereas the rich young ruler faced with a different challenge lacked the courage, and went away sad. Sacrifice can take many forms, and ultimately we are faced with a choice. The commandments that Jesus omitted when speaking to the rich young ruler were, putting God first, no idols, and not taking God’s name in vain. Until the rich young ruler put God first, which in his case involved giving away all his possessions, a choice he refused to make, and consequently he went away sad. The point being that if God is asking us to make a choice which may mean giving up something or changing our life-style or being more generous, by doing so we can be assured it will be accompanied by joy and fulfilment. Whatever sacrifices God may ask of us , it will not make us unhappy. Jesus knows that whatever we need or don’t need to be the people that God intends us to be. The rich man went away feeling sad, the implication being that if he had taken Jeus’s advice he would have found joy, but it takes courage. I remember many years ago visiting a Carmelite Priory as a great friend of ours was there to test her vocation. It was a particularly strict Order as most of the day was spent in silence, and I remember the Mother Superior saying God only chooses the hard nuts for this life. Accepting God’s call on her life had not diminished her sense of humour, and there was a sense of joy about the place. The nuns had made presents for our children who were then quite young. Making such a sacrifice had brought joy and love.

All of us face choices, some are straight forward, but others can be life-changing. Jesus was making the point that some find it hard to make the choice to work for the kingdom, but if we make that choice, we will find not the sadness of loss, but the joy of God’s eternal life.

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