Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“A man ran up and knelt before [Jesus], and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, March 1, 2020
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: We cannot earn eternal life, but God gives it to us as a gift.
For too long some have used this text to condemn the wealthy. But this text is not about money as much as it is about God.
A young, law-abiding young man approached Jesus and asked what he must to do inherit eternal life. Jesus instructed him to keep God’s laws, and the man indicated that he was already doing so. Jesus challenged him also to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. Jesus had found the man’s weakness—he was unwilling or unable to part with his wealth.
But Jesus wasn’t condemning the man for his wealth. The man had asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. The answer is, there is nothing one can do to earn it. It is purely a gift from God. No one is able to follow God’s laws so completely that they can earn their inheritance. This man’s weakness was his money. Another’s might be a relationship or social status. Everyone has something (many somethings) that keeps them from perfection—that keeps them human.
The good news in this story is that we are not expected to earn our inheritance. “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” We are given the gift of inheritance by our birthright as God’s children.
Peter misread Jesus’ words, just like we often do. He made sure Jesus knew he had given up everything (monetary) for Jesus. And Jesus praised him for the effort. But Peter’s weakness was not money. His weakness would be his own pride and pull to be great. In the end, Peter’s pride would cause him to deny his master. And his willingness to give up his worldly possessions would end in persecution. Once again, Jesus flipped the social structure on its head.
Whatever our own weaknesses, we don’t need to beat ourselves up for them—we are only human. Instead, we can acknowledge and accept that we will never be perfect. We can pour more of our energy into the things we do well that contribute to society. And we can thank God for the gift of eternal life that is ours despite our inability to earn it.
For supplementary preaching resources, please visit our website access point. (Link: bit.ly/proclaim-it-nl )
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