Matthew 19:16-26, Matthew 6:21, Matthew 26:11, Hebrews 12:1

Alistair Johnson

"The universe is made of stories not atoms" - Muriel Rukeyser

Recently I have been pondering the story of the rich young ruler that appears in the account of Matthew 19. It has been transforming the way in which I think. I have read this story countless times, trying to read it from different points of view, trying to get inside the head of Jesus and then the rich young ruler. For a long time l struggled not to judge the rich young ruler; I just wanted to scream at him and remind him that he was with God Himself and yet he thought money was more important than Him. In my frustration I wanted to ask, "What is wrong with you? How can you not get it?"

The Bible has over 2,000 references to poverty and justice within it. I dare you to go through and underline every verse that is related to those issues. Then get a pair of scissors and cut out all those verses that you have underlined. What is left? You will find a Bible that is in tatters and that is barely fixed together. Jim Wallis accomplished this very experiment and he proclaims that this is the Bible that we live out in the western world; a Bible that is full of holes and is scarcely held together. He said, "Each one of us might as well take our Bibles, a pair of scissors, and begin cutting out all the scriptures we pay no attention to, all the biblical texts that we just ignore."

The account of this rich young ruler is now a section that I want to cut out of my Bible. Each of the three versions of this story, found in the Gospels, recounts a man described as being young, rich and a ruler of some origin. He approaches Jesus to enquire, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" (v.16). In some form, as I read this passage, I myself see this man as a reflection of my life and me. He was young and prosperous, held in high esteem by his peers and his community. It appears to me that he exemplifies the epitome of Jewish respectability. I imagine that he was successful in all aspects of life; that he went to temple regularly, tithed his income, observed all the holy days and feasts and read his Torah. I confess it would seem he is much like me if I am honest. I myself am doing well in life; I own my first house, have a car and even managed to get a degree, which, by most standards, would suggest I am doing well. I attend a church most Sundays and give money into that church, where I also give of my time and efforts. Like me, I began to see that the rich young ruler did a lot of "stuff", said the right things and did the right things and yet something was holding him back.

I wonder if, like me, there are things that hold you back from going deeper with God. In Hebrews 12:1 it says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Many of us have so many things going on in our life that we begin to let "stuff" creep up on our priority list and begin to challenge our relationship with God.

I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy and love watching the films. In the novel the "Ring of Power" has magical controls that among others things, allows the wearer to become unseen. The issue, however, is that whoever possesses the ring finds that ultimately the ring possesses him, as the power of the ring becomes too much for them to handle and allure is unbearable. The more the wearer experiences the power of the ring, the more it becomes even harder to part themselves with this ring. Throughout the film we meet the dejected Gollum who once became so obsessed with ring that his mind became focused on one thing, 'his precious'- the ring. Maybe you perceive the metaphor, maybe you don't. Those things that entangle us are the things that hold us back and stop us from seeing God's kingdom here on earth. Its is true that often those things, like the ring, are shiny and gold and are perceived as good and positive in our lives; career progression, a growing bank balance, for our other halves and for our children. Although those things may be good, they provide us with a stumbling block which, as they begin to posses us, divide our hearts and compromise our commitment to the Lord. Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be".

Dr Martin Luther King said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends". My fear is that I have explained away the true message of the justice Gospel of Jesus Christ, simply because it doesn't fit in with my vision for my future. Perhaps this has also become the reality of the church focusing on its vision rather than nurturing relationships and friendships with the poor and broken, welcoming the poor to come "...among us" Matt26:11. We have to be the voice to the voiceless and begin to entertain the idea that our choices impact the world around us. We need to take responsibility for our world and its people and bringing God's Kingdom here on earth.