Perspective: A Rabbi, a Rich Man, a Ringmaster, and a Writer

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

A Rabbi, a Rich Man, a Ringmaster, and a Writer

As Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?"

Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him.  He said, "You are lacking one thing.  Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in heaven.  And come, follow me."

Mark 10:17, 21 (CEB)

Don't you wanna get away

From the same old part you gotta play

'Cause I got what you need

So come with me and take the ride

It'll take you to the other side

'Cause you can do like you do

Or you can do like me

Stay in the cage, or you'll finally take the key

Oh, damn!  Suddenly you're free to fly

It'll take you to the other side

From "The Other Side" by Pasek and Paul

For the past month, at Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, Pastor Jonathan Tompkins has been delivering a sermon series titled Come One, Come All, Come Alive!¹ which draws heavily from the film The Greatest Showman.²  This 2017 musical is very loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnum and the origin of his circus, which was known as "the Greatest Show on Earth."  Pastor Jonathan has described the movie an idealized telling of the story, which is less descriptive of how things actually were and more prescriptive of how things should be.  He rented the film for his children, but, when he watched it, he was struck by how much he heard the Gospel message in it.³

After I heard the first sermon in the series, I found a copy of the film at a used book store and watched it for myself, and afterward I purchased an album of the songs from the film "reimagined" by popular recording artists.⁴  I've thoroughly enjoyed the film, the songs, and the sermon series based on them, and, as I listened to the songs over and over again, I began to hear echoes of the Gospel for myself.

At one point in the film, P.T. Barnum, portrayed by Hugh Jackman, meets Phillip Carlyle, portrayed by Zac Efron.  Carlyle is a successful playwright who does not seem to enjoy his life very much but, at the same time, feels that he has a lot to lose.  Over drinks, Barnum suggests that Carlyle leave his life as a playwright and join him at the circus, and, as characters are wont to do at key moments in musicals, the two break into song.

This part of the film reminds me of a certain story we read in the Gospels.  One day, a rich man approaches Jesus and asks Him what he must do to receive eternal life.  Jesus reminds him of the Ten Commandments, and the rich man replies that he has kept all of them ever since he was young.  Jesus looks at the man, smiles warmly, and says, "You are lacking one thing.  Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in heaven.  And come, follow me."⁵

I would wager a guess that most Christians living in materialistic societies like mine hate this story.  I cannot say that I personally know anyone who has actually done what Jesus tells the rich man to do.  I suspect that we tend to focus on what Jesus tells the rich man to give up and then ignore the fact that Jesus also says, "And come, follow me."  Basically, Jesus is offering to make the man a disciple if he would just be willing to leave behind his familiar life of wealth and luxury and step into the unfamiliar with Him.

I wonder if maybe the offer Jesus makes to the rich man is like the offer P.T. Barnum makes to Phillip Carlyle in The Greatest Showman.  Maybe Jesus wants to show the rich man "The Other Side."

Barnum sings,

You run with me

And I can cut you free

Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in

So trade that typical for something colorful

And if it's crazy, live a little crazy

You can play it sensible, a king of conventional

Or you can risk it all and see⁶

Barnum likens the life Carlyle lives to a colorless, drudgerous prison and offers to set him free to live a crazy, free, colorful life.  Carlyle admits that he admires Barnum and his show but insists that he is content to live his "uptown" life "among the swells" in which he doesn't have to "pick up peanut shells."

Barnum is essentially offering Carlyle an exciting new life, but, if Carlyle is to take hold of this new life, he will have to leave behind his old life.

Sound familiar?

Barnum asks,

Now is this really how you like to spend your days

Whiskey, and misery, and parties, and plays?

Carlyle replies,

If I were mixed up with you, I'd be the talk of the town

Disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns

Barnum then sings,

But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a little

Just let me give you the freedom to dream, and it'll

Wake you up and cure your aching

Take your walls and start 'em breaking

Now that's a deal that seems worth taking

But I guess I'll leave that up to you

When read the story of Jesus and the rich man, we might be tempted to think transactionally.  We might think that the eternal life the rich man seeks is something he will experience at some indeterminate time in the future if he is willing to trade his wealth for it now.  If eternal life is instead a life lived following in the footsteps of Jesus here and now, then the rich man's opulent lifestyle threatens to keep him from stepping into the unfamiliar and experiencing the very life he seeks.  Maybe, like Phillip Carlyle in The Greatest Showman, the rich man has been living his life in a gilded cage, and maybe, like P.T. Barnum, Jesus is offering the rich man the freedom to live, laugh, and dream as one of His disciples.

Barnum leaves the decision up to Carlyle, and Jesus leaves the decision up to the rich man.  Carlyle accepts the offer Barnum makes after negotiating a partnership with him.  Sadly, the rich man walks away from Jesus with his head hung low, unable to part with his current way of life.⁷  Jesus leaves the decision up to us as well.  Will we leave leave our old familiar lives and follow Him into new, eternal life?  Will we "trade that typical for something colorful" and "live a little crazy"?


Notes:

1. This series and other sermons from Travelers Rest United Methodist Church can be found at the following link: https://trmethodist.podomatic.com/
2. IMDb: "The Greatest Showman (2017)"
3. Jonathan Tompkins.  "Come Alive!"  Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, 06/16/2019.
4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JHVPMHZ
5. Mark 10:17-21 (CEB)
6. The quotations of dialogue between P.T. Barnum and Phillip Carlyle are from the song "The Other Side" by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
7. Mark 10:22

The photograph featured in this perspective is a promotional image for The Greatest Showman distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Perspective: Treasure in Heaven

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Treasure in Heaven

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NRSV)

Ruin my life, the plans I have made

Ruin desires for my own selfish gain

Destroy the idols that have taken Your place

Till it's You alone I live for

You alone I live for

From "Ruin Me" by Jeff Johnson

One day, a rich man approached Jesus, and kneeling before Him, asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus referred him to the Ten Commandments, and the man insisted that he had kept all of the Commandments ever since he was young.  Jesus looked at him, smiled warmly, 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."  The rich man walked away dejected, because he did not want to part with his many possessions.¹

If you have been following this blog for a long period of time, then you might have noticed that I've written about the encounter between Jesus and the man commonly known as the Rich Young Ruler numerous times over the years, and you might be wondering why I'm writing about it yet again.  A friend of mine, who is a pastor, was scheduled to participate in the Kairos Prison Ministry² two weeks ago, and I had volunteered to fill in for him at the two churches he serves.  The Gospel passage for the week just happened to be story of the Rich Young Ruler, so I started preparing to write a sermon on it.  I later learned that the Kairos weekend was postponed and that my services would not be needed on that particular Sunday.

Two weeks ago, as I read the passage yet again, I thought about what I might have preached that day.  I knew I wanted to avoid the "obvious" messages.  I wanted to avoid the ever popular message that Jesus does not really expect all of us to part with our possessions, as He was speaking to a particular person.  I also wanted to avoid the less popular message that, as Christians, we need to take the words of Jesus seriously, actually do what He said, and give up our possessions.  I wanted to the congregation to do the hard work of looking at their own lives and deciding for themselves what they need to do with their possessions.

One thing I know I wanted to explore in my sermon was what Jesus meant when He spoke of "treasure in heaven."  Jesus uses the phrase only a few times.  Probably the instance that best explains the concept is in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus encourages His audience not to accumulate "treasures on earth," which wear out, break, and get stolen, but to instead collect "treasures in heaven," which one cannot lose.

Jesus then says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This concluding thought is, I think, the key to unlocking why Jesus told the rich man to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor that he might have "treasure in heaven."  I think that maybe his problem was not that he was wealthy but that he was attached to his wealth.

I had also planned to explore in my sermon a phrase used by the rich man.  Consider again what he asked Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  The Greek phrase translated into English as "eternal life" is zoe aionios.  According to scholar N.T. Wright, this phrase is more accurately translated "life of the age," referring to the coming age of peace and prosperity to be ushered in by the Messiah.  "Eternal life" then is life in the messianic age of peace.³  Perhaps we could also think of "eternal life" as life in the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus returned to civilization after spending forty days in the wilderness, He started proclaiming, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."⁴  I'm starting to think that maybe this proclamation is not merely His first message but rather a summary of everything He ever taught.  The Kingdom of God is, as the prayer Jesus taught His followers suggests, heaven's coming down to earth so that God's will is done on earth as it is done in heaven now.⁵  The coming of the Kingdom of God will be a reordering of the entire world.  What is valued now will not be valued then.

Jesus urged His audience to repent because the Kingdom of God has come near.  To repent is not to simply feel sorry because of the bad things one has done.  As I have noted on this blog countless times, the Greek word translated into English as "repentance" is metanoia, which literally means a change of mind.  Repentance is a change of mind and heart that results in a change in the way one lives.⁶  For the rich man, repentance in anticipation of the Kingdom of God would mean changing what he valued.  As Jesus said, one's heart accompanies what one treasures.  The rich man needed to let go of the worldly wealth he treasured so that he could learn to treasure heavenly things.

After the rich man walked away, Jesus said to 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."  Some speculate that there may have been a particularly narrow gate in Jerusalem that was compared to the eye of a needle.  A person could negotiate his camel through this gate, but he would have to first unload the camel.⁷  Similarly the rich man would have to unburden himself of his attachment to worldly wealth in order to experience the Kingdom of God.

The encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler is a reminder that God's grace is free but not cheap.  Any gift God offers us is free of charge, but taking hold of it just might cost us something.  I cannot tell you whether or not Jesus would ask you to part with your possessions.  What I can tell you is that you need to examine your relationship to your possessions for yourself to determine whether or not they are distracting you from more important things.

In two weeks, while my friend is participating in the Kairos Prison Ministry, I will be filling in at his churches.  I will not preach on a story about a rich man who cannot bring himself to part with his many possessions.  I will instead preach on a story about a poor widow who parts with her last two pennies.


Notes:

1. Mark 10:17-22 (NRSV)
2. http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/
3. N.T. Wright.  "Going to Heaven?"  Published in The Love Wins Companion.  2011, HarperOne.  pp. 33-35
4. Mark 1:12-15 (NRSV)
5. Matthew 6:10
6. Wikipedia: "Metanoia (Theology)"
7. Kent Dobson.  Bitten by a Camel: Leaving Church, Finding God.  2017, Fortress Press.  pp. 35-36

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler was painted by Heinrich Hofmann in 1889.