Garage Sale of the Soul
I have moaned a little over the last few weeks about the Gospels. Not today! I love this Gospel. It is one of my absolute favorites. There is a message hidden in it, and when we find it, it is pure gold. Years ago, I found it, and it freed me from tons of guilt. Since then, I have relished it, and every time I read it, I smile.
It is the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and tells Him he has followed all the commandments and done all that the law requires, so what more should he do to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus responds, “Go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come and follow me.” The story says the man went away sad because he had many possessions.
Every homily I have ever heard about this passage implies, the man never returned to Jesus, unwilling to give up his wealth. Perhaps this is because Jesus goes on to say how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. But thinking Jesus meant material wealth is way too limiting. It sees the passage from only an inch deep. It is the easy answer. This passage is much more important than the easy answer.
Let’s clear something up from the start. Poverty is abominable. It is not good to sell all our possessions and give them to the poor. All that does is make us one more of the poor. Eradicating poverty is the goal. It was in Jesus’ time, and it is now. This Gospel story is not meant to be an indictment of the wealthy. It is an invitation to see wealth differently. Wealth is not what we own. Wealth is what owns us.
There is great hope in the passage. What Jesus was calling that good young man, too, is Kenosis. Kenosis is the emptying of our self, so God has room in our soul. When God lives within us, wealth becomes a non-issue. Jesus was calling the Rich Young Man to empty himself so that he might be filled with God. That God might be his wealth. That God might be his treasure. He was a good man who was trying to do what God asked of him. The man had followed the commandments and done what his faith required. He believed in Jesus enough to ask what more he could do.
The man went away sad because selling is hard. Emptying ourselves is hard. It takes time, prayer, and commitment. It takes failing and starting again. It takes holding each attitude that separates us from God, holding it up to the light, and then letting it go. This reading calls us to the same thing. It calls us like Jesus was called to be empty so that we might be filled with God.
We must be emptied not of our stuff but of the attitudes that fill us, separating us from God. Stuff will take care of itself when God fills our soul. We need to stop clinging to what has become our treasure. We must let go of our pride, arrogance, the judgment of others, envy, greed, selfishness, and the like. And just as likely, we may need to release ourselves from fear, shame, guilt, a sense of worthlessness, or unworthiness. We must be drained of the attitudes that so often fill our conscious and subconscious selves. These are the things we treat as wealth. They are what we cling to. We fear letting them go, usually because they possess us even more than we own them. Often, we don’t know how to survive without them. Yes, selling is hard
Faithful obedience is choosing to stand before God empty and vulnerable and letting God fill us with Himself. True emptiness is being willing to be changed. It is when we are ready to be the image of God in our world. This is freedom. Jesus wanted the Rich Young Man to be freed from what possessed him, so he might be filled with God.
We all should ask, “What more must I do to enter the Kingdom of God?” Get rid of what owns you, that God may have your heart.
Jesus showed us the way to Kenosis. He showed us the way to empty ourselves of what owns us. Usually, that has very little to do with our bank account. It is okay if it is frightening or makes you sad. Selling is hard; emptying ones-self is hard. But God is waiting with ultimate patience to fill you with Himself.
In God’s Endless Love,
Gwen
