The Almost Disciple: Mark 10:17-31 - First Sunday in Lent

 Last week, Elizabeth and I visited the local Giant Eagle for our weekly grocery run.

Upon entering the store, we heard the screams and wailing of a small child. And they continued for ten, twenty, and thirty minutes.

As we shopped the aisles, the shoppers were saying to each other, “why won’t she shut that kid up!” “If I were crying like that, my mom would’ve smacked me across the room.”

When we arrived in the dairy aisle, I saw that the cries were coming from a little girl, about two years old. It didn’t appear that she was having a temper tantrum because her mother refused to buy her candy or sugary cereal. This child was terrified over something. Her mother held her hand and spoke gently to her, saying, “you’re okay. Mommy’s here. We’re almost done.”

She also appeared to be totally unaffected by the harsh words and judgmental stares of the shoppers. All her attention was on her child. There was something truly divine in the love of this mother to her child. And we need to think about love in this way as we consider our Gospel lesson for today.

Click here to read the Scripture text

A young man runs up to Jesus, kneels before him, and asks him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He’s claims he’s kept all the commandments since his youth. So, in his mind, he’s got it made. He was probably hoping Jesus would tell him just that. Lovingly, Jesus says, “You lack one thing; go, sell all that you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I can’t imagine how stunned he must have been. He had done everything he had been taught that he had to do to inherit eternal life. But now, Jesus is telling him he must give away all his wealth and possessions.

If he had done so, he would have been the thirteenth disciple, with a front row seat to the Kingdom of God. God could’ve done some amazing things through him, because Jesus gave his disciples power and authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus could have changed his life in ways he could not possibly have imagined.

The reason why he came to Jesus in the first place was because he knew something was missing in his life, but he didn’t know what it was. Jesus told him exactly what was missing, but he couldn’t let go. Unless he abides by Jesus’s words, the hole in his soul will remain. He will remain an “almost disciple”: someone who loves Jesus and believes him but cannot bear the cost of following him.

His spiritual condition is something that is common to all of us. We hold onto Jesus with one hand, and to all that we desire with the other. But this will prove impossible. Sooner or later, you must choose. You must let go of something, and much of the time, that something will be Jesus.

I’m reminded of one of the last scenes in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy and his father risked their lives and heroically vanquished the Nazis to recover the Holy Grail. Suddenly, there’s an earthquake, and the grail falls into a giant chasm, along with Indiana Jones. His father quickly grabs his left arm before he falls to his death, but Indy sees the grail resting on a crag. He can almost reach it, but his father begins to lose his grip. Indy can make one last grab for the grail with his right hand and risk falling into the abyss, or he can give his father his other hand so that he can pull him up to safety.

Fortunately, Indy chooses wisely. He lets the grail go. Indiana Jones will live on for the two lackluster sequels that will follow.

This is where we live our lives: wanting to follow Jesus but unwilling to let go of that which holds us. Why do we keep trying to have it both ways? Why don’t we let go and follow Jesus?

Because we are attached. Because we are in bondage. Because we cannot let go.

This is why it often takes a crisis to awaken our faith and remind us of how destitute we are apart from Jesus. This is why we need the Holy Spirit to snap us out of the trance we’re in trying to please everybody, control everything, and fulfill all our wants and desires.

We let go of Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t let go of you. That’s why you can endure life’s losses with hope and become more like Jesus in the process. But it’s better to ask Jesus to help you let go today. There is no prayer more audacious than to ask Jesus to set you free from the things holding onto you—because he’ll do it!

So, what are you holding onto today? Are you stressed out trying to control everything and please everyone? Is there a grudge you can’t let go of? Is your life so full of activity that you never have time for God? Do you worry what your life will be like without the enjoyment of certain things? Let go and trust Jesus because there is life after letting go. It’s the freedom that comes in having Jesus living in you and through you. It’s the freedom of trusting God to give you grace for today and hope for tomorrow. It’s the freedom of living the life you were created by God to live.