Today is kind of a special day here at Holy Trinity. We have two important events taking place within our worship this morning. First of all, we have a baptism. But not just any baptism. This morning, we will receive into the household of God one young Timothy Weir. Timothy comes to us the morning with quite a pedigree. Young Timothy is the child of not one but two of our choristers. Both of his parents sing in our choir. But that’s not all. Young Timothy is the grandchild of not one, but two Episcopal priests -- both his grandfathers are priests and will be taking part in his baptism this morning. A very special moment that they will remember always, I’m sure. And that we are very proud to have happen in the midst of our community. And it’s a day that all of us should remember as well. Because, with a pedigree like that, I feel certain that one day, Timothy will be our Presiding Bishop probably, or maybe even Archbishop of Canterbury -- you never know! So remember this day. You’ll be able to say you were here when the storied churchman Timothy Weir was baptized!
Baptism is our rite of entry into Christianity. From our earliest days, this ritual, very closely linked to the practices of our Jewish forbearers, has been how we receive people, young and old, into our family, into the household of God. But as Timothy’s parents and Godparents and I discussed this morning, it’s just a beginning. It is the beginning of a dialogue, the start of a relationship, one that is central to our lives together. As his life continues, Timothy and his parents will participate in this dialogue, in this relationship. They will build upon the beginning that starts here today. And then Timothy himself will respond; he will take part in his own dialogue with God, and he will decide how best to respond to what we do here today, how to continue the good work that is begun in him today.
And that brings us to our gospel reading this morning. A man comes to Jesus to pose a question. He wants to know how to live. He wants to know what should be his next response to the message of God, to the gospel that Jesus has been proclaiming. The man is not unlike our Timothy, isn’t he? For he has been raised in the faith, and has kept the most important tenants of the faith since his youth.
But something is in his way, isn’t it? Notice, Jesus is not taking the initiative here. It is the man who comes to Jesus, who poses the question. And notice Jesus’s response to him. He listens to him. He answers his question. He listens to the man’s response. And then, Mark tells us, Jesus looks at him, really sees him, and Jesus loves him. Don’t miss that moment there. Because all that comes after, comes out of that, out of that loving look, from Jesus into the eyes and into the heart of the one who has come seeking him.
Jesus sees what the man lacks -- and he tells him how to obtain what he lacks. And what Jesus says is quite shocking to those around him, and it is to some degree shocking or at least uncomfortable for us to hear today.
And what Jesus has to say is much more about relationship than it is about riches. The rich man has a relationship with God, he has a relationship with the faith of his mother and father, the faith of his homeland, and he is drawn to a deeper relationship with Jesus. But notice that Jesus seems to spurn this focus upon him. He says, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone?” (Mark 10:18) The next step for the rich man is not a deeper relationship with God. That he already has.
Jesus tells him to sell all that he has. Surprising to hear, both for the disciples then and for us today. It was believed then, as it often is today, that riches were sign of God’s favor. But Jesus seems to be saying that they are not a sign of favor, but perhaps an impediment to all the rewards that do truly come from God. Notice that Jesus doesn’t just tell the rich man just to give away his riches, he tells him specifically, “Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” (Mark 10: 21)
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I met a young man not too long ago who worked as a youth minister here on the Upper East Side. As I’ve already learned in my time among you, there’s the Upper East Side, and then there’s the Upper East Side. Most of my friend’s young charges are quite privileged, and lead very circumscribed lives. They travel just a few blocks of our neighborhood, from very nice homes to very expensive schools, and come the weekend, they are mostly whisked off to Connecticut or other equally exclusive environs. My friend, the youth minister, had his kids out in Central Park playing Frisbee. A toss of the Frisbee went awry, and landed a ways off, near a homeless man in the park, who had his belongings arranged all around him, where the Frisbee had landed. The kid who missed the errant Frisbee then said, “Well, I guess that’s it. We’ll have to quite playing and go home now.” But his group leader said, “What do you mean?” And he went over to the homeless man, and said, “Hey, sorry. Can we get our Frisbee back?” To which the homeless man said, “Sure!” as he fished it out from among his bags and parcels and passed it along. My friend explained that most of the young people he ministers to never encounter the poor, never interact with them, in fact, probably aren’t allowed to. Their lives are conducted within exclusive environments, where they only meet others as privileged as themselves. They live lives completely cut off from those less fortunate than themselves and they have no clue how to react or interact with anyone but those like themselves.
The problem for these kids, and the problem for the rich young man in our gospel reading today, is that their riches and their privileges separate them, not so much from God, but from God’s people. Their assets make them isolated from full communion with all those that comprise the household of God, all the beloved of God, rich and poor alike. And in their isolation, they fail to see that the poor are just as favored by God as are the rich; that material success is not the measure of God’s love, not by a very far stretch.
The household of God is not always a comfortable place. Here we meet not just our own family and friends, our own brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. Here we meet all sorts and conditions of humanity, the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the despised, the stranger, the foreigner, the neurotic, the deranged and the destitute, as well as the wealthy, and the well, the sound and the successful. This isn’t a place for just our own brothers and sisters, our own kind, but it is a place where all whom we meet are as our own brothers and sisters.
The household we welcome Timothy into today is one in which everyone is welcomed. In this family, we are called into relationship with all who seek after the solace, succor and salvation of God, no matter who they are, or where they come from, or what they bring, or don’t bring, with them.
Though I haven’t been long in this place, I know that this gospel is one that we take to heart here at the Church of the Holy Trinity, because we live it out every day. We set the table in this place for those who hunger, and we provide beds to those who have nowhere else to lay their heads. Maybe it’s not so important for us to remember this day in expectation of what young Timothy Weir may one day become. Perhaps Timothy should remember this day and this place where he was welcomed into the household of God; because the relationship we call Timothy into is not just a relationship with God, though it is certainly that, and not just a relationship with us, but we call Timothy into relationship with all God’s children, all who are beloved of God, and that is all of humanity, rich and poor, straight and gay, old and young, white and black and Latino.
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I said earlier that we have two important events taking place in our worship this morning. The second is the institution of the leaders of our upcoming Stewardship campaign. As the next few weeks unfold, I invite you to a period of discernment as you think upon and pray about the commitments you will make in the coming year to help us continue to grow into a community of welcome and loving service to all. In the pledge mailing this year, you’ll be asked to share of your time and talents as well as your treasure to further the work of the Church of the Holy Trinity. When you do so, remember today’s gospel, and remember the loving look that Jesus casts upon the rich man in our reading today. Whatever your decision about the support you will offer our parish in the year to come, know that the love God bears for you comes first, and it is out of that love that God calls you to service to his church and to his people. Don’t ever forget that. It is God’s love that comes first, and it is in response to that love that we are called to share of our time and talent and earthly treasures.
My brothers and sisters, this is the Good News of Christ Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns, now and forever. +Amen.
© The Rev. Mark R. Collins
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