The readings for Proper 23 remind me of the way George Sherrill began his first sermon at his field ed site, "you know that if I'm standing in the pulpit Dan didn't want to preach these texts, so he thought to himself, 'we'll let the seminarian preach that Sunday.'"
Uggggh. What a weighty set of texts. Doom and gloom from Amos (with a dash of hope). Jesus and the young rich man in Mark (with a dash of Peter and persecutions). Rambling about Moses and Jesus in Hebrews (with a dash of confidence and pride). Uggggh. Maybe I'll preach on the Collect.
As I re-read the passages though I'm left with a question. How hard is it for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!?! What does that mean? [a side note - these musings are intended to be done before exegesis - so you'll have to excuse me for missing the point of the passage on occasion] Life is all about choices. We make choices everyday. Should I snooze one more time? What shirt should I wear? Where should I invest my money? Etc. It seems that here Jesus is giving us a choice. I must choose to use money in a way that is glorifying to God. I must choose to use the gifts God has given me for the kingdom of God. To choose anything is else to choose not to enter into the kingdom of God here on earth. To choose not to enter here is to choose to walk apart from God. For me it really isn't a choice at all. As a Christian it is a part of my character to do these things - to choose to walk with God. But if it is a choice. If I am left to my own devices - how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
Still though, I know why I'm preaching for Proper 23 - "ick, nasty passages - let the seminarian preach" ;-)
