Walking with Jesus: Camels and Needles
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End of the year check-in! That is right. We are in the last 2 months of our church year! Advent is not that far away and Advent begins another new year. Today is the 21st Sunday after Pentecost and we are in what is called ordinary time and we might immediately think of the season as such-ordinary. But that understanding doesn’t reflect the true meaning of the season.
Ordinary, in this context, comes from the Latin term ordinalis, meaning ‘numbered’ or ‘ruled’. This title simply refers to the ongoing and rhythmical nature of the season. Just like everyday life, there is a rhythm to the days and the weeks in the church year. Christmas Time and Easter Time focus/highlight on the mysteries of our faith, the incarnation, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time, on the other hand, take us through the life of Christ. (https://stjoesmhd.com/ordinary-time)
This is a time of growing for us. Instead of being observers of the life of Christ---why not walk WITH him? During this long season maybe, we need a little exercise. So, let’s take a walk with Jesus this October
Walking with Jesus is not only good for the body, but is also good for the mind as Jesus often asks us to stretch our thinking into new possibilities and new understandings. Our walk with Jesus is also good for our senses, as we are invited to see what we had overlooked before, to hear the cries from those often kept silent, and to feel a connection with those in our community whether they are already a part of our church or not. We’re exercising our faith as we walk, faith that allows us to see the Spirit at work in us and around us all the time.
Walking with Jesus is both a spiritual journey and a way of life that invites us to embody His teachings, values, and love in the everyday moments of our lives. It is a path of discipleship marked by a commitment to living out the gospel in a world that often pulls us in the opposite direction. Our text today, which we find in the gospel of Mark, Jesus encounters the rich young ruler who asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus challenges him to go beyond mere obedience to the commandments by selling all he owns and giving to the poor. The young man’s sorrowful departure reveals the tension between worldly attachments and God’s call to radical discipleship. This encounter with Jesus on our walk presents us with an opportunity to wrestle with the complicated relationship we have with wealth in meaningful and life-giving ways.
Let’s take a second here to reflect for a moment on the sermons and teachings you’ve received about this text in the past. The Camel and the Needle. Was it used to condemn and even shame people with wealth? Was it used to promote certain attitudes about having money? How did it challenge you or help you to wrestle with wealth?
I’m definitely not here to shame anyone. But I do hope that today, as we walk with Jesus, think about what it means to embrace his life-giving ways and how we might be able to do that.
Jesus calls the rich young man to let go of his possessions, not because possessions are inherently bad, but because they can blind us to God's abundance. The church today is called to resist the temptation of consumerism, wealth accumulation, and individualism, which echo the world’s scarcity mentality. Christ invites us to trust in the abundance that God provides.
So, what would it look like to live into God’s abundance and moving from a mindset of scarcity, where we hold tightly to resources out of fear, to a mindset of abundance, where we trust that God provides enough for all. Maybe we start by trying to see the world through God’s eyes—a world where generosity flows, where the community shares, and where all are taken care of-and ways we can be a part of that!
Jesus knew that was he was asking of people—including this young man—was hard! And so he starts with LOVE. In Mark 10:21, before challenging the young man, it says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” That love is constant, even when we struggle to let go of the things that weigh us down. The church may wrestle with materialism, fear of not having enough, or the pressure to conform to societal values, but Jesus loves the church still. We can acknowledge how Jesus looks at the community—full of compassion, knowing our weaknesses, but still calling us forward in love.
There are ways we already see glimpses of God’s economy in our communities: when the church comes together to support a family in need, when we choose to prioritize justice over comfort, or when we share our resources with those who have less. These are moments when we let go of “stuff” and live in a way that God says is life-giving. And as we let go of the weight of stuff, we become lighter, freer to follow Jesus with open hands. That is what we try to do here at the church as we are stewards of the resources we have. We try using our resources not just to sustain our own day to day operations but to fuel missions of mercy, justice, and reconciliation in the world. And I have to say we do a pretty good job! We are not perfect, though. Our church property, our money, and our possessions are tools for transformation!
After reading/thinking about this text we may feel like what Jesus is asking us is impossible. In the end, Jesus reminds us that what is impossible for humans is possible with God (Mark 10:27). When the church embraces this truth, we stop relying on the power of wealth or material security and instead lean into the abundance of God's kingdom, where we are rich not in possessions, but in love, mercy, and grace. Walking with Jesus is a lifelong journey of transformation. It is about becoming more like Christ every day, learning to love, serve, and trust as He did. It’s a path marked by grace, where we fall, but always find His hand reaching out to help us up again. It’s a journey that ultimately leads us deeper into God's love and calls us to share that love with the world around us. May it be so. Amen