Oct 14, 2018              Impossible for Men, But Not for God                                                            

Just the other day, as I listened to a radio program, an advertisement came on saying that the Holidays were just around the corner, and so, it was time to start thinking about going on a diet, so that we could look fabulous for the holidays, and enjoy everything we wanted.

I’m sure many of us have gone on these diets. There are the diets where you take pills. There are the diets where you eat nothing but meat! There are the diets where you eat nothing but soy, grapefruit juice, or mix up a healthy shake. Some people even believe there’s an Elvis diet – peanut butter and bananas 24/7.

Then there are those diets where you count your calories, or your points, or you fats. Every day you write down what you’ve eaten, and by the end of the week you have a “cheat day”, or you save up points to allow yourself that special something that you’ve wanted all week as a reward. Of course, there are those of us, who can’t wait till the weekend, so we make up “cheat days” during the week – and somehow forget to write down those little indiscretions on our charts.

And finally, there are those among us, who are meticulous about following our diets, but we just have to have those little items that probably are not helpful to us – a glass of wine, a diet soda, that bar of chocolate – even when we include them in our counts – they don’t seem to help us – but we won’t give them up, because we can’t live without them! 

Whatever kind of diet you want, I bet there’s one out there for you. One that will promise you will lose weight, while allowing you to eat plenty of your favorite food along the way. Of course, along with those kinds of diets, goes plenty of disappointment.

As I read the story of the rich young man this week, I was struck by his disappointment. This young man is full of possessions, and yet they are not enough for him. So he goes on a religious quest, to find something that will give meaning to his life. Being a good Jewish person, he has always kept the law, and lived by the commandments. But he begins to wonder if this is enough, if just being a good and righteous person is sufficient for salvation.

So when he hears that there is a great prophet in town, one who does mighty works, and whose teaching reveals the coming of God’s kingdom, off he goes to ask his question. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  So Jesus asks him, “What do the commandments say?” And in short, the man replies – “I know them, and have kept them, all of my life” Impressed by this man’s love for God, Jesus replies, “You lack one thing; go sell what you own, give your money to the poor, and follow me.”

Our story this morning tells us that the young man was shocked, and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. He couldn’t live without them, and so he went away disappointed.

In our world today, there are plenty of people living on what I like to call the good person diet. Their lives have become filled with things, events, and activities. And when they get stretched to far, or owe to much, or feel like they are falling apart – they turn to God for help – which is a good thing! But on their terms – which often is not so good.

Many people tell themselves that if they are good people, they don’t need church. After all, being a part of a church would only interfere with their lives, and take them away from all the things they love to do. Some really work at it! They read the bible, they give to charities, they go to religious education seminars, they reads books by the latest prophet, they buy themselves rosaries, or prayer rocks and crystals, the watch the “hour of power” or the “700 Club” to get their lives together, some even have a genuine love for God, a desire to know God’s peace in their lives, but they lack one thing – “a love for others that leads us to give up ourselves.”

This is what it means to follow Jesus, and that is why God gave us the church. To be that entry point, where we could gather with others who believe, practice God’s love for us in Jesus Christ with one another, practice it in our ministries to those in need, and realize the presence of God’s kingdom in our midst. You can’t get that from a book, a TV show, or some kind spiritual diet, you can only get that through giving up a part of yourself, to become a part of God’s people. 

As they say in the dieting world, “Eating healthy isn’t something you do for a week, a month, or a season, - only when it becomes a way of life will you realize good health." Same thing goes for one’s spiritual health, it’s a way of life, life in the church of Jesus Christ! 

One final note, for the last two weeks, I have been on a special diet, I call it the no entertainment news diet. I have found that entertainment news plays upon people’s fears – that they will be uninformed about the latest and greatest tragedies of our day. Entertainment news also takes the facts and statements of our leaders and twist them to fit their particular narrative – no matter how disgusting it is.  Finally, Entertainment news tells us there is no hope of returning to better days, when people acted with a sense of morality, decency, and Christian values. Now to be clear, all the major news entertainment channels do this for ratings, because they are x% news, and y% entertainment. Unfortunately, this kind of reporting with a political bias, leads to charges of "Fake News", even though many of their facts might be correct. 

So you may be asking, Why Pastor are you talking about this? I'm talking about this because our readings, particularly our readings from Amos, speak to us about regaining the spiritual health of Israel. In a time when Israel’s leaders had become corrupt, and untrustworthy, when they divided the nation, and trampled on the poor.  Amos told the people to go on a diet. A diet of discerning and speaking truth to one another. A diet of speaking good to one another, rather than evil. A diet of doing good to one another, rather than evil. And a diet of establishing Justice in the gate – calling out injustice in society, and especially in their own communities.

This is how nation’s are called back to God, not by some glorified leader, but by the spiritual health of it’s citizens, and the practice of their faith in the living of their lives, and the communities in which they live. Now as always, we are told by the world, that it is impossible for men, and women, to make a difference in the world by their individual lives, but through faith, God makes what is impossible, possible, and gives hope to the entire world. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.