British Prime Minister David Cameron has been doing "town hall" or "PM Direct" question and answer sessions in different communities and this week he was asked an intriguing question. What does he think of Jesus' directive to sell our possessions and give them to the poor. He first identified himself as a Christian and an active member of the Church of England. He proceeded to name the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Great Commandment as key passages from his standpoint. The verses to which the inquirer referred are from Matthew 19 and are Jesus' response to a young man who wants to know about eternal life: "Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. 22When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Cameron admitted to struggling with this story and got the fellow asking to admit that he found it tough as well. I do too! I said to wife Ruth recently that in the all the spending to set up a new home I feel incredibly selfish and self-absorbed. It's all about us, it seems. I look forward to settling down in the days ahead and looking outward rather than inward. I am regularly aware of the astoundingly privileged life I lead as a middle-class Canadian and I need the compass of verses such as these, not to be wracked by guilt but to see where I want to go in fulfilling my true humanity. Cameron's passages remind us not to covet, to seek first the reign of God and not to store up treasures, to love our neighbours as ourselves. The Matthew passage supports these themes.
I suppose that's why it's good for me to be back in the fold of my Christian community. It is here I am called to faithfulness, simplicity, and generosity.
Take a look at the video clip. What do you think? Are we listening to Jesus and following him?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23618181
2 comments:
Wow! I am pretty sure we are NOT following Jesus in the way He lived and ministered- depending on others to support him, etc - and I know I could not give up everything I own - and what does it look like,anyway, in our culture and age to do that, and be considered to be "following Jesus?" (There was a post on Facebook a while back about a man who did just that - India or Pakistan...and was admired by LOTs of FB followers. But there has been no follow-up post to see how he is doing now...)
It is a challenge for Christians today to figure out just how to follow Jesus, and still be part of the world and culture we were born into... easier to sort out what we think following Jesus is NOT (see past blogs) We certainly could all live with a lot less than we have, and be ready to share more of our abundance with others.
I also once heard an interpretation of that story which implied that the command to sell all and give to the poor was issued to this specific young rich man because his wealth was the most important thing to him, and he could not see any spiritual value in helping others.... thus the need to let it all go and focus on giving to others . Possibly true (I guess we cannot know for sure what Jesus intended, since we were not there to ask and clarify...)
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