FOMO and Eternal Life

Sermon 10-14-18

When was the last time you took a trip? Think for a moment about what you usually pack.

When you go on a trio, is there something that you usually pack too much of?  Shoes, outfits, maps, electronics? 

So, confession time. I tend to pack way too many books. … In fact, I tend to buy books faster than I can read them. I recently learned there is a fancy name for my condition: “tsundoku”. Supposedly this is the Japanese word for collecting more books than a person could ever read in a lifetime. Just on my coffee table alone are these books, in various states of being read:

On Living, a memoir about being a chaplain by Kerry Egan.

Just a few of the books on my coffee table...

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, the person who originated that phrase.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, about the secrets of working in the funeral industry, by Caitlyn Doughty

Braving the Wilderness, the latest by the famous Brene Brown …

A translation of the Gospels called The Poems of Jesus Christ …. I’m sure you know that guy.

Seriously these are all books that I had sitting on my coffee table, not to mention all the books I have on my shelf…. Because I never REALLY know EXACTLY what mood I will be in and what book that will require…. And it’s especially a problem when I pack for a trip. I always bring more books than I actually need and end up regretting it when I am dragging my luggage across country… or across the world. When I was packing for my trip to Namibia, I agonized over what to books to bring… and also what else pack…. frebreeze to un-wrinkle my alb…. outlet converters so that I can charge my phone…. What kind of shoes to bring…   And most importantly, the sermon I was going to be preaching!!

I bet Jesus didn’t agonize at all when he was getting ready for his trip. In today’s text from Mark, Jesus is about to take the first step toward his death and resurrection, by setting out in his journey toward Jerusalem. Maybe he was in the middle of packing, though I can imagine that Jesus probably packed pretty light. Perhaps he was just stepping out the door of the house he was staying, or had just left the city limits. In any case, he was not long into his trip…. When he already must take a detour when a rich man interrupts him.

From "Marked" by Steve Ross

In a graphic novel version of the Gospel of Mark, the rich man is actually carrying everything he owns on his back – toasters, bowling balls, golf clubs, a swimming pool, a couch, flat screen TVs, all signs of the “good life.” As he talks to Jesus, he is literally sinking into the sand under the weight of all his stuff while he’s speaking to Jesus.

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” is what this rich young man asks. We know what he’s trying to ask. “Will I get into heaven?” Most of us have wondered that. But it’s interesting that he uses the word “inherit.” What do you do to earn an inheritance? It’s a strange question, because the answer is simple: nothing. YOU YOURSELF do absolutely nothing to receive any kind of inheritance that you have coming to you. The only criteria is that you are yourself, the receiver, the person to whom your benefactor is leaving their legacy.

So, what then, can we do to inherit eternal life? Nothing. You don’t DO, you BE. As they say, you are a human BEING not a human DOING. You be who you are, pardon the grammar. You “be” a child of God.

The free gift of eternal life is the inheritance that we all have received at our baptisms, as we were washed with water and with promises from God. At that moment, we were claimed as God’s own beloved children and received God’s mark as belonging to God forever. And nothing can ever change that, not success or failure, not perfection or mistakes, not wealth or poverty or anywhere in between.

But we do not wait until the end of our lives to inherit life that is eternal. This kind of life happens to us right now, the moment we were baptized, actually. It’s not a destination that we arrive at in our final moments, but a journey that is undertaken a step at a time, each and every day. A journey, not toward getting BETTER. But a journey while following Jesus.

We, as beloved children of God, are called to follow Jesus, and as we have heard in the last few weeks, this call to discipleship really hard. Following Jesus means that we take up our cross. Following Jesus means that whoever will be first must be last. Following Jesus means welcoming the vulnerable and undesirable among us. And sometimes, following Jesus means letting go of what causes us to sink.

In think that rich guy had a bad case of FOMO – F O M O. Have you heard of this phenomenon? FOMO stands for Fear Of Missing Out. This last weekend I spent some time at a fall festival with the daughter of a friend. When we got there, at first she wasn’t haven fun – not while we picked pumpkins or a carmel apple or going on a hay ride… because she was afraid not being able to find people who she knew who were going to be there. She too afraid she would miss them to have fun. But after a while, she relaxed and started to enjoy all the fun things that were right in front of her.

I think the rich man had FOMO pretty bad. Getting rid of his wealth would be too great of a loss, and he goes away grieving. So his stuff piles up higher and higher…he misses out on the kind of life that Jesus would have wanted him to live, a life empty of stuff, but full of abundant life.

This is not what the rest of the world wants us to do AT ALL. According to this country and this culture – the more you earn and the more you can buy, the more you are worth. And the more stuff we have, the more prepared we feel we are for whatever this scary world throws our way. “I can’t get rid of THIS… I might need it later.” “I can’t let go of THAT, I used it a long time ago, and I might need it again.” So our stuff piles up higher and higher, and this is how our possessions come to possess US.

We try to buy our way out of our fear of the unknown.  It is must easier to calm our anxiety with a few more things than it is to trust in a vague eternal “something” that can’t be earned or assigned a monetary value. It is much easier to try to fill the fearful void in our hearts with stuff than it is to put our trust in a man who the world never understood.

In the world’s eye, this Jesus was a failure – hung out with working class guys, never owned a house, or much of anything for that matter. No fancy buildings were named after him. He was a poor nobody from the wrong side of the tracks who didn’t get rich and write a book about how he did it. Instead, he died at the hands of his enemies without fighting back, leaving no earthly possessions, and left his disciples – who abandoned him - with no legacy to speak of.  

No legacy to speak of, that is, except the promise that eternal life is OURS FOREVER. Even if we are still possessed by our possessions. Even if it’s like getting a camel through the eye of a needle.

For us, if we were to try to do all this on our own, it WOULD be impossible. But we were created by a God who laughs at impossible things.

But what if we really did live as if “for God, all things are possible”? What if we saw that we are part of a new family of faith that God is creating here among us? Take a look around you – see your mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters in this community of faith. Go ahead, take a look. These are your companions in Christ, here to persevere by your side, shoulder your burdens with you, and to do the impossible when we all respond to God’s call.

A life following Jesus will not be without challenges, but it will not lack in rewards. A follower of Jesus will gain much more than these things back – we will receive eternal life itself. Our God who demands our everything at the same time freely gives us everything. Seems like fuzzy math, but for God, the possibilities are endless. AMEN.