Ya know, sometimes Jesus says stuff that is difficult.  Sometimes it’s difficult to understand.  Sometimes it’s difficult to hear.  Usually, it’s difficult to do.  Like the Gospel appointed for today:  Today’s Gospel relates the story of “The Rich Young Ruler.”  It seems this guy kinda had it all.  He was a good person, had done well in life, did everything he was supposed to do, and on top of everything else, he was rich!  He had it goin’ on!  And then, he up and asks Jesus what he needed to do to get into Heaven…….and here’s the upshot.  Jesus said to him, he said, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor (Jesus sure had a thing for poor folks) and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  Well….the dude was NOT best pleased and went away sorrowing, coz, you know, he was rich, and he wanted to stay that way.

So what gives with this?   I have to believe that what Jesus is saying to us is this:  If we are going to walk with Jesus, we have a price to pay. Sacrifice and suffering and making difficult choices are part of the journey.  Jesus is demanding His rightful place in the hearts of His people.  Us.   We must love Him more than all others, more than anything.  Any thing.  More than our possessions, more than our bank accounts, more than our precious and dear little sins, and more than our political beliefs.  AND, to boot, we have to demonstrate that this is true, especially if we are forced to make a choice.

Jesus does not say “do not love” those other people—or those things, or beliefs, or whatever.  What He says is that we ought to love God more.  And in so loving God more, in following his path, we sometimes have to be willing to lose those things, whether it be savings accounts, connection to their family members, friends, political party,  or long and strongly held beliefs or feelings, in order to continue to follow Jesus and acknowledge to others that He is the Christ.  Jesus has to come first.

Loving others is the second greatest commandment, but it is behind the first: to love God with everything we have (Matthew 22:34–40). In making this statement, Jesus continues to make the claim that He is God. Love and obedience to Him must come before obedience to any other person or group (Acts 5:29).

And how do we show that love?  That willingness to sacrifice it all for Jesus?  Be merciful.  Be kind.  Show love.  It’s pretty much one of the key recurring factors of Jesus’s ministry.  Love God.  Love people.  Love God.  Love people.   Especially those who are less.  The poor.  The immigrant.  The homeless.  The downtrodden.  Those who are “other.”

In Matthew 25, Jesus was pretty explicit about this “love God, Love people” thing.  He said, “34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Isn’t it time that we, as Christians, start putting Christ first, start putting his people first?  Isn’t it time that we as true followers of the Jesus that we proclaim learn to treasure what we have been given?   Work for justice.  Work for peace.  Work for understanding. 

The second verse of that dear old hymn by Howard B Grose, “Give of Your Best to the Master,” sums this up pretty well:  

Give of your best to the Master;

Give Him first place in your heart;

Give Him first place in your service;

Consecrate every part.

Every part.  All of it.  Even when it’s hard.  Even when it hurts.  Love God.  Love people.  Amen.