What does Parks and Recreation (along with Jung, Tillich, and Richard Rohr, teach us about Mark 10:17-31 in which Jesus challenges the rich man to follow him? What was his Ultimate Concern? What is your Ultimate Concern?

1. Caféchurch 13/10/15
Parks and Recreation Meets the Rich Young Ruler

2. Setting the scene with Bob Dylan….

3. Caféchurch 13/10/15
The Rich Young Ruler

4. Tom Haverford - the archetypal rich
young man for our times?

5. Mark

6. As he was setting
out on a journey,
a man ran up
and knelt before
him, and asked
him, "Good
Teacher, what
must I do to
inherit eternal
life?"

7. Jesus said to him,
"Why do you call
me good? No
one is good but
God alone.

8. You know the
commandments:
'You shall not
murder; You shall
not commit
adultery; You shall
not steal; You shall
not bear false
witness; You shall
not defraud;
Honour your father
and mother.'"

9. He said to him,
"Teacher, I have
kept all these
since my youth."

10. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You
lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give
the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

11. When he heard
this, he was
shocked and
went away
grieving, for he
had many
possessions.

12. Then Jesus looked around
and said to his disciples, "How
hard it will be for those who
have wealth to enter the
kingdom of God!"

13. And the disciples
were perplexed
at these words.
But Jesus said to
them again,
"Children, how
hard it is to enter
the kingdom of
God!

14. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle than for someone who is rich to enter
the kingdom of God."

15. They were
greatly
astounded and
said to one
another, "Then
who can be
saved?"

16. Jesus looked at
them and said,
"For mortals it is
impossible, but
not for God; for
God all things are
possible."

17. Peter began to say to him,
"Look, we have left everything
and followed you."

18. Jesus said, "Truly I
tell you, there is
no one who has
left house or
brothers or sisters
or mother or
father or children
or fields, for my
sake and for the
sake of the good
news,

19. who will not receive a hundredfold now in this
age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and
children, and fields with persecutions--and in
the age to come eternal life.

20. But many who
are first will be
last, and the last
will be first."

21. First Pass
• What does the
passage say?
• Where does it
happen?
• Who are the
participants?

22. Second Pass – What Does
it Mean?
• Why does the Rich young ruler kneel?
• What is the significance of “setting out on a
journey”?
• What do you make of Jesus’ saying “no one is
good except for God?”

23. More Questions
• What sort of person was the rich young
ruler?
• Who does he stand for, or represent?
• What does Jesus’ ask of him – and why?
• How does he react? Why, and what light

24. Yet More Questions
• Why are the disciples
amazed?
• Are you amazed?
Why or why not?
• Can camels enter
through needles?
• Why would it be hard
for the rich to enter
the kingdom?

25. And
Finally
What theological
claim is being
made here?

26. Ultimate Concern
“…Man, like every living being, is concerned
about many things, above all about those
which condition his very existence… If [a
situation or concern] claims ultimacy it
demands the total surrender of him who
accepts this claim… it demands that all other
concerns be sacrificed”
Tillich Dynamics of Faith (quoted in
Wikipedia)

27. Jesus and Ultimate
Concern
• To identify Jesus with
God is to identify him
with one’s Ultimate
Concern
• There can be more or
less adequate
substitute for ultimate
concern (religious
people call this
idolatry)

28. What Does it Mean To
Me?
• Freedom in our
culture means,
essentially,
freedom from
constraint.
• How does that
relate to this idea
of following Jesus?

29. Archetypes and Parks and
Rec
Like a lot of successful shows, Parks and
Recreation makes shrewd use of archetypes.
For the following characters, what might be
their ultimate concern?

30. What are Tom’s ultimate concerns?

31. Tom’s Concerns
• Wealth
• Status
• Success

32. What are Chris’s ultimate concerns?

33. Chris
• Health
• Longevity

34. What are Leslie’s ultimate concerns?

35. Leslie
• Public Service
• Career
• Patriotism

36. What are Ron’s ultimate concerns?

37. Ron
• Honour
• Self-reliance
• Competence

38. It was Carl Jung who first popularized the phrase "the two
halves of life" to describe the two major tangents and tasks
of any human life. The first half of life is spent building our
sense of identity, importance, and security--what I would
call the false self and Freud might call the ego self. Jung
emphasizes the importance and value of a healthy ego
structure. But inevitably you discover, often through failure
or a significant loss, that your conscious self is not all of you,
but only the acceptable you. You will find your real purpose
and identity at a much deeper level than the positive
image you present to the world.
In the second half of life, the ego still has a place, but now
in the service of the True Self or soul, your inner and inherent
identity. Your ego is the container that holds you all
together, so now its strength is an advantage. Someone
who can see their ego in this way is probably what we
mean by a "grounded" person.
Richard Rohr Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves
of Life

39. Question for Reflection
What is your ultimate
concern?