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Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said, to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
- Matthew 19:13-22
Yesterday, we read that Jesus departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. My study bible tells us here that little children have "equal opportunity to live in the kingdom of heaven, for their humble openness accepts God's gifts. There is nothing about them, including their age and immaturity, to keep them from the Kingdom. Therefore children, like adults, participate in the Kingdom through baptism, chrismation, communion, confession, and anointing with oil for healing." Repeatedly in recent readings, Jesus is teaching about community. His great emphasis is on the inclusion of the "little ones" -- those who may be marginal, with little power and influence, and the strays. Here, His sense of community is exemplified in His love for the children, and especially in His words, "for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." My study bible points out that this young ruler (in other Gospels this young man is called a ruler) sees Jesus as a man only. He calls Him "Good Teacher." Jesus answers, "Why do you call Me good?" We have to assume this is pointing the young man in a certain direction, and it is linked to the assumption of expertise in the written Law. As with yesterday's question on divorce, Jesus turns the subject back to God, not merely a focus on the law. My study bible says, "Jesus instructs him to keep the commandments, demonstrating the connection of virtue to salvation. In saying, No one is good but One, our Lord rejects the worldly view that He is merely a 'good man,' at the same time teaching that goodness is in God alone. Then He exercises the duties of goodness by opening the treasures of heaven to the young man, offering Himself as the guide to them. In doing this the Lord reveals Himself as God."
He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" My study bible tells us that "formal observance of the Law does not equal fulfillment of all the commandments of God. Indeed, saying that one has kept the letter of the Law can create a false satisfaction about virtue. Salvation does not depend upon external things, whether they be many or few, great or small, but on the virtues of the soul -- faith, hope, and love -- the reward of which is salvation. These virtues the young man still lacked." I think it's significant that the young man realizes there is something lacking. We're given a sense here of just how far he's already come.
Jesus said, to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. A note suggests here that God acts in cooperation with the human soul. It says, "To save the unwilling would be compulsion, but to save the willing is a show of grace. Perfection is voluntarily to sacrifice all and to follow Christ for the cause of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God does not belong to sluggards, but to those who want to be perfect."
It's interesting that today's reading stops in this place, as the most famous saying regarding wealth and the difficulty of entering the Kingdom is contained in the next verses. But if we take what we've read so far and put it through the lens of the previous several readings, we turn again to Jesus' continual emphasis on community, especially the weaker and less powerful members of the community, the "little ones." Jesus has been preparing the disciples for the time when He will no longer be with them. He has warned them twice already about what is to come at Jerusalem, about His suffering and death and Resurrection. All of these readings that emphasize the "little ones" and the care for those who are in some sense dependent have come in response to the question, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (See last Thursday's reading.) He has been teaching them about leadership. In that context, we get today's reading just after His teaching on divorce, in which an easy divorce for just about any reason was granted to men, said Jesus, because of "the hardness of their hearts." Keeping in mind the dependence of women upon men in the society, we turn now to His answer to this rich young man: his wealth should go to the poor, and he will have a place with Jesus. Let's note that there is an exchange being offered here: Jesus is offering him a place as a disciple, as part of His ministry. In Mark's Gospel (Mark 10:17-22), we are told that Jesus loved this young man (v. 21). When He offers the young man "treasure in heaven," it's not just a lofty concept but a true offer of a place with Him. Therefore we can conclude that this teaching would not necessarily be for everyone, but it is a specific and important teaching for this young man. There are other wealthy figures in the Gospels, such as Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus, who are not called upon to do the same thing -- but Jesus knows the mind of each and what each must be called toward. The young man's sadness and turning away indicates the difficulty of the choice, but particularly his inability to make it. We are always called toward the choice of what we love the most, what we treasure first. It's important to understand that he is offered an exchange, a different treasure, as well as a place with Jesus rather than the social position he currently occupies. This stark choice becomes a question of what we love the most, what is worth the most to us. If we look closely in our own lives, we may discover a number of ways in which we are asked to make similar choices, albeit in a less obvious fashion. Looking back upon one's life, we may see all kinds of roads in which we made one choice or another -- forgoing one thing for another. What is this treasure worth to you? What are the ways God has called you beyond the worldly sense of the good, into other treasure?
