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Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You." So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."
- Luke 18:15-30
On Saturday, we read that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." Here, my study bible says that "infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around. 'A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless. He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows. Instead, he lives in complete simplicity' (Theophylact of Bulgaria)." A child also has the capacity to take great joy in small things, to appreciate whatever is new before him or her, and to sense and give love. A child also understands his or her dependence upon that love.
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." This man approaches Jesus not as Christ, but as a "good Teacher." Jesus' first comment is to direct him immediately to the source of all good, God. In the same way of thinking, Jesus cites the commandments which are known to the man. The ruler's reverence for his faith is clear; he has kept these commands from his youth.
So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." To really love and want this kingdom, Christ asks us to be "all in," so to speak -- to love all the way. Here, this man's great possession in life is his wealth. He may sacrifice the kingdom for this wealth, and so Jesus puts him to the test. What does he love most? My study bible says that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person. "Because wealth had such a grip on this rich man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions." According to St. John Chrysostom, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here -- "following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling."
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." That which would prevent someone from entering the kingdom is a terrible obstacle. It shows us how wealth or possessions can stop us from seeing the greater gift, the "one thing necessary." My study bible suggests to us that many interpretations have been suggested for the "impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle." For example, that the word isn't camel here, but rope (from an Aramaic word that sounds alike), or that the eye of a needle refers to "a city gate through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were unloaded of all baggage, symbolizing wealth. Even the Talmud uses the expression, 'for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle.' Whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches. This is clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, 'Who then can be saved?'" In my opinion, what it shows was common then as it is now in our age of great wealth -- that anyone can be snared by our dependence on material things, and the difficulty of giving them up for the kingdom. But Jesus' answer in that light becomes all-important: The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. We always have help!
Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You." So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." His apostles are those who have "left all" and followed Him. Jesus promises great things not only in the present time, but eternal life in the age to come. But we cannot understand this unless we first understand the depth of sacrifice and commitment that is made for the kingdom. We note that this sacrifice includes family. St. Chrysostom has commented that this refers to keeping faith while under persecution even if it means losing family; it also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith. My study bible says that this suggestion of the return of homes and family "many times more" is not made in an earthly sense, but a spiritual sense: the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship."
By the demonstration of this young man with many possessions, we encounter perhaps the most difficult obstacles to our faith that we will come up against: the things to which we find our greatest attachments. We have to see, also, that family is even included in these possible sacrifices. Now anybody who suggests that the Christian faith is a simple and smug way to support a particular lifestyle of entitlement really hasn't read these passages carefully at all! Here is the great call of service -- and love, a love which doesn't stop at any obstacle thrown in its way, even those things to which we are most highly attached. If God is love, then what calls us beyond all the rest of the things we love is a greater love, the Source of all love, something that will teach us what is better, and perhaps how to heal by practicing that greater love so that we come into more proper relatedness not only to the things that we might possess and so become stewards in this world, but also to other people and our families as well. Perhaps it will show us more truly what the word family means, just as in the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus teaches us more truly what neighbor means. In a modern age, we seem to have to face all kinds of questions about just what "family values" are, or what neighborly conduct really is. But Jesus' answers are all there before us already and they should guide us into the answers we need to face. Is abuse a family value? Bullying? Ostracizing? Where does God's love come in to teach us what it means to truly be a family? Was it not Christ who said, "My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it"? It is the Kingdom that comes first in order to teach us how to be related, not only to other people but even to the possessions we think we have. Really, it's Jesus who has also taught us that we are only stewards of what we have; ultimately we won't take any of it with us, except that which is ours in this Kingdom, our souls. In all of these senses, the Kingdom comes first. It sets everything else right; it sets all relationships, no matter what we are talking about, aright. God's love is right-relatedness, righteousness. Some things may need to be separated from us, but perhaps only for a time -- and this is also part of the promise in today's reading. Some things or people we need to be separate from in order to live as God calls us to -- but with God's help, everything is possible. We just don't know how, or why, or where, or even in what way, restoration comes with our faith, and our endurance in that faith. Let us put the kingdom first, even when the going gets tough. His love has to show us the way, because we don't know that by ourselves; with God all things become possible. We just don't know entirely what the sacrifice -- that plank in our own eye, say, or the riches that stand in the way of receiving the pearl of great price -- is leading us toward in its fullness.
