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Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may 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,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things have I kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 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 they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
- Mark 10:17-31
In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus and the disciples came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him. And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female. 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." In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "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." And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." My study bible tells us that this man, in contrast to the Pharisees in yesterday's reading, doesn't come to test Jesus. On the other hand, he doesn't understand that Jesus is the Christ, but considers Him a "good Teacher." A note says that Jesus' response doesn't deny that He is God, but is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.
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,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things have I kept from my youth." My study bible suggests that it's not formal observance of commandments that makes one righteous before God. The young man seems to suggest here that he has kept these commandments Jesus names, so there must be something else that Jesus can teach him.
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. My study bible has a long note worth quoting: "To be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ. Nothing is gained unless this sacrifice is given freely. 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. St. John Chrysostom tells us that giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here; following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling."
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 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 they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." My study bible tells us that there have been varied interpretations suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle: perhaps the word was not camel, but rope (the words for camel and rope sound similar in Aramaic), perhaps the eye of a needle was the name of a city gate that a camel might barely squeeze through if it were first unloaded of any burden or baggage -- symbolic of wealth. In the Talmud there is also a somewhat similar expression: "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle." But whatever the phrase's origin, it gives us a stark picture of the impossibility of salvation for those attached to riches. The fact that this is such a common human frailty is exposed in the question posed by the disciples, "Who then can be saved?" But Christ teaches us about God's grace and the nature of that work in us. What's impossible on our own strength or resourcefulness is possible with God. In this case, we're talking about a great personal transformation.
Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom once again in commentary on this passage. According to Chrysostom, Jesus refers here to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family. It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). My study bible says, "Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but in a spiritual sense -- the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship."
My study bible says that following commandments alone (or rather, formal observance of the commandments) doesn't give us truly righteous behavior before God. Jesus' examples today about the attachment of riches comes as an example of what calls upon us when we begin to truly seek to follow Christ. It's similar to the command in Tuesday's reading, that one should prefer to cut off hand, or foot, or eye rather than risk the hellfire that results from causing "one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble." We're asked to remove the obstacles that get in the way of fully loving Christ. That is, the things in us that create reservations, the things that conflict with where we're called to go in discipleship. I think it's a great piece of wisdom to understand that this may be different for each individual. We're all called to release anything that gets in the way of real discipleship, but perhaps each one of us will have a different sort of discipline that is necessary, based on whatever it is that's needed within us. With this understanding, we see that Jesus' prescription to this young man, although drastic, is given in love (we read that "Jesus, looking at him, loved him" just prior to the command to sell whatever he has and give to the poor). In the past several readings, we've observed Jesus teaching about power and its uses, and the great virtue of humility in all things, a prescription for gracious, "God-like" behavior. We have also read about how humility is the great key to all of the virtues He teaches. In this context we may observe the command to discard "wealth" or "possessions" as part of the process of becoming humble enough to hear Christ's call -- and to practice power His way; that is, to practice the power of love, rather than faith in what we own, or look like, or seem to be to the world. Christ's connection to us comes first, and the rest follows. In this way, we become the person that He calls us to be -- the image in which He truly holds us. We receive the Kingdom in exchange for the lives we think we know, and in so doing, life in abundance means we become more truly that person we're created to be. Let us consider what is worth giving up to receive that kind of life. I think it's important to note in today's reading that Jesus doesn't tell this man to give all his possessions to the poor in order simply to feed the poor. Rather, it's a loving command for this young man who would be a disciple, in an effort to answer his question as to how he may receive eternal life. What we learn in the detachment Christ teaches is to give of ourselves, not only our things or possessions. In the end, the conclusion is that who we are within, as persons created in His image, is far more valuable than anything else we have. Who we are in His eyes is the greatest wealth we can have.
