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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 I have 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 came 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, Jesus 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. 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.'" It's important to focus on the fact that Jesus is now in Judea, shortly to begin His journey to Jerusalem. This man comes to Jesus for advice, and approaches Him as a "good Teacher." He's not one of the Pharisees or scribes who come to test Him. And yet, He's not one of His followers, for whom Jesus is more than this. Jesus first teaches what this man knows: the commandments given to Moses (see Exodus 20:12-16,Deuteronomy 5:16-20). My study bible suggests to us that while Jesus doesn't deny that He is God, His answer is designed to lead the man to this knowledge.
And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." This the young man has already done. He understands that the formal observance of commandments doesn't convey righteousness before God. My study bible suggests that he sensed that he still lacked something, and had an earnest desire for eternal life. So he continues to press Jesus for the answer -- he knows he's not there yet.
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. What is the way to perfection? To follow Christ; He is the fulfillment of the Law. (See Matthew 5:17-20, in which Jesus teaches that "unless your righteousness first exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.") My study bible says that each will follow Christ in His own way, the path will be different for each. But anything that gets in the way must be sacrificed. In this case, Jesus speaks to this man's attachment to his wealth. Let us note the importance of what is taught here. The Gospel says that Jesus, looking at him, loved him. These are words of love, not condemnation, and not exclusion. St. John Chrysostom has commented that the instruction to give away his possessions is the least difficult here: following Christ in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling. We also must see the exchange Jesus names here. By selling what he has and giving to the poor, he will have treasure in heaven.
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 came 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." There are various opinions over Jesus' saying that uses the image of a camel going through the eye of a needle. In the Talmud there is an expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle." Some say that there was a city gate that a camel could barely squeeze through if it were unloaded first of all its baggage. Some suggest that the word for camel in Aramaic is close to the one for "rope" -- and so it is meant as a kind of analogy for breaking everything down. But whatever the root of the expression, Jesus gives us a sense of the difficulty with which we detach from our possessions, and particularly the things that define us in a worldly sense. The disciples clearly understand the difficulty, and how it applies to many more than just the very rich, as they ask, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus' answer teaches us that under all circumstances, God gives us an identity, an alternative to the worldly and to what we know. To trust in riches is to have faith in riches, as opposed to faith in Christ. In the Greek, the root of the verb to trust is "faith." Everything depends on where we invest our trust, our faith.
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." As often happens, Peter speaks for all the disciples. They have left behind everything to follow Him. Jesus promises a return on what is sacrificed, many blessings but with persecutions -- and in the age to come eternal life. Jesus doesn't teach that disciples must leave families behind. My study bible cites St. Chrysostom as saying this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family, or to accept that unbelieving family members may be cut off because of one's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). It is also suggested that the "hundredfold" is meant not in an earthly, but a spiritual sense: fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, houses of worship and fellowship. "Many who are first will be last, and the last first" clearly gives us a picture that this "return" may not happen in accordance with time as we understand it -- and as the disciples understand it. They are the first of His followers, but the rewards of the Kingdom don't come in a worldly sense. Sacrifice is accompanied by humility and acceptance of God's way.
What does it mean to give up what we're most attached to? Today's example is of a wealthy man who desires eternal life. He approaches Jesus as a good Teacher for advice. To give up all one's possessions is most surely a difficult call for anyone, but what Christ teaches here, it seems to me, is about worldly identity. What we're attached to defines us, gives us a sense of who we are. For this wealthy man, life is about place, position, family. There are few of us immune to such a problem, as the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?" is clearly meant to imply. But great wealth perhaps exacerbates and exemplifies the problems of attachment. There is no doubt of the modern psychological understanding of problems that can accompany great wealth, nor the problems of spoiled children. But in today's example, we're not talking about a spoiled child. This is a man who attempts to be righteous in his conduct, who finds Jesus and asks for advice, and Jesus loves him in return. This is a teaching about going the full mile to find true righteousness, perfection. It is about giving up whatever gets in the way. It is similar to the teaching to the apostles about cutting off a hand or foot, or plucking out an eye, if something that constitutes our own character gets in the way of being true caregivers to his flock, to the little ones (in yesterday's reading). Jesus is talking about whatever becomes a stumbling block, an obstacle on the road to the place He leads us. It's not a matter of simply clearing up the extraneous, but a matter of detaching even from our most cherished ideas of who we are and who we must be in life. God may have a way of calling us beyond and outside of all of it, even to a kind of shame or scandal -- and losing one's position and social standing by giving up possessions would certainly cause a form of public shame to many people. This is the place where Christ becomes everything we have, the alternative to worldly identity. As my study bible notes, this path may be different for every person. There are those of us with great abuse or hurt to contend with, and Christ offers an alternative to the victim identity as well, a way to forgiveness; in my opinion, the only way. Only He can offer us who we are in His sight; the world cannot supply us with the love that mends all things and makes all things possible. Here is where we start, in this place where we are prepared to accept what He offers, and to detach from the places where His love will take us, show us, form us. That is the life He offers. Can we take it up? A lifetime journey may find us far away from where we started; with humility, with God, and with grace, we may find the journey a hundredfold more rewarding than anything else we thought we wanted.
