Many who are first will be last, and the last first

 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 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 then 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

Yesterday we read that 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.'"  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.  My study bible notes that this man doesn't come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from one He considers no more than a good Teacher.  Christ doesn't deny His divine identity as Messiah, but gives an answer designed to lead this man to knowledge of Himself.    We notice how the conversation evolves:  formal observation of commandments does not convey full righteousness before God.  The man senses he still lacks something and presses Jesus for an answer.  I think it is most important that we note what the text tells us, that Jesus loved him, and in this spirit of love gives him the answer about what he lacks.  This rich young man with great possessions is given the answer that is necessary for him:  it is this that he is most attached to, and that stands in the way of finding what he seeks.  St. John Chrysostom's commentary on the story of this rich young man in Matthew's gospel tells us that to give away his possessions is the least of Christ's instructions.  To follow Christ 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 then 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."  Jesus speaks to His disciples of the difficulties of detachment and sacrifice, themes that have run under the surface of His teachings from the time the disciples were disputing among one another who was the greatest.  About His words to the disciples, my study bible says that He's not commanding believers to divorce spouses or abandon children.  Once again, St. Chrysostom's commentary on the similar passage in Matthew is cited.  St. Chrysostom comments that this refers 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).  The promises of hundredfold returns are traditionally interpreted to mean in a spiritual sense:   fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.    He also speaks of persecutions that will accompany blessings.

Just prior to Jesus' Transfiguration, and the beginning of His teachings on leadership and humility to the disciples, He began to teach them about the way of the Cross in connection with His predictions of His own suffering, death, and Resurrection.  He taught, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"  All of the lessons included in our readings since then seem to emphasize this way of the Cross, and the understanding of appropriate sacrifice.  Jesus does not ask this young man in today's reading to give up his possessions merely because the concept of sacrifice is good in and of itself.  He is offering him an exchange, teaching him what is better for him:  the gift of eternal life in exchange for that which stands in the way which we hold dear.  In some sense, as the "follow up" discussion with His disciples makes clear, this is the offer and the teachings He gives to all of us.  It is the way of the Cross, and the way in which we each must take up our own crosses in life.  What do we give in exchange for the fullness of relationship and participation in the life of Christ that is offered us?  The giving up of his possessions for this man is akin to the sacrifice Jesus said might be necessary for us as we seek to grow in participation in the Kingdom, when He spoke of giving up a hand or a foot or an eye in Monday's reading.  What we may be called to give up may feel as deeply essential to our identity as those things, and as this rich young man's many possessions.  But the fullness of life He offers in return is incomparable.  We return to His question, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"  Our sense of our selves and our world can only expand -- even a hundredfold -- through the kind of life He offers in return.  Jesus ties in the teachings in today's reading with the ones on humility in leadership from Saturday's reading, in which He said, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."   He reminds His disciples once again, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."   When we consider the challenges of discipleship and their difficulty, we remember that He has also included the work of God in us that makes it possible.