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

 

 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 hard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw that he become very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is 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."  My study bible tells us that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  Quoting from the commentary of Theophan, it notes:  "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." 

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 hard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  Let us note that by saying, "No one is good but One, that is, God" Jesus begins by turning this rich ruler's attention away from things that are immediately before him, and to the focus that is necessary to put all things in proper perspective and by which everything is measured and assigned meaning:  God.  My study bible says that this answer is designed to lead this man, who thinks that Jesus is simply a good Teacher, to the knowledge that He is divine.  This young ruler is spotless in terms of the commandments, as Jesus elucidates through His questions.  My study bible comments that formal observance of commandments doesn't make one righteous before God.  This ruler has an earnest desire for eternal life, yet senses that he still lacks something.  Hence, his desire to seek out Jesus.  The one thing he lacks is the willingness to sacrifice all in the desire to follow Christ, which must be a sacrifice that is freely made.  The specifics of how each one answers this call to follow Christ will be different for each person, my study bible notes.  In this case, this rich ruler was very deeply in the grip of his wealth -- and so his only hope was to sell and distribute all he had to the poor.  St.  John Chrysostom comments here that to give away possessions is the last of Christ's instructions in this story.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

And when Jesus saw that he become very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is 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."   

And when Jesus saw that he become very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is 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?"  He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  There have been varied interpretations given for this saying by Christ, regarding the camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some suggest that the word "camel" is akin to the word for "rope" in Aramaic, and so a possible metaphor is made by the suggestion of threading a rope through the eye of a needle, if it's broken down into its threads.   Some say that the "eye of a needle" was the name for a city gate, which a camel could barely squeeze through if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, a symbol for wealth or possessions.  In the Talmud there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  At any rate, concludes my study bible, whatever the phrase is reference to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is made obvious by the response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"   But by God's grace, even that which is impossible to human beings can come to pass.  

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."  My study bible notes that Jesus isn't commanding His followers to divorce their spouses or abandon children.  Once again, if we turn to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, he says that this refers to keeping faith under persecution, even when it means to lose one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties with a believer because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual one.  We find fathers and mothers of the Church who've come before us and passed on their wisdom, prayers, and "treasures" as our inheritance, brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.

Losing one's family is a terrible thing to ponder.  But if we think about it, the earliest apostles and disciples either gave up or devoted all that they were, and all that they had in their lives, to the purpose of following Christ.  Peter, apparently, had a family home and even an extended family.  But all of it was put to use in serving Christ and this earliest movement of the Church.  In this passage, we find that Peter had a mother-in-law who lived with him in the family home, and who was privileged also to serve Christ.  This family home, which it is quite possible was also shared with Peter's brother Andrew, the first-called apostle, became a sort of headquarters for Jesus' Galilean ministry, and thus we may conclude that it is yet one more possession which went into the service of Christ's Church.  Elsewhere, contrary to this example where family and possessions become a part of the ministry of the Church, Christ warns that divisions will come over Himself and His gospel, that "father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (see the passage at Luke 12:49-53).  But outside of both of these striking pictures of family and home either serving ministry, or separated from oneself because one chooses to follow Christ, there are more diverse and subtle ways in which today's reading comes into play in our lives.  Most frequently, we will find that the journey of faith in Christ becomes a lifelong work of restructuring life and our ways of thinking, discarding old ways of thinking and being for the ways in which our prayer lives come to shape us, and give us new choices to make.  Many times this will mean leaving old acquaintances behind, as we no longer share the interests that bound us once before, or conflict becomes inevitable.  That may be over things as stark as habits like drinking or partying of a different kind.  It might be separation because one no longer feels that the habit of gossip is worthwhile.  Things that once bound us no longer will.  Other ways of division are more subtle:  abuse or bullying within a family is no longer as tolerable as it once was.  One may not desire to gloss over longstanding destructive habits, preferring instead to speak up where change and healing is necessary so as to stop the deterioration of loving relationships.  Once may choose to sever them if there is no hope of anything but destructive behavior.  These things can take on a guise of modern types of conflict due to psychological growth, or a need for independence -- but I have found for myself that they also come in the form of spiritual maturity, a need to follow where Christ leads and to make the difficult choices to put other things secondary to following Him.  Christ, as indicated in the passage with the rich ruler, will lead us to shift our entire outlook on our possessions, the need to put them at the disposal of where our spiritual life takes us.  Indeed, we simply might not feel comfortable unless the goals for our lives reinforce the spiritual message of the gospel, and lead us in the direction of shoring up and practicing our faith, cementing our commitment -- and releasing habits and practices, and even old ties that bind, when they stand in the way of a deepening growth of spiritual life in Christ.  Let us consider, when we think about these things, that Christ most of all leads us toward the righteousness of love.  That is, we may need to separate from others for our own, and even their own, good.  If we are serving Christ, then our deepening need for His kind of love may in fact be what is leading the way to a desire for more fruitful and loving relationships, and not settling for what is unrighteous and harmful.  In any case, a practice of forgiveness accompanies where He leads us, whether or not others understand it.  The deep need for peace in Christ is also accomplished through prayers for enemies and those who hurt us; all of this teaching is a part of the whole, and so the things we give up come in that context of Christ's love, in understanding the "manner of spirit we are of" (Luke 9:55).  Sometimes, it is painful to leave relationships behind, as we don't have control over the abusive behavior of our loved ones.  But it all comes in the context of Christ adding unto us.  Without the spiritual joy and depth of richness we inherit, none of this would be happening, nor would it seem possible.  Let us consider His words and teachings, and the love in which they are couched, the love through which they are taught.