But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you

 

 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." 

 

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

 

- Luke 12:13-31 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus criticized them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.  In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." 

 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." My study Bible notes that it was a custom for respected rabbis to arbitrate personal disputes.  But a dispute over an inheritance, my study Bible says, is detrimental to salvation.  This greed is pure idolatry (Colossians 3:5) and unfitting for one who knows God.  My study Bible asks us to notice how incompatible this question is with what Christ has just finished saying (see yesterday's reading, above).  Note Christ's important words, giving us the emphasis on what is truly life-giving; if we think our life consists in the abundance of things we possess, we are on the wrong track.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  My study Bible says that the question, Whose will those things be which you have provided? is the key to understanding the saving up of material goods.   It notes that St. John Chrysostom writes that the only barns we need we already have; that is, "the stomachs of the poor."  St. Basil the Great, my study Bible adds, taught that the bread in our cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging unused belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in our closet belong to the one who has no shoes; and the money we hoard belongs to the poor.  Moreover, it says, St. Ambrose teaches, "The things which we cannot take with us are not ours.  Only virtue will be our companion when we die."  Even when Joseph stored up grain in Egypt (Genesis 41), it was for the benefit of the whole nation.  Such teachings, my study Bible notes, apply to parishes as well as to each person.  

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."   My study Bible comments that here Jesus warns against anxiety, and not against thoughtful planning.  It says that our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  Anxiety over earthly things, it notes, demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  The nations of the world:  my study Bible explains that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed from this dependence.    To seek the kingdom of God is the central theme of Christ's teaching, the true gospel message.  Christ calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and look to heaven as the center of life and its Source, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  

In today's reading, there is a subtle shift toward the Cross that we might miss if we believe that a reference needs to be explicit.  But the shift toward the Cross is there in the sense that Jesus begins to shift the attention of His disciples from the purely material to the transcendent.  That is, He is taking them toward a sense that life does not come from purely material accumulation "for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  In this context, we must consider their expectations of what His kingdom will be and when it will appear.  As Jesus is now on the journey toward His Passion, this shift in the attention of His disciples is important.  In order to understand and experience the events that are coming, it will be necessary to have a perspective capable of taking in and accepting the deeper values of the Kingdom which will sustain them on their future apostolic journeys.  As St. Paul will write, "And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (1 Corinthians 4:12-14).  In the parable Christ teaches, the subject touches upon death, making us think about our relationship with God and the things we take with us when we leave this world -- and again, there is the beginning of the journey toward the Cross.  The man in the parable who has made his storehouses has failed to consider even what will happen with his material goods at his death, and has not nurtured his soul -- although that would be possible with acts of  mercy toward those in need.  Jesus says, "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  In selfishness, we lose out on our life, we take away a richness that is not possible to gain through material consideration alone.  Our wealth must have a meaning, and we must consider ourselves stewards, for "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" James 1:17).  Our goods are a means toward expressing the things that the Cross will teach us, our management of things under our care reflects our beliefs and values.   When He teaches, "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things,"  Jesus conveys two things.  First, the nations of the world are those who have neither Jewish spiritual history nor Christ Himself at the time these words were spoken.  (Of course we could make an argument today about what bearing Christ's teachings have on the nations of the world today).  Second, the Father knows that we have material needs for our lives.  Jesus' true emphasis here is on what we put first:  "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."  In our understanding of the Cross, Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for His friends because He put the Kingdom first, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Luke 11:2).  But in Christ's so doing, the gruesome instrument of Roman capital punishment became for us the life-giving Cross of Resurrection.  Jesus is not preaching a sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice or deprivation, and neither is He preaching a life absent an abundance of good things.  But He is preaching in the light of the Cross and the transcendent reality that feeds all things, adding redemption to our lives as it transfigures.  A focus on the purely material will not gain us those things, will not give meaning to what we have, will not teach us good stewardship nor planning.  For it is in the light of Christ that we learn what beauty and compassion mean, what our true needs are most deeply in the soul, and how to beautify life with what is nurturing when we need it.  Christ's compassion waters us with His love (John 6:51), giving us life in abundance.  The beauteous images He suggests here -- the lilies clothed in more splendor than Solomon in all his glory, and the ravens for whom God cares -- teach us that an appreciation for the beauty and goodness of the world is always present with Him, and in the sight of God.  Let us look to the light of the Cross to show us how to plant and nurture our gardens, so that whatever we have is simply added to the beauty of the Kingdom He offers, which our anxiety and worry cannot give to us.

Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world

 

 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." 

 

- Matthew 25:31-46 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been teaching the disciples about end times.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Talents:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servants; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and his your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

 

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats."  My study Bible comments on today's reading, describing it as the majestic climax of His discourse on the end times.  This is not simply a parable only (of the sheep and goats images in the verses that follow), but also a prophecy of the universal judgment which will indeed come.  Since the Cross is now near to Him, my my study Bible says, Jesus raises the hearer to the sight of the glory of the Son of Man on His judgment seat, and the whole world (all the nations) before Him.  

"And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: . . ."   My study Bible explains that Christ uses sheep to illustrate the righteous, because sheep follow the Shepherd's voice, and they are gentle and productive.  Goats are used to indicate the unrighteous, because they don't follow a shepherd and they walk along cliffs, which represent sin.  (We should keep in mind that these are symbols used because of particular traits, not an indictment of animals in nature!)  Inherit is a term used with sons and daughters rather than strangers or servants, because the righteous become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  

". . . for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"  My study Bible comments on this passage that to see Christ in everyone is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).   It notes also that the standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others.  The works which are produced by faith are emphasized here, for, it says, saving faith always produces righteous works.  What we do reflects our true inner state.  The least refers to all the poor and needy.  My study Bible notes also that the needs described in this parable include both physical and spiritual needs.  Therefore, the hungry or thirsty are not those who need food and drink alone, but also those who hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel, and the infinite expressions possible through that gospel and our understanding of faith.

 

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  My study Bible points out that Jesus says the fire was prepared for the devil; it explains that this shows that God did not create hell for human beings.  Rather, people choose this torment through their coldness of heart.

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we noted that the parable of the Talents (see above) indicated an emphasis on positive action by Christ.  That is, it did not stress the negative ("do not") but rather positive action by his servants in the use of the talents given by the master, in order to produce profit for the estate while he was away.  Each servant was rewarded accordingly upon the master's return.  In today's parable, Jesus takes this positive action one step further, by describing activities that are positive uses of the "talents" we're given by God, a heart capable of expressing compassion or "love in action" in any number of ways, and far more than we're given in the sample Jesus names here.  These are all actions which in some way are expressions that become fruit of the Spirit; because, if we listen to the Spirit with which we're blessed, this great grace we're given, our hearts are capable of such expression.   We are capable of loving others as we love ourselves.  That is, with the help of God, we become capable of the discernment to find such expression, even if it comes through an encouraging word or a prayer, even when no one else knows.  I am constantly surprised by the subtle action of prayer, and the response of people to prayer even when I haven't told them I pray for them.  This connection through spiritual life is genuine; the Kingdom among us one that forms relationship and relatedness, a community that is unseen and yet known and understood, perceived with faith.  It is this network of relationships, this communion, about which Christ always speaks, and which is effectively shown to render the power of judgment itself.  For it is how we participate in such a network, how we act to pursue such a community -- to add and contribute to it, to support and nurture it -- is how we participate and become the sheep He asks us to be.  Let us consider the very personal nature of the actions that Jesus names.  They are direct responses to need, to treating another as we would desire to be treated.  These acts of compassion are person-to-person; they are not detached theories of regulation or rules of morality.  They are rather acts of the heart that come from within, from the place where the Kingdom dwells within us and lives among us.