For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man

 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

- John 5:19-29

Yesterday we read that, after the healing of the nobleman's son,  there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  This was for the Feast of Weeks, or the Old Testament Pentecost, the giving of the Law.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus had had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."   Jesus speaks of the equality of Father and Son, and the absolute unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  That the Son can do nothing of Himself testifies to this.  My study bible says that this discourse reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  Therefore, as Jesus says here, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment.  Moreover, the point is clear, the Father honors the Son, and has committed all judgment to the Son, therefore the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."  Jesus speaks of faith and judgment, building on the statement that one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  My study bible makes note that Christ's judgment is based on both faith (he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me) and works (those who have done good and those who have done evil).  Note also that the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man. 

In Jesus' words today is the power of the Incarnation:  the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man.   That is, it is the power and mission of the Incarnation itself that conveys the authority of judgment of the Son, upon Christ.  In Cardinal Jean Danielou's patristic study of angels (The Angels and Their Mission), he notes that the early Church understood quite well that it was the Ascension of Christ as Jesus, in His human nature, that astonished even the angels, and is the great and overwhelming good news of an entire created cosmos.  Here in John's Gospel, we have this understanding from the earliest years of the Church confirmed:  that it is the Incarnation itself that allows this to happen, that creates the power of authority and judgment in Christ.  Because He has lived as one of us, judgment is possible.  We are reminded of Jesus showing His hands and His side to Thomas, His disciple, after Resurrection (John 20:24-29).  There can be no doubt that Christ ascended together with the experience of His humanity; as the Church Fathers would say, with His human nature, as evidenced by His hands and side shown to Thomas, and the effects of the violence visited upon Him at His Crucifixion.  This opens up innumerable questions for ourselves as human beings.  Are we, too, destined to become a part of heaven with our own human nature transfigured?  What about our own experiences in life, even our own suffering for the gospel message?  Do those experiences, also, become a part of the life of heaven, and our lives beyond this world?  In the Revelation, we are told, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:3-4).  We know that the Tabernacle of God is with us and dwells with us, but what of this teaching that God will wipe away every tear, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying?  Does this mean that our experiences in life do not follow us into the fullness of life in Christ?  I think the evidence of Christ's hands and side tell us that it doesn't mean this at all.  Crying may be finished, and death and sorrow as well, but this does not indicate that our experience of such, and the things that we take with us, do not remain an integral and essential part of the kingdom of God even in its fullness, when we see "face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12).  I think we cannot underestimate the significance of our worldly lives and choices, and our experiences and what we make of them, and how we walk through them.  For it seems to me that Christ vindicates all of our experience when He tells us that it is because He is the Son of Man that the Father has given Him the authority to execute judgment.  If it is because of His very human nature and the role He has played as Son of Man, then clearly our own transfigured human nature becomes that much more important to the grand scheme of the created universe, of all things visible and invisible.  For this, the angels rejoice at the nativity, and in support of such a mission the angels minister to Christ, and they minister to us.  So let us cherish our experiences, and let us understand the vast significance granted to each moment of our lives.  When we think we are alone, and no one cares or values what we do, and no one sees, let us not deceive ourselves with such thinking.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It really doesn't matter what precisely are the circumstances of our lives; whatever we think attention gets us in life, it has nothing to do with Christ's judgment of our significance or importance.  Just as His time on the Cross was spent with ridicule, and very few supporters or loved ones standing near, so our own time takes on the significance of those marks and evidence of His life as Son of Man when we follow Him.  We don't know what places are prepared for those who love Christ (14:3; 1 Corinthians 2:9).  But we can understand in His message the powerful significance of His Incarnation and mission in the world, and the impact this makes on the significance of our own worldly lives, even to the kingdom of God.  Let us consider, then, even more carefully how our choices matter, our experiences matter, what it means to be a witness to Christ.  We don't know the impact it has beyond our own circumstances, and the moments of our lives.  But we can be sure that the central mission of a universe rests within those moments, making them poignant and full of significance -- even if the world does not see it as such.

Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

...

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low;

The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brook of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourself, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

- Luke 1:1-4,3:1-14

In the lectionary cycle, today's reading begins the Gospel of Luke. The lectionary will continue with Luke's Gospel until the days before Christmas, so we will have the opportunity to explore it fairly fully. I believe the Gospels work well taken as a whole, in sequence. It is especially helpful to the understanding of each passage to understand it in context, and study it that way. I am repeatedly tempted to deviate from the lectionary, and turn to a straightforward study of each book and every reading in sequence until we finish the whole of a Gospel. This would give great opportunity for study (and perhaps I might take a break once in awhile and still not be out of step with the study sequence). I'd be interested in hearing what my readers think about this possibility (via email), but for now we will continue with the lectionary.

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, ... My study bible notes here: "As eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ, the disciples listened to His Good News and saw His miracles firsthand. As Luke himself was not one of the original disciples of Jesus, his Gospel is anchored on the testimony of these witnesses."

... it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. A note reads: "Luke addresses himself to Theophilus (see Acts 1:1), a prominent Gentile who has received Christian instruction, but is otherwise unknown to us. The Gospel is written as an orderly account to provide greater certainty about the details of Jesus' ministry."

Luke was a Gentile from Antioch by birth, and a physician by profession. Luke is also known as the "historian" because he dates events by reference to historical figures and events. Clearly in his introduction we read that his intention is to provide "an orderly account" to his fellow Christian minister, Theophilus. We know, also, that Luke has written the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and there is a reference there (Acts 20:6 - the plural "we") to his traveling with Paul in Paul's ministry. Luke's Gospel is written for the purpose of ministry to Christians of a Gentile background - and therefore (according to my study bible) emphasizes the challenges of mission and evangelization. The emphasis overall is on the universality of the Gospel Message.

The lectionary takes us from the first verses of the Gospel to the third chapter. Here, our "historian" Luke sets down the particular background to the narrative of events that will follow.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ... My study bible says, "Tiberius ruled as sole Roman emperor in A.D. 14-37, but had authority over the provinces from A.D. 11 on. Thus the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus began sometime between A.D. 26 and 28. Pilate was governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36."

... while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. A note reads: "Caiaphas was the sole official high priest (A.D. 18-36), but people recognized behind him the power of his father-in-law, Annas, a previous high priest deposed by the Romans."

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, ... My study bible notes, "The call to repentance was typical of the Old Testament prophets, but John's baptism for the remission of sins sounds a deeper note: a symbolic washing away of sins, prefiguring that which will come. As Paul writes in Rom. 6:1-6, those who come to Christ will be buried with Him in baptism, rising to new life."

... as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying ... Isaiah the prophet is quoted freely in the Gospels and by Christ Himself. My study bible says that Isaiah "foresaw the momentous significance of the period of the Messiah and the preparation necessary for it."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" These quotations are from different parts of Isaiah's prophecy (see Is. 40:3-5 and 52:10). The powerful emphasis is on preparation - and a great leveling and equality significant in true judgment. There is also emphasis in these words on the universality of the Deliverer and His message of salvation.

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brook of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourself, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." My study bible notes: "Ethnic or 'spiritual' ancestry does not guarantee security in the face of God's judgment. Only faithful repentance and good works worthy of it bring salvation. Stones symbolize Gentile Christians who became children of God." There are powerful messages here that emphasize not only what will come in Jesus' ministry and teaching, but also echoing the words quoted by Isaiah . This is a "leveling" ministry. All are equal in judgment; none is judged by ancestry and inheritance. Each is on his own, standing before the Lord - with his own works, thoughts, words, and choices in the depths of the heart.

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." The emphasis here again - in the face of the need for repentance and preparation, is on a kind of leveling and on justice, or good judgment. This is not a proclamation of rebellion or revolution, but of a way of understanding and practicing righteousness in personal choice. There is equality of care between those who have and have not. The tax collectors, rather than collecting "more" for themselves (a common practice) must do their job with fairness and honesty. The soldiers must treat others likewise, with righteousness.

So, our foundation is laid for the coming of the Lord, as we begin our readings from Luke's Gospel. John the Baptist preaches repentance - not simply to prepare for judgment, but rather to prepare for the glorious ministry of the One who is to come, the One whom Isaiah proclaimed in his prophecy. That preparation starts us off with an understanding, a groundwork of that which is to be laid within us and our hearts, so to speak, so that we may accept the power of His word that is to come. We make His paths straight by filling in the valleys and lowering the mountains and hills. We must make the crooked places straight and the rough ways smooth. This is the preparation for the One who is to come, so that we may receive the Word. We practice this understanding within ourselves, about the basic equality between all people as the necessary requirement to understand what is to come and to accept His judgment. We do our jobs with honesty and righteousness as befits such an understanding, and we help those who need it. This great leveling is the foundation of spiritual freedom that is preached in this Gospel. Without the understanding that salvation is for all people, we cannot be properly prepared, we will not "get it." It is a time of preparation, and we must make His paths straight in order to receive. Are you ready?

If you want to be perfect

Then the little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And he laid his hands on them and departed from there.

Now behold, one came and said to him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So he said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " The young man said to him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

- Matthew 19:13-22

Our recent readings have focused on humility, and the importance of relationship -- just how we are to relate to one another. These readings have focused on order and right-relatedness in the church, among his followers, between the hierarchy and the "little ones" in the church, and on marriage and relation of men to women. We extend this today in the first verses to the "little children" who are brought to Christ. From there, we have a teaching on "goodness" - and from there we will go to the subject of wealth and detachment. All of this is an extension of his teachings on how we are to relate to one another - on the basic and extraordinarily profound equality among all who are in this kingdom, and how nothing should stand in the way of that realization.

Then the little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And he laid his hands on them and departed from there. My study bible notes, "Little children are given 'equal opportunity' to live in the kingdom of heaven (v. 14), for their humble openness accepts God's gifts. There is nothing about them, including their age of immaturity, to keep them from the Kingdom. Therefore children, like adults, participate in the Kingdom through baptism, chrismation, communion, confession, and anointing with oil for healing." Jesus has previously spoken of humility and relationships - exhorting the disciples to remember to treat the littlest ones among their members (meaning the humble in stature who come to them to be members of the church) as if they are welcoming Christ himself. He has taught them to remember that "in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father in heaven." He has spoken to the men of their hard-heartedness toward their wives, that Moses granted an easy form of divorce for this reason, but that the spiritual purpose of marriage is love and care. Today he reaches out to the least powerful, the little children, and embraces them in the fullness of his teaching to the disciples. There is no barrier of power, status or rank that keeps anyone from this kingdom, and inclusion in the teachings of love and right-relatedness!

Now behold, one came and said to him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So he said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." My study bible says that "the young ruler sees Jesus as a man only, a Good Teacher of the written Law, not as God. Jesus answers him accordingly, Why do you call me good? (v. 17). Jesus instructs him to keep the commandments, demonstrating the connection of virtue to salvation. In saying, No one is good but One (v. 17), our Lord rejects the worldly view that he is merely 'a good man,' at the same time teaching that goodness is in God alone." There are many ideas in this note that are worth pondering. The first is an understanding of the leap we are taking into notions of relatedness. Jesus has emphasized over and over again in the teachings on relatedness (and right-relationship) the inclusion of all - even today, to the little children. There is a tremendous sense of equality expressed in all of these teachings, as Jesus extends to the disciples the notion of proper respect for all persons, especially in the ways in which we relate to one another. Here he takes a tremendous leap, and extends even to himself - in the person of Jesus - this equality. Jesus teaches that "no one is good but One, that is, God." All "good" is measured by this yardstick, even Jesus himself. His humility extends to this tremendous leveling in the eyes of the gospels and his teachings on love and how we are to relate to one another.

Then, my study bible says, Jesus "exercises the duties of goodness by opening the treasures of heaven to the young man, offering himself as the guide to them. In doing this the Lord reveals himself as God." "But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" I find this an interesting concept - Jesus is like God - as God, he opens up the treasures of heaven to the young man, and thereby "exercises the duties of goodness." We receive the reality of God, but also the example in Jesus of what it is to embody goodness. And he will go further in the next teaching, in its fullness.

The young man said to him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" My study bible says on this verse: "Formal observance of the Law does not equal fulfillment of all the commandments of God. Indeed, saying that one has kept the letter of the Law can create a false satisfaction about virtue. Salvation does not depend upon external things, whether they be many or few, great or small, but on the virtues of the soul -- faith, hope, and love -- the reward of which is salvation. These virtues the young man still lacked." So we are once again here in the midst of a teaching about humility. Even Jesus has said that only God is good, when he was called "Good Teacher." So it is in the exercise of true virtue -- that is, of being like God, that we encounter true goodness, we practice it. This requires tremendous humility and detachment.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. My study bible says here: "God acts in cooperation with the human soul. To save the unwilling would be compulsion, but to save the willing is a show of grace. Perfection is voluntarily to sacrifice all and to follow Christ for the cause of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God does not belong to sluggards, but to those who want to be perfect." A hard saying, indeed! And yet, elsewhere, Jesus has told us to "be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Certainly this entire passage is an example of how we are to be like God. As we are made in God's image (as quoted from the Old Testament in yesterday's passage on marriage), so we are to strive to be "like God" if we wish to be "good." In order to do that, it seems, we need the humility of detachment. It is not in our outward modeling that we are "perfect" but rather it is in an inward reality that asks of us to be our focus. This is how we seek the kingdom first. What is good? Who is good? What is goodness, what is perfection? These are the questions Jesus opens up for us today in this teaching.

Many times I find that I must detach from someone or something - which may be precious to me, which the world may label "good" - in order to find real virtue, the true gold or true "treasures of the kingdom" as my study bible refers to them. We remember that we are to store up treasures for ourselves where neither moth nor rust destroys nor thieves can break in and steal. It is this type of detachment, that couples us with the necessary quality of detachment, that will allow us to both see and experience what is truly good. It is for this reason that Jesus gives this young man the particular teaching he needs here. We are asked to be in a living relationship. Jesus is not telling everyone (indeed, he does not do so) that they must give away all the possessions they own in order to achieve this. Rather, this young man is being given the lesson he needs - which he has asked of Jesus - that in order to be truly good, truly perfect, he needed to detach himself from the model of rank and appearance via possession. (I have also known those who make a great show of piety via penury, as if that were a "possession" too.) Counting and storing up our good deeds according to the Law, therefore, can be likened here to storing up possessions of wealth. It is in the practice of true goodness that we are to excel, and that demands an exceptional capacity for detachment (and therefore humility) in order to honestly view our true virtues, our living relationship with God - or how we are really like God in this living, cooperative relationship of love, faith and hope. This young man has practiced virtue in upholding the Law, that is true. But to be perfect is a different layer of understanding, that requires he strip away the things he relies on to teach him that he is good, in order to see the reality of virtue that is not defined by outward show. Jesus himself will be crucified as a criminal - he will defy the temple authorities and upset the status quo. He will not make a show of extraordinary power to "prove" he is Messiah as the temple authorities demand. These are not the "appearance" of virtue, and yet in him they are the embodiment of virtue. We cannot judge by appearance, or by what we collect. We live in relationship to God - and we are like God when we practice true goodness, the power of living faith, of acting with open heart, detached from appearance, in - if possible - all humility. I find that today humility is not such a great virtue in the common culture. Perhaps this has always been a worldly problem, and remains so today. How are we to strip away the things we hold important as appearance, and practice detachment? This teaching remains as tough for us today as it was for the young man then.