Loose him, and let him go

The Raising of Lazarus.  12th century, St. Katherine's Monastery, Mt. Sinai

 

 And when she had said these things, se went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  

 

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  

 

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  

 

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:28-44 

 

Yesterday we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."   So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

  And when she had said these things, se went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   Once again, we observe here the difference between these two sisters.  In yesterday's reading (above) we observed Martha, one more inclined to active service, and her efforts at hospitality (similarly to the story found at Luke 10:38-42), as she greeted Jesus while He was still on the road approaching their home, while Mary remained in mourning, in the traditional posture inside the home.  Now that Mary is called by the Teacher, Jesus, she arose quickly and came to Him.  The Jews who were with her in the house are those who have come from Jerusalem and have some connection with the ruling classes of the temple.  They likely reflect that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are from a prominent family.  

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Here Mary approaches Christ with the identical words used by her sister Martha (see yesterday's reading, above).  While Jesus engaged Martha with words, my study Bible notes, here in today's reading He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother from the dead.  John emphasizes that Jesus wept and groaned in the spirit.  These show that Christ had fully taken on human nature, and that He was subject to grief as any human being would be.  Weeping, my study Bible says, is the natural human response to the tragedy of death.  Today is Lazarus Saturday, and in the Compline service in the Orthodox Church, it is sung, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."

 

 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Although Martha's faith had increased, she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power, my study Bible comments.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time.  In many icons of the raising of Lazarus one can observe bystanders depicted covering their noses, which illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and the fact that many did not believe that Christ could raise the dead.

 

 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  To show that His divine will is one with the Father's, my study Bible says, and that His human will was freely subject in every way to the Father's, Christ prays aloud for the sake of the people.  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"   My study Bible notes that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of God the Father, but by His own authority.  What it shows to the people is that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.   This event is a fulfillment of Christ's words from chapter 5, spoken to the religious authorities who questioned Him, "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 5:28-29). 

 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."   My study Bible comments that the detail that Lazarus was wrapped in his graveclothes is seen as significant in patristic literature.  Many Church Fathers view this as an indication that Lazarus will need them again, that his resurrection continues an earthly life which will once again end in death.  By contrast, it notes, the Savior's graveclothes would be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ's Resurrection transfigures human nature.  Jesus will never die again.  My study Bible further comments that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but in the words of the hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise again (Ezekiel 37:1-13). 

 

 It seems that we don't get a proper sense of the significance of Christ's power without the awe that would accompany this scene, of Lazarus walking out of the tomb in his graveclothes, four days dead, and even smelling of death as well.  Awe may combine vast respect, admiration, fear, wonder, and even terror, and it seems that this event would combine all of those things for the people who witnessed it.  Awe is a product of exposure to something incomprehensible, outside of our realm of experience, unexpected, and belonging to something much greater than ourselves and our lives.  When Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life" in yesterday's reading (above), it is easy to take His words, as they have become familiar to us, as statements declaring an identity for Christ in an intellectually descriptive way.  But in this scene of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we find the discernible elements of just how astounding -- and perhaps terrifying -- those words really are.  For they imply a kind of power that none of us can imagine nor encompass, but are clearly signs of the miraculous and the presence of God -- something much greater than we are or our experience can hold.  We don't have this power, much as we would like to believe that perhaps medical science can provide it to us.  For the people who are mourning with Martha and Mary, one can only imagine the impact of this experience as witnesses, and what a story they have to tell in Jerusalem.  Such is the visceral power of this scene that we have seen it used by others in novels and movies of the horror genre over and over again.  The story of Frankenstein draws on similar motifs of the dead walking again, bodies coming out of the grave and given life.  Inspired by archaeological interest in Egyptian tombs of the past century, films have given us stories of Egyptian mummies walking out of their tombs still wrapped in the bandages of graveclothes -- thus drawing upon this timeless text in John's Gospel, which does not fail to hit its mark and make its impact.  As my study Bible points out, Jesus responds to His friend Mary with action, a demonstration of the power of His identity as the resurrection and the life, as He told Martha in yesterday's reading, above.  Perhaps especially for those of us who have lost loved ones, this story touches upon the terrible mystery of death.  It should open up for us the importance of prayer for those who have passed as we consider that it is only our prayers which can reach into that mystery.  For it is Christ alone who has this power, who will release the captives of death and set the prisoners free; only Christ who has this power of life and death and judgment and resurrection.  When Jesus says about Lazarus, "Loose him, and let him go," we can also hear these words as the ones He will say in the realm of the dead, and for all the dead.  For, as we know, judgment is also about the power of resurrection, which we may note as we revisit His words from chapter 5:  "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 5:28-29).  To Christ who has solely been entrusted with this power, we may pray for our loved ones and all who have passed, with a reverence that is appropriate to this image of resurrection in today's reading.  For, as He hears the pleas of Martha and Mary, and experiences so deeply their love and their loss, so He is the one who can also hear ours.

 

 

 

With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible

 

 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 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after passing through Galilee, 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."  In contrast to the Pharisees and others who come to test Him, this man is looking for advice from one whom he considers to be simply a good Teacher.  My study Bible comments that Jesus' response does not deny that He is God, but is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.  

 

"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."   See Exodus 20:12–16; Deuteronomy 5:16–20 for these commandments cited by Jesus.  My study Bible comments that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life and sensed that he still lacked something.  Therefore, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.

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 explains that to be perfect (Matthew 19:21), one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  Nothing is gained unless this sacrifice is given freely.  It notes that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  As wealth had such a grip on this rich man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom suggests that giving away possessions is actually the least of the instructions Christ gives here.  To follow Him in all things, my study Bible says, is a fare 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 them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  My study Bible notes that there have been various interpretations suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some say that the word was not camel, but "rope" (the Aramaic word sounds alike); or that the eye of a needle was actually the name of a city gate through which a camel might barely squeezed if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  Additionally, there is an expression in the Talmud which is similar:  "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But whatever the source of the phrase, it shows the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  My study Bible says that this is clearly evidenced by the response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"  But by God's grace, even what is impossible for human beings can come to pass.  

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."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  According to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, it says, this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  But also, it means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).   My study Bible adds that believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but in a spiritual sense -- the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

 

One would presume that this was a rich young man (Matthew's Gospel tells us that he was young) because his wealth was inherited, or due to family position within the society.  He might have been among the wealthy landowning class of Jerusalem at that time, many of whom were members of the Sadducees, and held high positions within the ruling Council and the Temple.  But, be that as it may, it seems safe to assume that with such possessions also went family and social structure.  In short, in such an economy, especially as compared to our own, great possessions did not come easily outside of social position and inherited wealth.  We live in a world where in recent memory a robust economy and certain economic structures can give a promise of upward mobility, of wealth through hard work, and acquired education or specialized business skills.  But Jesus did not live in such a world.  Nonetheless, even in our time of economic fluctuation, possessions and family structure still seem to go hand in hand.  Let us note that when the disciples speak of what they have left behind to follow Jesus, those possessions such as homes also include leaving family behind.  So, this young man's great attachment to his possessions, we can assume, is something other than a kind of selfishness or greed.  It is about how difficult it is to give up what we think we have, and how attached we become to the things we own that define us and give us a sense of who we are.   While in Christ's time societies were far more stratified than in modern economies, we still tend to associate identity and status with possessions, perhaps even more so than at any other time in the past.  So let us give deep consideration to what Christ teaches here.   So many problems seem to hinge on an inability to let go of attachments of one sort or another, and here Jesus is offering an alternative:  "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  If one follows modern programs dealing with addiction and a host of other problems, one is familiar with what is called the Twelve Steps.  Such a program hinges on reliance on a higher power, and stems originally from programs with a Christian orientation.  We still suffer from similar maladies today, as human beings, that Jesus addresses in the Gospels.   Not least of such problems are attachments:  things upon which we rely which are impermanent, which can disappoint, but more importantly, which can get in the way of a deepening reliance upon God.  It is this deepening reliance upon God which is where our faith leads us and teaches us to go, for this is the substance of the gospel of the Kingdom which Jesus preaches.  While we may not all be in the circumstances of this rich young man whom Jesus loved, we may all face similar struggles of attachment and the need for growth, especially the kind of growth that feeds our souls and psyches, a reconciliation with God and with our circumstances.  We all have choices to make, and Christ is here to teach us what those choices come down to, and what we might rely on.  Let us remember His love and His teaching, for it all still applies, even in new and modern circumstances.  For even with persecutions, God's love remains the worthy exchange for what ails us.

With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible

 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 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

Yesterday we read that Jesus left Capernaum and 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 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  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."  This rich young man comes to Christ to seek advice, as if from a good Teacher.  He comes running to Christ, suggesting how deeply he wants this advice.  He kneels before Jesus in respect, but understands Him only as a teacher, not as the Christ.  However, he is sincere, unlike the Pharisees in yesterday's reading (above) who come simply to test Jesus.  We can assume that he comes from a landowning family, perhaps one of the aristocratic class of Jerusalem who formed part of the Council.  My study bible says here that Christ's response to him does not deny that He is God, but is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.  The commandments given to Moses he has kept all of his life -- but what is made clear by this passage is that formal observance does not make one righteous before God.  My study bible comments that this man had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that he still lacked something.  Therefore he continues to press Jesus for the answer.

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.  Let us note that Mark tells us Jesus loved him.  It gives us a clue as to the man's sincerity in seeking out Christ.  My study bible comments that to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ, and that this sacrifice must be made freely.  It's important also that it notes that whatever is specifically asked of each one will be different for each.   Wealth had a great grip on this rich man; my study bible suggests that his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  St. Chrysostom writes that giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him 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?"   Note that the disciples are astonished at Jesus' words.  But Jesus emphasizes the point with a vivid metaphor.  My study bible notes the varied interpretations suggested regarding this image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some have stated that the word for camel in Aramaic resembles one meaning "rope" -- and so the analogy with the eye of a needle is closer if one thinks of unraveling the threads that comprise the rope.  Others have stated that the eye of a needle was a city gate, which a camel could barely squeeze through if it were unloaded of all of its baggage.  In the Talmud, my study bible notes, there is a similar expression, "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But however we read this passage, Jesus is clearly conveying the difficulties, even impossibility, for any of us attached to riches.  Considering the wealth and availability of goods pursued in many of our societies today, this remains a strong teaching for all of us.  Again, we note the repeated astonishment of the disciples, asking, Who then can be saved?  The difficulty has always been with us, and emphatically remains so.

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."   Here is another emphatic promise from Christ:  with God all things are possible.  Through God's grace, what is impossible to human beings can come to pass.   The apostles "come to themselves" with Peter speaking for them:   See, we have left all and followed You.  Jesus gives another promise, one of an exchange, receiving a hundredfold in exchange, plus persecutions, and eternal life.  But yet again, He emphasizes the central importance of humility, repeating a teaching from Monday's reading, in which Jesus said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35).

What is interesting about today's passage is that we tend to view it as a scathing indictment about possessions and the wealthy, but in effect, this is not quite what is presented to us.  The text tells us that Jesus loved this rich young man, and the advice to give away what he owned was loving advice -- it was the one thing he lacked.  The emphasis here is on detachment from anything that gets in the way of faith.  That is, there is one thing necessary (Luke 10:42), that comes first (Matthew 22:37).  Today's teaching is quite similar to the earlier ones from the week, in which Jesus gave the apostles images of self-mutilation, suggesting that it is better to enter life maimed and without a hand or foot or eye, rather than harming one of the littlest ones who will be in their charge.  That also was an admonition to detachment, of the strongest kind, using the images of body parts to convey an impression of personal habits or desires that we need to cast off in order to truly follow Him (see Tuesday's reading).  In each of our readings for the week, Jesus has spoken to us about attachments, and the need to allow God in first before everything else.  St. Paul writes that "the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)  That is, our spiritual need goes deeper than anything else, and that which would separate us from salvation will be rooted out even to the greatest depth within us.  What we remember, however, is Jesus' promise of exchange.  We exchange one way of life for another, one way of looking at life for another, one set of attachments for a deeper reality grounded in the energies of God, to which all else will be added.  But we will be changed, our dependency will be upon something other than that which we think we possess.  This is the exchange of life He promises, and it is a change of life indeed.  Let us pray for our own detachment, which can be painful and difficult, even a frightening process.  Jesus repeatedly says to the disciples, "Do not be afraid."   But joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).  We don't know what life this rich man, beloved of Christ, could have had as one of Jesus' followers. We do know that he went away sad.  As St. Chrysostom writes, it is by no means an easy thing to give up the things we're asked, internal and external.  Let us pray for the courage to follow, for ourselves and others, for with God all things are possible.