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| Source: orthochristian.com |
"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matt. 19:26
In Sunday's Gospel (Matt. 19:16-26) we heard of the (rich) young man, who asked the best of all possible questions: "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" (19:16) What a fine way to inaugurate a dialogue with Jesus the Messiah, whose very purpose is to bring us the gift of eternal life! This is a question that is hardly to be expected to be asked today. It would seem quaint or irrelevant. Or, something of an embarrassment in a secular society. Perhaps we (Orthodox Christians) think that the question is unnecessary since we move and have our being within the realm of eternal life - the Church. That is fine, as long as we maintain vigilance in keeping our "eyes of the prize:" eternal life in Christ Jesus.
However, having asked that essential question of Jesus, and hearing the Lord remind him of some of the great commandments (v. 18-19), the young man pressed ahead with a question/request that would take him beyond the Lord's reinforcement of the great commandments: "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" (v. 20) Asking for "more" from Jesus, he was forced to hear the following: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (v.2) And this proved to be deflating.
Unable to respond to the Lord with the same alacrity as before, he withdraws, for he was "sorrowful" because he owned "great possessions." (v. 22) Even though an exemplary and pious observer of the Torah, his capacity for radical self-renunciation had been stretched far too broadly by the Lord's "invitation" to reach to a higher level. Admittedly, what he heard from Jesus was not necessarily a new, universal commandment of total renunciation for all. Yet, knowing who he was speaking to, the Lord pronounced what the young man needed to hear then and there. This allowed Jesus to utter one of his more well-known saying that is characteristic of his effective use of hyperbole: "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." (v. 24)
Unless we are suffering from a serious bout of self-righteousness or hypocrisy, it would be difficult indeed for one of us to criticize the young man's reaction. When we hear these words of the Lord, there is every possibility that they sail right over our heads, as if they had no real meaning for us. As stated above, the words of Jesus to the young man may not have a direct bearing upon our quest for the "good deed" that leads to "eternal life." But the words of Christ certainly challenge the fact of our deep dependency on our possessions and our inability to let go even to a very modest degree. The grip of many possessions can be tenacious, indeed!
Met. John Zizioulas wrote of "all the useless things that we carry around with us in this life" (only to be released in the eschaton). To draw up a catalogue of those "useless things" on a personal basis would perhaps be convicting. As in: I never quite realized the extent of all the useless things that I do carry around in this life. I am therefore unwilling to ascribe a total failure to the (rich) young man's unfilled quest to find that one "good deed" that would lead to "eternal life." It is to the credit of young man that he at least walked away from the Lord feeling "sorrowful." If not a fleeting feeling, sorrow can lead to repentance. And repentance can go a long way in realizing that with God all things are possible. (v. 26
