(Sunday
before Ash Wednesday, 7th Sunday before Easter)
Luke
18: 18-34
One
of the highest spiritual leaders of the people asked him, “Good Master, what
must I do to obtain eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is
good but One—God alone. You know the commandments, you shall not destroy
marriage, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not speak untruth,
and you shall honor your father and your mother!
He
said, “All these I have observed strictly from my youth.”
When
Jesus heard this, he said, [Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said… Mk 10:21]
“One thing however you lack: Sell all of your possessions, and give the money
to the poor; thus will you achieve a treasure in the spiritual world—then come
and follow me!
He
was sad about these words, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw him
thus, he said, “What hindrances must those overcome who are rich in outer or
inner possessions, if they want to enter into the kingdom of God kingdom
of God
Those
who heard this said, “Who then can be saved?”
He
said, “For man alone it is impossible; it will be possible however through the
power of God working in man.”
Then Peter said to him, “Behold, we have given up
everything to follow you.”
He
replied, “Amen, the truth I say to you. No one who leaves home or wife, or
brother or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
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| Grunewald Isenheim Altar, detail |
Then he took the twelve to himself and said, “Now
we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything which the prophets have written
about the Son of Man will fulfill itself: He will be given over to the peoples
of the world; they will mock and taunt him, they will spit upon him and scourge
him and kill him; but on the third day he will rise up from the dead.”
Yet his disciples understood
nothing of all this. The meaning of his words remained hidden from them, and
they did not recognize what he was trying to tell them.
1st
February Trinity
Luke
18: 18-34
This
is the time when beautiful spring bulb flowers begin to emerge—the daffodils,
tulips, hyacinths. But further on in time, the blossoms and then the leaves will
die back. The plant’s energy will go underground for a while before appearing
again the next year.
Today’s
gospel reading presents us with a great human archetype. The great wheel of a
human life keeps turning. For a while we are in an ascending mode. We take on
more and more inner and perhaps outer riches, until we peak at a certain level
of completion. Then we need to take a next step. But the only direction left is
the path of descent. All of one’s acquired richness has to be left behind,
given away to others, so that one can start over. One begins again,
unencumbered, in order to generate something new. And Christ accompanies us all
the while.
The
gospel story of this particular young man's quest seems to end before it
begins. The
narrative closes with the man’s sadness over the required loss. The gospel does
not tell us that this high spiritual leader of the people is Lazarus, who will
in fact go on to offer up his riches and inner accomplishments to follow Christ
into the depths. Lazarus will go through a death process, accompanied by Christ.
He will be raised by Him and given a new
name—John. He will in turn follow and accompany Christ’s descent into death,
standing with Him under the cross, and then finding the empty shroud on Easter
morning. He will go on to write John’s gospel and letters, and the Book of
Revelation. The riches of his previous inner tradition and heritage have to
die, in order to be resurrected in and through Christ.
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| Collot d'Herbois |
We
naturally, like the young man in the gospel, hesitate in the face of loss. Fear
of the unknown can hinder our further progress. If only we knew where we were
heading! But Christ is with us. He is the master of this archetype. We can say
to Him in the words of the poet:
You are the water. We
are the millstone.
You are the wind. We
are the dust blown up into shapes.
You are the spirit. We
are the opening and closing
Of our hands. You are
the clarity.
We are this language
that tries to say it.[1]
