Homily One for the Twelfth Sunday of Matthew
(12th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(12th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, "Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? For no one is good except God alone. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which?" And 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 mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "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." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:16–26).
Let us explain this part of the Gospel, with God's help, as briefly as possible. The rich young man, having learned from experience the sweetness of earthly, temporary life and the benefits of possessing earthly goods, is tormented by a thirst for eternal life, eternal blessedness, approaches the Source of life and asks Him: "Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" Who among us would not wish to inherit eternal life? Nothing terrifies us so much as death, as separation from all the pleasures of life, and nothing attracts us so much as life, and life that has no end, an all-blessed life. So, let us listen attentively to the conversation of the rich young man with the Savior and see what is needed to inherit eternal life. The Lord does not answer his question directly, but remarks to him: "Why do you call Me good? For no one is good except God alone." How then are You not good, Lord? Are You not God, are You not the co-eternal Son of the eternal Father - God? Are You and Your Father not one? What does it mean that the Lord, as it were, denies Himself the name of good, when He Himself is eternal love and goodness? The Lord removes from Himself the name of good not as God, but as a man: since the young man turned to Him only as a good Teacher, as an ordinary man, and not as God. Then the Lord answers him as a man, and not as God; for no man can be called the ever-flowing source of goodness, goodness itself: for only one is eternally, uniquely good, only one is God. Thus must we understand the words of the Lord: “Why do you call me good? For no one is good except God alone. ”
Further, the Lord directly answers the question of the rich young man: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments." Do you all hear, beloved brethren? In order to inherit eternal life, it is necessary to keep the commandments of God, and without keeping them it is impossible to inherit eternal life. "The man who has done these things will live in them" (Rom. 10:5). "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
"Which commandments?" asks the young man of the Lord. 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 mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Lay all of these commandments of God on your hearts, the fulfillment of which leads to eternal life. Do not murder, that is, not only do not kill anyone, do not take life, but also do not offend anyone, do not humiliate, do not condemn, do not speak evil, do not be angry with anyone without reason, do not curse, do not harbor hatred or ill will towards anyone, do not wish evil, misfortune, or death to anyone; do not kill in any way – cruelty, beatings, flattery, cunning, deceit, persecution; do not kill with any material weapon either others and especially yourself. Cherish the peace and well-being of everyone as your own. Do not commit adultery, that is, do not have in your heart carnal, impure, sinful, animalistic love for a person, do not transgress the limits of love indicated by God and do not look at anyone's face with lust, with an impure thought, do not allow yourself to have sinful relations with any person. Do not steal; and in order not to steal, do not desire to live luxuriously, brightly, richly, cheerfully, but be content with little and with what is necessary. Honor your father and mother, honor and love God in your father and mother, who gave you existence and education through them, honor them as the culprits of your existence after God, the culprits of your happiness; and love your neighbor as yourself: what you wish for yourself, wish for others; what you do not want for yourself, do not wish for others. "As you want people to do to you, so do you to them" (Matthew 7:12).
The young man sais unto Him, "All these I have observed from my youth; what do I still lack?" Jesus said unto him, "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." It would seem, after such words of the Lord, the good Teacher, that the young man should go and sell what he had and give to the poor, that he might have treasure in heaven; and then come and follow the Savior. But no: these are not Peter and Andrew, nor James and John, the fishermen of Galilee, who followed Christ immediately after the Lord called them, and left all behind. Wealth confused, bewildered the young man. Suddenly he felt sorrow in his soul, hitherto, perhaps, unknown. His heart ached and ached, sensing the imaginary deprivation of his pieces of silver and gold, and various possessions; and in all this is his soul, his life, his hope; with all this his heart, solidified, is firmly, solidly fused. What then, rich youth? Where has your courage gone, with which you approached the Savior of men? It has been destroyed by wealth, or passion for it; it has become weak, has plunged him into shame, sorrow, and despondency.
Such is soulless mammon! Such shame, humiliation and confusion does it plunge into the one who is passionate about wealth! Having heard the word of the Savior, the young man - alas - went away sadly, because he had great wealth. Here is your love for your neighbor, as for yourself, of which the young man only boasted, saying to the Lord: "All these I have observed from my youth." As soon as the matter touched upon the distribution of money to the poor, already the heart ached; and eternal life became unlovable; and it became unpleasant to be together and converse with the good Teacher; and he, full of shame and confusion, went away from the good Teacher. The Lord, as the Knower of Hearts, saw in advance, without waiting for the outcome of the matter, the young man's impassioned attachment to wealth, and now only brought it out into the open, in order to show the young man himself what kind of snake he carries and warms in his heart, eating away at his life and ruining all the noblest aspirations of his soul, and how necessary it is for him to shake this snake from his heart, so that it does not kill him altogether. All who are sick with the love of money, apply these words to your hearts, and leave the soul-destroying love of money!
The same thing that tripped up the rich young man happens to many of us today.
One thinks of himself, while another even claims to love his neighbor; yet, when it comes to assisting that neighbor — whether it be lending money, giving to the needy, or inviting a traveler into his home to feed and comfort him — his heart turns away from the neighbor. The neighbor becomes unappealing, and often appears repugnant; the heart merely whispers: "Go on, go on, dear friend, I have no business with you; you are neither my relation nor my brother." A certain acquaintance or relative lies ill, and there is no desire to visit or converse; when someone falls into misfortune, the heart recoils from him. In times of happiness, he was a friend, but in times of trouble, he is not. Thus, you see the love for one's neighbor, as for oneself. For ourselves, we have more than enough, there will be money for all whims and everything; for our neighbor – no, even though the neighbor is one of us; for ourselves, there is money for everything: for a rich table, for wine, for luxurious clothes, for cards, for tobacco, for the theater, and for all sorts of whims, but for the neighbor – no: we are sorry for everything for him: sorry for pennies and sorry for decent clothes and shoes, as if the poor man is not entirely like us, as if he is an soulless statue, as if he needs nothing. If we live like this, then surely we will not deserve eternal blessedness, because we did not accept the love of truth, in order to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10).
Jesus, regarding the sadness of the young man about his separation from his wealth and his distancing from the Lord, said to His disciples: "Truly, I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; and again I say to you, 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." Why is this so? It is because wealth for the rich is an idol to which he bows down, on which he relies, upon it and not on God; it is because it hardens his heart, his soul, rendering it earthly, coarse, mute, enslaved to decay, incapable of divine love. Therefore, the Apostle writes to his disciple Timothy: "Instruct the rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who provides us with everything to enjoy abundantly" (1 Tim. 6:17). Upon hearing the words of the Savior about the difficulty for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, His disciples were greatly astonished and said: "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said: "With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." Therefore, even the wealthy should not despair of their salvation, just as the poor should; they must simply use their wealth for the good of themselves and others, considering it not as their own, but as God’s gift, which has been given to us not only for ourselves but also for others, for those who, due to illness or for some other reason, are unable to procure for themselves the necessary food, as well as the essential clothing or shelter.
Let us all, according to our strength, share our goods with the poor and needy, so that we may have treasure in heaven, and, by the grace of Christ God, receive eternal life for this small mercy to our brethren. For the merciful will receive mercy (Matt. 5:7). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
