Homily Two for the Twelfth Sunday of Matthew
(12th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(12th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ addresses an important question put to Him by a rich young man: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Lord directs him to the commandments given by God to mankind through Moses, specifically to the commandments concerning love of one’s neighbor, passing over the commandments concerning the Lord God Himself, undoubtedly because love for one’s neighbor is also the foundation of love for God, and without love for one’s neighbor it is impossible to love God. “For he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see?” (1 John 4:20), says the Holy Apostle John the Theologian. Thus the Lord says to the rich young man: “If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments,” namely: “Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Yes, the Lord resolves an important question for us in today’s Gospel: the question of how, and by what paths, we may attain eternal life. There is nothing more certain than death: we will all die, and our bodies will return to dust, to the earth from which they were originally created, while our immortal souls, created in the image and likeness of God, will be taken up to God for judgment. For “it is appointed for men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27), says the Apostle — the particular judgment of the soul of each person departing from this life. At this judgment a person’s fate is determined until the final universal judgment of the whole world following the resurrection of all the dead. Therefore, in view of the inevitability of bodily death for each one of us, it is exceedingly important and necessary for every one of us to resolve satisfactorily the question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Eternal life beyond the grave certainly exists, just as eternal torment certainly exists, and this brief earthly life has been given to us by God as preparation for the life to come, which will have no end throughout the ages of ages. The Lord fully answers this most important question of life for the rich young man, and through him, for all of us. “If you want,” He says, “to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the young man asks. And the Lord answers him: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery,” and so forth, as you have already heard. There are not many words, nor are there many commandments, but how important they are, because eternal life for each one of us depends upon their fulfillment. “For the man who does these things shall live by them” (Rom. 10:5), says Scripture. Therefore, it is necessary to pause over these commandments and penetrate more deeply into their meaning, so that we may see the full necessity and benefit of fulfilling them, as well as the breadth of their application to life.
The first word is spoken: “Do not murder.” Under this are understood many other similar commands, namely: do not offend, do not become irritated, do not be hostile, do not become angry; do not fight; do not be hateful. “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15), says the Apostle. Do not be insolent in word or hand; do not be hard-hearted toward the poor, and do not be stingy; do not oppress those under your authority with excessive labor; save those who are perishing, if you are able — for example, the hungry or those who are drowning. Do not exhaust yourself with excessive labor or ruin your health through passions and vices. Do not cause others to stumble, and do not surrender to the devil souls redeemed by the priceless Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how broad the meaning of this commandment is.
Next the Lord says: “Do not commit adultery,” not only in deed, but also in thought, through impure sight, and through lust. Cast away every lustful fantasy and imagination, as well as everything that leads to adultery: gluttony, overindulgence, and drunkenness; immodest and seductive conversations; reading immodest and seductive books; immodest conduct with persons of the opposite sex; immodest images; and so forth. Even looking at a woman with lust is already adultery (Matt. 5:28), according to the word of the Savior. Strive for purity of thoughts and feelings, and for the purity of your own conduct and that of your neighbors, your children and servants, those under your authority, and all with whom you have connections and close relationships.
Next it says: “Do not steal.” This refers not only to theft, but also to idleness, bribery, and usury, that is, ruinous interest charged to the poor by a lender and every kind of unrighteous gain, including knowingly accepting things that have been stolen. It also includes ruinous gambling, through which the gambler steals money or property from his parents and relatives, or from his wife and children, or simply from himself and his family’s possessions. Finally, it includes the person who does not give alms to the poor when he has every opportunity to do so, for the Lord gives abundance for the purpose of helping the poor. If a person of means does not do this, then he is stealing the property of his neighbors and concealing the gift of God.
Then the Lord says: “Do not bear false witness,” or, in other words, do not slander your neighbor. For people suffer exceedingly from slander, condemnation, gossip, mockery, and false testimony. They lose their good name and the sympathy of others; they are persecuted, oppressed, deprived of their positions and their means of livelihood, and sometimes, being unable to endure the slander, take their own lives. It was because of false testimony and slander that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was brought to the Cross and to the most shameful death. What a terrible evil slander is! And the holy king and prophet prays to God for deliverance from slander: “Deliver me from the oppression of men, that I may keep Your commandments” (Ps. 118:134).
“Honor your father and mother,” it is further said. For honoring parents, the Lord promises well-being and long life in this earthly life, and eternal blessedness in the life to come. We owe our life to our parents and, for the most part, our upbringing as well, at least our earliest upbringing, and it would seem that there is nothing easier or more natural than to honor one’s parents. Yet in practice, especially in the present time, the opposite frequently occurs: children regard their parents as a burden, refuse to show them the honor that is their due, speak rudely to them and insult them to their faces, consider their love, care, and concern for them to be worth nothing, do not help them, and do not support them in poverty, old age, or illness. But woe to them if they do not come to their senses. They will have no good either in this earthly life or in the life to come, but eternal torment. “Those who revile,” says the Apostle, “will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10).
“Love your neighbor as yourself,” the commandment says, that is, care for him as you care for yourself; wish for him what you wish for yourself; treat him in the same way that you desire to be treated; pray for him just as you pray for yourself, whether he is living or departed; do something good and beneficial for him just as you do for yourself. For we are all children of one Father, God; we have all been redeemed by one Blood; we are children of one mother, the Church; and we all await a common Kingdom.
These are the commandments that lead to eternal life!
The young man boasted that he had kept all the commandments, but upon examination it became clear that he had fallen far short of perfection in fulfilling them, for he was attached to his wealth with all his heart and therefore did not sincerely love either God or his neighbor. For the Lord says, and experience confirms, that “you cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13), just as it is impossible to serve two masters.
He departed from the Savior sorrowfully when the Lord, for the sake of bringing him to perfection, instructed him to sell his possessions and distribute them to the poor, for He saw that his possessions had bound the feet of his soul. Therefore the Lord also said that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, more difficult than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
But what is difficult and impossible for human beings is possible with God. For God can make even a rich person merciful, just as there are many among the wealthy who are truly merciful. God can also make a rich person virtuous and an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven, if he does not resist the will of God but diligently fulfills it.
There you have the interpretation of today’s Gospel. Remember it, and strive to fulfill it according to your strength. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
