Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Master, we have given up everything and followed you.”
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On the surface, Peter’s right.
Unlike the rich young man, whom we encountered in yesterday’s Gospel, Peter and the others have left their boats, their homes, and even their families, in order to follow Jesus.
That’s a huge sacrifice.
But the Christian journey – yours and mine – comes at more than a physical cost; we also must part with things we carry in our heart.
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For example, Peter and the others are still journeying with their pride.
Just a few verses prior, Jesus catches them arguing over who is the greatest. They’re interested in titles and seats of honor, not suffering or persecution.
Although they’ve left everything behind physically, they’re still a work in progress.
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What about me? What am I carrying in my heart that I need to let go of?
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Perhaps this can be our focus for Lent: leaving behind what no longer serves us, freeing us to follow Jesus more faithfully.
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Image credits: (1) First Church of Christ (2) United Faith Church Blog and Devotions (3) Salem United Methodist Church
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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If you’ve ever traveled through an airport, then you know the drill of going through security.
When it’s your turn, you must empty your pockets, remove your jacket, belt, and shoes, and place your luggage on a conveyor belt before walking through the metal detector.
That “narrow gate” has no room for your luggage; we ourselves can barely fit!
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Isn’t that an appropriate image for life?
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As Jesus tries teaching the rich young man in today’s Gospel, we cannot take material things with us when we enter through the “narrow gate” of eternal life.
All we can bring are the things that fit inside the heart – namely, the relationships we’ve built, the good works we’ve done, and the faith that sustained us.
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In two days, we’ll celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
May this holy season be a reminder to us to focus on the things of the heart.
Because that’s all we can take with us when go.
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Image credits: (1) Heart Hands, Wikipedia (2) The Rich Young Man, Heinrich Hofmann (3) ABC 13 Houston
Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Sometimes it feels like our nation has contracted an autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune diseases confuse the body’s natural defense system, so that it can no longer tell the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy cell; normal cells are mistaken for a threat.
As a result, the body literally starts attacking itself.
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Judgment of others, and by extension, an accusatory culture, has that same effect. It’s possible to look at our neighbor and confuse him or her for a threat.
Someone might be smart, creative, athletic, and spiritual…but they’re pro-this or anti-that.
All of a sudden, we can become so mono-focused on that one disagreement – that “splinter in their eye” – that we lose the ability to see the entire person.
While that “splinter” may need to be removed – a position reformed, an attitude adjusted, a belief or habit changed – Jesus urges us to see beyond it. There is more than meets the eye.
Can we find and celebrate what’s good in them?
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This is an essential spiritual practice for us as a community. The first pillar of our mission statement is “building community,” meaning all are welcome, even those with a splinter in their eye.
We may disagree on certain things, but the Lord still calls us to love one another – and to share our lives with one another. This is true in marriage, in families, in friendships, and in this community of God’s people.
As we grow together, the Spirit will purify us all, removing the beam from our own eye and the splinter from our neighbor’s eye.
That’s what love does – it purifies. But gently over time.
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Think about this in another way.
Someone once said to me, “Kevin, try to see people like a slice of watermelon. Spit out the seeds and enjoy what is good.”
Everyone has faults. But try to set those aside. Find what God loves in that person. Look for what unites us – not for what divides us.
Seeds constitute only a fraction of a watermelon – and by extension, a splinter only constitutes a fraction of a person.
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But what about ourselves?
As Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your neighbor’s eye.”
Take a bite out of yourself, as it were. Consider your own “seeds” or the beam in your eye.
What’s that beam in my eye? What’s one thing that I may need to work on?
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Perhaps we’ve fallen prey to a judgmental, accusatory culture. Maybe it’s something else.
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Let me offer myself as an example.
The good news is that I’m an achiever; I like getting things done. I’m sure we all know that – look at what we’ve accomplished this last year! We have new ministries, a playground coming, and a bustling café!
But the bad news is that I can be impatient with others.
Perhaps the Lord is inviting me to slow down – to listen to others; to hear their ideas; to allow them to come to their own conclusions; to allow them to move at their own pace.
Not everyone has to look, think, or act like me. They have their own gifts and talents, which I want to appreciate and learn from.
The more patient I become, the better I lead. And the better I lead, the stronger our community becomes.
But that’s true for all of us. The more we try to remove that beam from our own eye, the better we see other people and the gifts that God has given them.
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So, what’s one thing I can improve in my own life? What’s the beam that needs to be removed?
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Judgment is like an autoimmune disease or a cancer on a community. The more we’re aware of how it affects us – and the more we try to reduce it – the stronger we become as a family in faith.
May we set aside our differences and celebrate what is good in one another. Slowly, the splinters will fall – from your eyes and from mine.
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Image credits: (1) Carpenter Smith Consulting, lic (2) The Random Vibez(3) Episcopal Relief and Development
