Treasure in Heaven (28th Sunday in Ordinary Time-Cycle B)

Homily for the 28^thSunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Based onMk 10:17-30(Gospel), Ws 7:7-11 (First Reading) and  Heb 4:12-13 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

TREASURE IN HEAVEN

The Gospel narrative for this Sunday is takenMk 10:17-30.

Verse 17 says: As he was setting out on a journey, when a man ran up, knelt down before him, and put this question to him, “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Parallel texts for this verse are:

1.       Mt 19:16-22 - And there was a man who came to him and asked, ‘Master,^d what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?(v. 16)’ Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good.^e But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (v. 17) He said, “Which?” ‘These;’  Jesus replied, ‘You must not kill; you must  not commit adultery; you must not steal; you must not bear false witness; (v. 18); Honor your father and your mother’; and you must love your neighbor as yourself’ (v. 19). The young man said to him, “I have kept all of these. What more do I need to do?” (v. 20) Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ (v. 21) But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. Footnote ^d says “Var. ‘Good master’, cf. Mk and Lk.”; and Footnote ^e says “i.e. God(explicit in Mk and Lk and Vulg. Mt.) Another reading, borrowed from Mk and Lk, is ‘Why do you call me good? None is good but God alone.’”

2.       Lk 18:18-23 - A member of one of the leading families put this question to him, “Good Master, what have I to do to inherit eternal life? (v. 18). Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone (v. 19) You know the commandments, ‘You must not commit adultery; you must not kill; youmust not steal; you must not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’ (v. 20) He replied, “I have kept all of these from my earliest days till now”(v.  21) And when Jesus heard this he said, ‘There is still one thing you lack. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me’ (v. 22). But when he heard this he was filled with sadness, for he was very rich (v.23).

Verses 18 and 19 say: Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You must not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you must not steal; you must not bear false witness; you must not defraud; Honor your father and your mother.’

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 20:12,16 - Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you (v. 12). You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (v. 16).

2.       Dt 5:16-20 - Honor your father and your mother, as the Yahweh your God, has commanded you, so that you may have a long life and may prosper in the land the Yahweh your God gives to you.17 ^bYou shall not kill.18 You shall not commit adultery.19 You shall not steal.20 You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor.

Verse 20, 21, 22, and 23 say:  And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all of these from my earliest days.’Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at this words, and he went away sad, for he had great wealth. Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 19:23-26 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 23) Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 24). When the disciples heard this, they were astonished, “Who then can be saved, then?they said (v. 25) Jesus gazed at them. and said, “For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible, for God everything is possible (v. 26)’

2.       Lk 18:24-27 - Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to make their way into the kingdom of God! (v.24) Yes, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’ (v. 25) “In that case,’  said the listeners,  ‘who can be saved?’ (v. 26) “ Things that are impossible for men,’ he ‘are possible for God.’ (v. 27)

3.       Pr 11:28 - He who trusts in riches will have his fall, the virtuous will flourish like the leaves.

Verses 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 say: The disciples were astounded by these words,^b but Jesus insisted, “My children,’ he said to them,  ‘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 a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another, ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. “For men’ he said, ‘it is impossible, but not for God; because everything is possible for God.’ Peter took this up, “What about us?’ he asked him.  ‘We have left everything and followed you.’ Footnote ^b says “Wealth and prosperity were considered signs of God’s favor, cf. Introduction to Wisdom Books.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 19:27-30 - Then Peter spoke, ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then? (v. 27)’ Jesus said to them, “I tell you solemnly, when all is made new^g  and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel (v. 28) And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father,  mother, children or land for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and also eternal life (v.29). Many who are first will be last, and the last, first (v. 30).Footnote ^g says “The reference is to the messianic ‘renewal of all things’ which is to be revealed when the world ends but which, on the spiritual plane, will already have begun when Christ rises from the dead as Kyrios in the Church.”

2.       Lk 18:28-30 - Then Peter said, ‘What about us? We left all we had to follow you’ (v. 28). He said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left houses, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God (v. 29) who will not be given repayment^c many times over in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life (v. 30).Footnote ^c says “Add ‘in return’”.

Verses 29 and 30 say: Jesus said, “I  tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land -not without persecutions- now in this present age and, in the world to come, eternal life.”

Parallel text is Mk 1:1 that says: The beginning of the Good News^a of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Footnote^a says “Good_News. Old English ‘god-spel’, Greek euaggelion, hence Lat. evangelium. The word is used in the NT to mean, not a book, but the Good News of salvation. Jesus being both its messenger and its message”.

The First Reading for today isWs 7:7-11.

Verse 7 and 8 say: So I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I esteemed her more than scepters and thrones; compared with her, I Held riches for nothing.

Parallel texts for verse 7 are:

1.       1 K 3:6-9,12 - Solomon replied: “You showed great kindness to your servant David, my father, when he lived before you in faithfulness and justice and integrity of heart; and you have continued this great kindness to him today, by allowing a son of his to sit on his throne today (v. 6). Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership (v. 7) Your servant find himself in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many  its number cannot be counted or reckoned (v. 8). Give your servant a heart to understand^c how to discern between good and evil for who could govern this people of yours that is so great? (v.  9)’. Here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before had  and none  will have after you (v. 12). Footnote ^c says “The text adds ‘to govern your people’. Solomon prays for wisdom in practical affairs, not in his own interest but in those of the nation. Cf 5:13+ and Ex 31:3+”.

2.       1 K 5:9-14 - Yahweh^g gave Solomon immense wisdom and understanding, and a heart as vast as the sand on the seashore (v. 9) The wisdom  of Solomon’ surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the East, and all the wisdom of Egypt (v. 10) He was wiser than any other, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,^h or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the cantors (v. 11) He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five(v.  12). He could talk about plants from the cedar on Lebanon to the hyssop growing on the wall; and he could talk of animals, and birds and reptiles and fishⁱ (v. 13) Men from all nations came to hear Solomon’s wisdom,  and he received gifts from all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom (v. 14). Footnote ^g says ‘Yahweh’ following version”; Footnote ^h says “i.e. the native. The names that follow are probably those of sages famous in Canaan. Ps 89 is attributed to Ethan”; Footnote ⁱ says “Solomon is the first of the ‘sages of Israel’ (see Introduction to Wisdom Books). That he engaged in literary and poetic activity there is no doubt, cf. 8:12-13 and part of Pr may possibly derive from him. Ps 72 and 127, Qo, Sg, Ws, all bear his name.”

3.       Si 47:12-17 - a wise son succeeded him, who lived in spaciously, thanks to him.^f (v. 12) Solomon reigned in a time of peace, and God gave him peace all round so that he could raise a house to his name and prepare an everlasting sanctuary (v. 13). How wise you were in your youth,brimming over with understanding like a river! (v. 14) Your mind ranged the earth, you filled it with mysterious sayings (v. 15)Your name reached the distant islands, and you were loved for your peace.^g (v. 16) Your songs, your proverbs, your sayings and with your retorts,^h made you the wonder of the world (v. 17). Footnote ^f says “Solomon benefited from the temporal achievements of David, but, on the religious level, it is also to be understood that God favored Solomon for the sake of David. Cf vv. 20:22; 1 K 11:12”; Footnote ^g says “Allusion to the name of Solomon (‘the peaceful one’) cf. v. 13”.

Verse 9 says: “I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer, for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand, and beside her silver ranks as mud.^d”

Footnote ^d says “Familiar dictum of wisdom literature: Pr 3:14-15; 4:7; 8:10,11,19; 16:16; Ps 19:10; 119:72, 127; Jb 28:15-19.”

Parallel text is Jb 28:17 that says: No gold, no glass can match it in value, nor for a fine gold vase can it be bartered.

Verse 10 says: I loved her more than health and beauty, preferred her to the light, since her radiance never sleeps.

Parallel text of verse 10 is Is 60:19-20 that says: No more will the sun give you daylight, nor moonlight shine on you; but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, your God will be your splendor (v. 19) your sun will set no more nor your moon wane, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning will be ended (v. 20).

Verse 11 says: In her company all good things came to me, at her hands riches not to be numbered.

Parallel texts are:

1.       1 K 3:13 -In addition, I give you what you have not asked for: I give you such riches and glory that among kings there will be no one like you all your days

2.       1 K 10:21 -All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the furnishings in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold,  silverwas thought little of in the time of Solomon.

3.       Si 47:18 - In the name of the Lord God, of him who is called the God of Israel, you amassed gold like so much tin; and made silver as common as lead.

4.       Mt 6:33 - Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.

The Second Reading is taken fromHeb 4:12-13.

Verse 12 says: The word of God^e is something alive and active; it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. Footnote ^esays “All that God has revealed through the prophets or through his Son, 1:1-2; 2:1-4; 3. Since the promises and threats of the message are still ‘alive’ and in force, they make it impossible for human beings to avoid declaring their intentions, i.e. they ‘judge’ them.”

Parallel texts of verse 12 are:

1.       Is 49:2 - He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed in his quiver.

2.       1 Th 2:13 - Another reason why we constantly  thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the messageyou accepted it for what it really is, God’s message^d and not some human thinking; and it is still^e a living power among you who believe it. Footnote^d says “A brief summary of the apostolic tradition: message is first ‘received’, 4:1; 2 Th 3:6; 1 Co 15:1; Ga 1:9; Ph 4:9; Col. 2:6; or ‘heard’, Rm 10:17+; Ep 1:13; Ac 15:7, etc. It then penetrates the mind or heart, Rm 10:8-10, where, if it is welcomed, 1:6; 2 Th 2:10; 2 Co 11:4; Ac 8:16, etc. Mk 4:20, it proves that the hearer acknowledges that God has been speaking through his missionary, 4:1f; 2 Co 3:5; 15:3”; Footnote ^esays  “Or ‘has become’; God acts through his message that has been welcomed by the believer, cf. 1:8, 2 Th 3:1.”

3.       1 P 1:23…your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God.^g Footnote ^g says “Or ‘the living and eternal Word of God’”.

4.       Rv 1:16 - In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force.

5.       Rm 1:9 - The God I worship ^f spiritually ^g by preaching the good News of his Son knows that I never fail to mention you in my prayers.Footnote^f says “Lit. ‘I offer worship offered to God, cf. 15:16, like the Christian life itself, since both depend on charity, 12:1; Ph 2:17; 3:3; 4:18, Ac  13:2; 2 Tim 1:3; 4:6; Heb 9:14; 12:28; 13:15; 1 P 2:5”.Footnote ^g says “By spirit (pneuma) Paul sometimes means the highest element in a human being, Rm 1:9; 8:16; 1 Co 2:11; 16:18; 2 Co 2:13; 7:13; Ga 6:18; Ph 4:23; Phm 25; 2 Tm 4:22; cf. Mt 5:3; 27:50; Mk 2:8; 8:12; Lk 1:47,80; 8:55; 23:46; Jn 4:23f; 11:33; 13:21; 19:30; Ac 7:59; 17:16; 18:25; 19:21. This  he distinguishes from the flesh, the lower element (1 Co 5:5; 2 Co 7:1; col. 2:5; cf. Mt 26:41p; 1 P 4:6; Rm 7:5), from the body (1 Co 5:3f; 7:34; cfJm 2:26; Rm 7:24), and from the psyche also (1 Th 5:23+; cf. Heb 4:12; Jude 19); it bears some relationship to nous (Rm 7:25; Ep 4:23) Cf also ‘dispositions of the spirit’ in 1 Co 4:2); 2 Co 12:18; Ga 6:1; Ph 1:27. By choosing this traditional term (Cf. Is. 11:2+) instead of the nous of the Greek  philosophers, the NT can suggest a deep affinity between the human spirit and the Spirit of God that stimulates and guides it, Rm 5:5+; Ac 1:8+. There are many texts where it is hard to tell whether it is the natural or supernatural spirit that is referred to, the personal or the indwelling spirit- cf. e.g. Rm 12:11; 2 Co 6:6; Ep 43:23; 6:18; Ph 3:3 var. Col 1:8, Jude 19, etc.”

6.       1 Co 15:44 - When it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.^lFootnote ^l says Lit. It is sown a physical (psychikon) body. It is raised a spiritual (pneumatikon) body. In Paul, as in the OT, psyche (Hebr. nephesh; cf. Gn 2:7) is what gives life to animals, to the human body, 1 Co 15:45; or it is the actual ‘life’ of the body, Rm 16:4; Ph 2:30; 1 Th 2:8; cf. Mt 2:20; Mk 3:4; Lk 12:20; Jn 10:11; Ac 20:10, etc., its ‘living soul’, 2 Co 1:23. The term can also mean any human being, Rm 2:9; 13:1; 2 Co 12:15; Ac 2:41,43, etc. As it only gives natural life, 1 Co 2:14; cf. Jude 19, it is less important than pnuema by which a human life is divinized by a process that begins through the gift of the Spirit, Rm 5:5+; cf. 1:9+, and is completed after death. Greek philosophers thought of the higher soul (the nous)escaping from ‘the body’, to survive immortally. Christians thought of immortality more in terms of the restoration of the whole person, involving a resurrection of the body effected by the spirit or divine principle which God withdrew from human beings because of sin, Gn 6:3, but restored to all who are united to the risen Christ, Rm 1:4+; 8:11, who is the ‘heavenly’ man and life-giving Spirit, 1 Co 15:45-48. The ‘body’ is no longer psychikon but pneumatikon, it is incorruptible, immortal, 1 Co 15:53, glorious, 1 Co 15:43; cf. Rm 8:18; 2 Co 4:17; Ph 3:21; Col 3:4, no longer subject to the laws of matter, Jn20:19,26; it does not even answer the description of matter, Lk. 24:16. Psyche can be used in a wide sense as the opposite of the body to indicate what it is in a human being that behaves and feels, Ph 1:27; Ep 1:27; Ep 6:6; Col. 3:23; cf. Mt 22:37p; 26:38p; Lk 1:46; Jn 12:27; Ep 6:6; Col. 3:23; cf. Mt 22:37p; 26:38p; Lk 1:46; Jn 12:27; Ac 4:32; 14:2; 1 P 2:11; etc. or even to indicate the spiritual and immortal soul. Mt 10:28, 39p; Ac 2:27; Jm 1:21; 5:20; 1 P 1:9; Rv 6:9, etc.

7.       Ep 6:17 - And then you must accept salvation from God to beyour helmet and receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword.

Verse 13 says No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we give account of ourselves.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Jb 34:21-22 - His eyes, you see, keep watch on all men’s ways, and he observes their every step.  No darkness, nor the deepest shadow, can hide the wrongdoer.

2.       Ps 139:2-3 - You know if I am standing or sitting; you read my thoughts from far away, whether I walk or lied down, you are watching, you know every detail of my conduct.

3.       Ws 1:6 - Wisdom is a spirit,^g a friend to man, though she shall not pardon the words of a blasphemer; since God sees into  the innermost parts of him,^h truly observes the heart, and listens to his tongue.Footnote^g says “‘Wisdom is a spirit’; var. ‘The spirit of wisdom’”; and Footnote ^h says “Lit. ‘kidneys’; considered  the centre of the emotions and of instinctive impulse, Pr 23:16; Ps 16:7;  73:21; Jb 19:27; in the ‘heart’ is localized conscious activity of the intellect and of will. ‘Heart’ and Kidneys’ are frequently associated, Ps 7:9; 26:2; Jr 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rv 2:23, to signify all man’s inner forces.”

The rich young man in this gospel narrative is asking Jesus Christ to give him eternal life. For this 1^st Century Jew, eternal life consists in his “inclusion in the promised, coming and vindicated kingdom that GOD would bring to his covenant people, as evidenced by the resurrection of the faithful at the end of the age” (The Costly Kingdom Decision. A Homily for Mark 10:17-30 from http://markpowellwired.blog-spot.com)

But Jesus Christ was instead offering him a “treasure in heaven”  in exchange for his earthly riches and wealth but the rich young man was discouraged, his face fell and went away sad for he had many possessions.

So what is this “treasure” that Christ was talking about and promising to give to any man who would want to follow him?  This “treasure in heaven” is  none other than the kingdom of God. And what is the kingdom of God? Jesus says it is the “treasure hidden in a field” and the ‘fine pearl’ of great price” (Mt 13:44-45), which is none other than the life of communion within any given real and true Christian community where Jesus Christ is the head and the brothers are the members. A real and true Christian community is one that  lives in the spirit of the first and primitive Christian community that Acts 2:42-42 and 4:32-35. If one belongs to this kind of community, what else could he ask for in this world. It is like living in God’s kingdom on earth. And, if one finds it, he/she will indeed give up everything just in order to possess it (Mt. 19:21). .

This life of communion and sharing described by Act 2 and 4 which, it said, happened in the primitive Christian community is the ideal life, a “pie in the sky” so to speak, and a “treasure in heaven” indeed.

If that kind of life ascribed by Acts that it said was to be found in the first Christian communities did happen in fact and in reality then it is true that there is indeed that kind of “treasure in heaven”. This makes us happy to find that what was reported in scripture is true and doubly happy to realize that there are some people today who try to emulate that kind of Christian living in their own communities, trying to live that kind of unearthed “treasure in heaven” in a humanly created “kingdom of God”.  And happy are they that try to make the kingdom of God a reality on earth. This fact convinces us about the power of the word of scripture to transform itself, not only to remain an ideal, but into one that is a reality. For a distinction between the “ideal” and the “real”, please refer to my book, “Sociology of Religion” (d. 30 January 2007).