From: Mark 10:28-31
Poverty and Renunciation (Continuation)
[28] Peter began to say to Him (Jesus), "Lo, we have left everything
and followed You." [29] Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no
one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or
children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, [30] who will not
receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to
come eternal life. [31] But many that are first will be last, and the
last first."
Commentary:
28-30. Jesus Christ requires every Christian to practise the virtue of
poverty: He also requires us to practise real and effective austerity
in the possession and use of material things. But of those who have
received a specific call to apostolate--as in the case, here, of the
Twelve--He requires absolute detachment from property, time, family,
etc. so that they can be fully available, imitating Jesus Himself who,
despite being Lord of the universe, became so poor that He had nowhere
to lay His head (cf. Matthew 8:20). Giving up all these things for the
sake of the Kingdom of Heaven also relieves us of the burden they
involve: like a soldier shedding some encumbrance before going into
action, to be able to move with more agility. This gives one a certain
lordship over all things: no longer the slave of things, one
experiences that feeling St. Paul referred to: "As having nothing, and
yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10). A Christian who sheds
his selfishness in this way has acquired charity and, having charity,
he has everything: "All are yours; you are Christ's; and Christ is
God's" (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).
The reward for investing completely in Christ will be fully obtained in
eternal life: but we will also get it in this life. Jesus says that
anyone who generously leaves behind his possessions will be rewarded a
hundred times over in this life.
He adds "with persecutions" (v. 30) because opposition is part of the
reward for giving things up out of love for Jesus Christ: a Christian's
glory lies in becoming like the Son of God, sharing in His cross so as
later to share in His glory: "provided we suffer with Him in order that
we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17); "all who desire to
live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Timothy
3:12).
29. These words of our Lord particularly apply to those who by divine
vocation embrace celibacy, giving up their right to form a family on
earth. By saying "for My sake and for the Gospel" Jesus indicates that
His example and the demands of His teaching give full meaning to this
way of life: "This, then, is the mystery of the newness of Christ, of
all that He is and stands for; it is the sum of the highest ideals of
the Gospel and of the Kingdom; it is a particular manifestation of
grace, which springs from the paschal mystery of the Savior and renders
the choice of celibacy desirable and worthwhile on the part of those
called by our Lord Jesus. Thus, they intend not only to participate in
Christ's priestly office, but also to share with Him His very condition
of living" (Paul VI, "Sacerdotalis Coelibatus", 23).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.