An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.[j] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
–Luke 10: 25-29
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money[d] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
–Mark 10:17-22
Perhaps this is a question that you don’t see yourself asking. It doesn’t feel like a question that invites you deeper into a life of faith, a life of meaning. But when we consider what eternal life really is, the question can touch us.
What are these men asking for when they ask about eternal life? It is a burning question for both of them. In Mark, the man runs up to Jesus and kneels before him. There is an intensity, even a desperation in his actions. He needs to know the answer. In Luke, the text says that the man is trying to test Jesus. And yet, there is an honesty in his words. In fact, when Jesus asks him to give his own summary of the Law, he uses the exact words Jesus uses in other places: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
It seems clear that these men are not asking about the security of their eternal destination, which is how many people think of eternal life. Eternal life is not about what happens when you die. It is not about a life that the unending progression of years. In the Biblical story it is about the quality of one’s living, not just the quantity of one’s days. Eternal life is not just a life that never ends; it is a fullness of life that can be unending.
Eternal life is something that we don’t have to wait for when we die. Eternal life is something that we can experience now.
The question of eternal life is a question of meaning and purpose. It is a question about something missing or something lost. It is a question of faith.
And yet, these two men reveal something about the nature of their search with how they phrase the question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? You don’t DO anything to inherit. An inheritance comes to you simply by being a part of a family. You already have an inheritance right now. What you do with it and how you express it may change in the future, but you have an inheritance right now.
You have eternal life right now. What you do with it and how you express it may change in the future, but you have eternal life right now.
Jesus challenges the understanding of each of these men in his conversations with them. In Luke, Jesus actually gives the man something to do. Love God and love neighbor. The words are broad and expansive. We could spend our whole lives exploring how to give expression to them in our lives. But the man goes a different direction: And who is my neighbor?
With this question, Jesus senses the struggle in the man’s heart. The man is looking for some parameters. I am just one person. How can I love everybody? The man is not struggling with the command to love. He knows that loving involves more than a feeling. He knows that loving involves making the needs and welfare of the other as important as his own. Because he knows what love is, he is struggling with to whom, exactly, he expresses that love.
What the man doesn’t see, and what Jesus sees clearly, is that the question suggests that there are some people who are not my neighbors. There are some people whom it is okay not to love.
And in response to what is going on in the man’s heart, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. He tells a story about being a neighbor, not about who is a neighbor. Spend your time finding ways to connect with those around you, even those whose presence is a challenge to you. That is how to experience eternal life.
As I mentioned earlier, there is an earnestness for the man who approaches Jesus in Mark’s gospel. He runs to catch up to Jesus as he is walking. He kneels before him, stopping Jesus in his tracks. This man is seeking something desperately, and he believes that Jesus can give him what he seeks.
Thoreau speaks of how so many people live a life of “quiet desperation.” We think of desperate people as anxious and frenetic, but desperation can become so familiar that we live with it quietly. St. Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O Lord.” Perhaps it is this quiet desperation and restlessness of heart that brings this man to Jesus’ feet.
And he has been trying to fill the emptiness. He tells Jesus that from his youth he has kept the commandments that are an expression of God’s covenant love. With love and deep compassion, Jesus looks at the man and says, “You lack one thing.” At last, he is there. “After a life of faithfulness that has not silenced my restless heart, there is one more thing to do, and I will have the eternal life I seek.”
When Jesus tells him to sell what he owns, give the money to the poor, and follow him, the man is shocked and walks away in grief. Why? Did he spend any time considering what Jesus was offering him? Was the answer Jesus offered so unexpected because he had another answer in mind?
When I have discussed this story in groups and classes, there is a lot of energy spent on the selling and the giving away. Why would Jesus do that? Is that something that Jesus expects of me as well? What would the world be like if everyone did that? But what often gets missed is what comes next: the amazing invitation to follow Jesus. And this invitation to follow is a part of the amazing gift of eternal life.
This question of faith invites us to consider that there aren’t specific things that you can do to inherit eternal life.
Nobody is going to read Jesus’ words in these two stories and say, “Okay, done that.” Loved God with all my heart? Check. Loved my neighbor as myself? Check. Removed (or at least rearranged) the things in life that get in the way of my journey of faith? Check.
Eternal life is not life beyond death. Eternal life is not an unending progression of years. Eternal life is fullness of life. Eternal life is looking for ways, simple and significant, to love God and to love neighbor. Eternal life is naming and confessing the stances and the attitudes that get in the way of this loving. Do this, and you will live.
To be honest in the first scenario I am fairly certain that there is very little struggle in the guy’s heart. He was almost smug in his questioning of Jesus. If Jesus was looking for someone who this guy would never consider his neighbor the Lord could not have gone further. The Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews and if history is correct they almost seemed to like hating each other. The parable seems to point us to see that even the person we hate – our enemy is our neighbor.
Sorry Mike. For some reason, I did get notice that you replied, and so, I’m just now approving your post. I agree with your thoughts about the Samaritan story. Most likely, when the Samaritan shows up on the scene, the listeners probably were thinking: OK, he’s a goner. Instead, there was probably a gasp when the Samaritan acts so tenderly.
Thanks for reading and responding, my friend.
Yes! Exactly!