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Peter began to say to Jesus,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
They had done, Peter suggested, what the rich young man could not do. They had let go of their previous livelihoods, as Peter had literally left his net, in order to follow Jesus. Peter seemed to want to know what was in it for them, or to ensure that they were included among those who would receive eternal life. At that point in the ministry of Jesus they might have occasionally wondered if the sacrifice they made to follow him was worth it. After all, they hadn't been reaping any obvious material benefits at least as yet.
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
Jesus first broadened the scope of the surrender required to follow him. It wasn't just possessions or careers, necessarily, but even relationships and reputation. One could not even love father or mother more than Jesus and the Kingdom and still have sufficient freedom to follow him (see Matthew 10:37).
Peter was so eager to tell Jesus what he had already done to follow him. Later, he was so certain he had the freedom to follow Jesus even unto death. But he had not yet surrendered so completely as he imagined, something he learned before the cock crowed three times.
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions
One gift given to those who surrendered to Jesus and followed him was a new spiritual family. They needn't be as concerned with those from their old lives who would no longer welcome them because there were now fellow members of the Kingdom community who would invite them into their homes, whose lands would now by their own lands. The goodness of this reality did very much some to depend on the degree of one's individual surrender to Jesus. Without that it might just be an occasion for jealousy and rivalry as we can see that it often was for the disciples. Further, this new reality, the reality of the Church, also entailed persecutions. If Jesus had omitted this detail it might have seemed like a perspective seen through rose colored glasses. But Jesus knew precisely what awaited those who would follow him. Yet in the Kingdom even the persecutions themselves were in some way a gift. On the one hand, if one sought Jesus for the sake of his benefits, the persecutions might seem to be so unbearable as to make the benefits not worth the effort. But on the other hand, if one sought first Jesus and his Kingdom than all things would be added to them (see Matthew 6:33) and all things would work together for their good (see Romans 8:28). Most of us would be reluctant to exchange our worldly wealth (think in terms of our financial security) for suffering. But what if we exchanged it for the promise that suffering would be transformative and make us ready to bear the weight of eternal glory?
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (see Second Corinthians 4:17).
We may not be called to actually part ways with our family and friends or to let go of any specific possession of ours. But we must be willing to let Jesus lead us and to have him, and nothing else, be our highest priority and our guiding light. Only with Jesus in the first place in our lives will we be safe from the manipulation of the enemy through our attachment to lesser things. This is what Peter enjoined on his readers in today's first reading.
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,
and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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