Kingdom Prayer: The Gospel of Luke With N.T. WrightSample

The two stories after the prayer of the Pharisee and tax collector play on the same themes. The Kingdom isn’t for those who we might typically think it is. It’s for the children, Jesus says. This isn’t so much a literal categorisation as a call for humility. To approach God like a child means coming without the intent to impress, as those in the parable about the banquet, nor with a complicated motive. The suggestion is that children intuitively understand generosity and unconditional love.

Luke then takes this image of humility and puts it into practice. The rich young ruler knows and follows all the commandments. Even with the social temptations his position affords him, he is apparently committed to keeping the commandments, and thus being justified in his own eyes. But he is unable to part with his riches. This is the divine reversal again. No matter how assured one is by the standard measures, God justifies the humble and the poor.

Riches are the shackles which tie people to the present age. They say, as they did to the rich young ruler, I live here and now. They block the ruler from anticipating the New Age coming to birth, literally, right in front of him. He’s unable to see that God’s new world is full of even more lavish promises, but only for those who don’t insist on grasping them for themselves here and now. Of course, this has a clear social function in line with John the Baptist’s preaching about generosity and social care. It also serves a spiritual function in the formation of the soul.

Reflection:

What are some practical reasons that riches are a roadblock in the Kingdom? What spiritual reasons are they a potential roadblock to faith?