Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1–11
Gospel: Matthew 19:16–26
Sunday: The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
The One Thing We Cannot Do for Ourselves
Today’s Epistle begins with the heart of the Christian proclamation: Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to His disciples. Saint Paul does not present the Resurrection as an inspiring idea or a private spiritual experience. He presents it as the saving act of God within history, witnessed by people who encountered the risen Christ.
The Gospel introduces a young man who sincerely desires eternal life. He has kept the commandments and wants to know what remains. Christ’s answer exposes the possession that possesses him. When Jesus tells him to give his wealth to the poor and follow Him, the young man goes away sorrowful.
Together, the readings reveal the difference between acquiring another achievement and receiving a life that only God can give. The young man asks what he must do. Saint Paul testifies to what grace has done. Yet grace does not make human effort unnecessary: Paul labors abundantly, while insisting that even his labor is God’s grace working within him.
The Epistle
1 Corinthians 15:1–11
1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.
World English Bible
In the familiar words of the King James Version:
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” —1 Corinthians 15:3–4
“But by the grace of God I am what I am.” —1 Corinthians 15:10
The Gospel We Received
Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians of the Gospel that he had preached, that they had received, and in which they stood. The Christian faith is not something each generation invents for itself. Paul delivers what he first received. The Gospel comes to us as a sacred trust handed down within the life of the Church.
At its center is not a system of ethics, a political program, or a method of self-improvement. Its center is Jesus Christ: crucified for our sins, truly buried, raised bodily on the third day, and seen alive by many witnesses.
Paul names Cephas, the Twelve, more than five hundred believers, James, all the apostles, and finally himself. Many of those witnesses were still living when he wrote. The Resurrection was proclaimed publicly among people who could question those who claimed to have seen the risen Lord.
Christian hope therefore rests upon something God has done, not merely upon something we feel. Christ’s Resurrection is the beginning of the renewal of creation and the pledge of our own resurrection. We do not follow Jesus simply because His teaching is admirable. We follow Him because He has conquered death.
Grace That Does Not Remain Idle
Paul never forgets that he persecuted the Church. He does not minimize his sin, but neither does he allow his past to become greater than God’s mercy. “By the grace of God I am what I am.” Grace does not pretend that Paul had always been faithful; it transforms the persecutor into an apostle.
Yet Paul immediately adds that God’s grace toward him was not futile. He labored more abundantly, and then corrects himself: “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
This is neither self-salvation nor passivity. God acts, and Paul responds. Paul truly labors, but his labor is made possible and fruitful by grace. Orthodox Christian life holds these truths together. We cannot save ourselves, yet grace calls forth repentance, obedience, generosity, prayer, and perseverance. We cooperate with God, but we never imagine that we have placed God in our debt.
The Gospel
Matthew 19:16–26
16 Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
17 He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’
19 ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20 The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
25 When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
World English Bible
In the familiar words of the King James Version:
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” —Matthew 19:24
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” —Matthew 19:26
What Do I Still Lack?
The young man is not presented as a hypocrite. He approaches Christ earnestly, asks about eternal life, and has sought to keep the commandments from his youth. His question—“What do I still lack?”—reveals that he knows something is missing.
Jesus does not condemn the commandments. He leads the man through them and then addresses the place where obedience has not yet reached. The man possesses great wealth, but his sorrow reveals that the wealth also possesses him.
Christ’s command is personal and exact: sell, give, come, and follow. The issue is not merely the number of coins in the man’s keeping. It is whether anything has become more necessary to him than communion with Christ.
Wealth creates a particular spiritual danger because it can imitate providence. Money promises security, freedom, influence, and insulation from need. It tempts us to believe that we possess our lives and can guarantee our futures. The danger is not confined to the very rich. Any possession, status, relationship, habit, grievance, or ambition can become the thing we cannot imagine surrendering even when Christ calls.
He Went Away Sorrowful
The sorrow of the young man is one of the most painful details in the Gospel. He recognizes the goodness of Christ’s invitation, yet cannot accept it. He does not argue or mock Jesus. He simply walks away grieving.
His sadness shows that attachment does not finally make us happy. What we refuse to release can become the very thing that prevents us from receiving what we most deeply desire.
Christ does not run after the man and reduce the demand. Love allows him to depart. God does not force communion upon us. But the unanswered invitation remains: “Come, follow me.” The Gospel does not tell us whether the young man later returned. That silence leaves room for hope—and turns the question toward us.
Who Then Can Be Saved?
The disciples are astonished by Christ’s words. They do not respond, “Then only poor people can be saved.” They ask, “Who then can be saved?” They understand that the camel and the needle describe a human impossibility.
Christ does not offer a technique for making the camel smaller or the needle larger. He says plainly, “With men this is impossible.” Salvation is not the final prize awarded to those who manage their moral and religious lives successfully enough. No collection of achievements can conquer sin and death.
But impossibility is not the final word: “With God all things are possible.” The God who raised Jesus from the dead can free the heart held captive by possessions. The God who transformed Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle can transform us. The command that exposes our inability also directs us toward grace.
Possessions, Grace, and the Life of the Kingdom
The Epistle and Gospel meet at the point where self-sufficiency ends. The rich young man has an admirable record but cannot release the foundation upon which he has built his security. Paul has no admirable past to offer; he can only say that grace made him what he is.
Yet Paul’s dependence upon grace produces strenuous labor, while the young man’s confidence in his possessions produces sorrow and departure. Grace does not make us less active. It makes a new kind of action possible—work freed from the illusion that we are saving ourselves.
Christ may not command every Christian to dispose of every possession in precisely the same manner. But He commands every disciple to hold possessions as a steward rather than an owner, to give generously to the poor, and to let nothing rival Him in the heart. Whatever we cannot surrender has already begun to master us.
As we examine our lives, the proper question is not only, “What have I done?” It is also, “What do I still lack?” and “What am I unwilling to place in Christ’s hands?”
We need not answer in despair. The risen Christ who appeared to Paul still acts by grace. What is impossible for us is possible with God. May His grace loosen our grasp upon every false security, teach us to give freely, and enable us to follow Him with undivided hearts.