“And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him” (Mark 2:14).
Now is the hour of the kingdom of God. That which the Jews so long awaited has at last come, and the appropriate response is to repent, leave all, and follow Christ. This is the response that Jesus expected and received from his first disciples. St. Luke says concerning Levi that Jesus “said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he left everything, and rose and followed him” (Luke 5:27-28). This is the same wholehearted response which he received from Simon, James, and John: “And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:10-11). They responded with all their heart and life, leaving all else for the kingdom of God, which had come into the world in Jesus Christ. From then on, they would live only for the kingdom, only for God with all their heart, with an undivided heart. They would love God with their whole heart (Mark 12:30), and Christ and his kingdom would be their only their only master (Mt 6:24) and their only treasure (Matt. 6:19-21). They chose the narrow gate of life (Matt. 7:13-14). They are seeking now the things that are above, and no longer the pleasures of the world (Col. 3:1-2). They discovered a buried treasure and a pearl of great price, and sold everything to obtain it (Matt. 13:44-46). From now on, they will lose and hate their life in this world for the sake of Jesus Christ (Mark 8:35; John 12:25).
This is the kind of response Jesus wants to find in us too. We should live only for him and find our joy only in him in this world without dividing our heart among other worldly and unnecessary pleasures, including the delights of the table. We should be able to say with the psalmist: “Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart from thee … those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their libations of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup” (Ps. 16:2, 4-5). The Invitatory of Friday of week four should be our motto: “Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.”
The more we divide our heart among the unnecessary delights of this world, the less affective energy we have for God. Thus we are dispersed, divided, and our love for God becomes weak, dissipated, debilitated. We are rather to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), without any division of heart among the unnecessary delights of this world. This is to have only one master (Matt. 6:24), only one treasure (Matt. 6:19-21). This is leaving everything for him (Luke 5:11, 28; 14:33). This is losing and hating our life in this world for the sake of Christ (Mark 8:35; John 12:25).
This is the authentic response to Jesus’ call and to the arrival of the kingdom of God on earth in him, and these are the basic principles of Christian spirituality. This is the way of the saints, the difficult way of life (Matt. 7:13-14). This is life according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8, 13; Gal. 5:24, 16-17; 6:8). This is being crucified with Christ to the world (Gal. 6:14).
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