But the man’s face clouded at these words, and he went away distressed, for he had great possessions.
it’s turtles all the way down
today and tomorrow
names for nascent turtles
for their time and turnas much as we work to gather
comfort and ease
for some later protection
this is as nothingit is harder to give
ease and comfort
in a zero-sum game
we fear is riggedour fondest hope founders
day after day
on simple solutions
reversing course
Askers of questions are often dismayed at the responses they get. As questions often mask an idea, when a response doesn’t match up with the often sublimated idea there is disappointment at the realization that we are not justified in our position. Sadness can be expected.
The Greek here is στυγνάσας (stugnasas, to be sorrowful), which may be a good word to bring back into a depressed society.
Listen to Swanson232 describe his experience with these sorts of questions:
… we misunderstand this scene about giving everything away if we forget that we do not, not for a minute, believe that the young man should give everything away, at least not if the young man were our own son. Watch interpreters carefully. When faced with a passage like this one, they valorize self-denial mightily. They urge similar self-denial on the part of the audience. And then they go home and plan for their retirement, or for their child’s career. I teach American undergraduates. They are a good lot, devoted to lives of service. I also talk to the parents with some frequency. Their parents are also a good lot, concerned for the well-being of their offspring. Parents sing a regular refrain in these conversations. It begins something like this: “But what can you do with a major in … ?” It does not matter what word comes next. If the major field in question is biology/pre-med, no one asks. But any other field can be a cause for concern. I teach religion. You can imagine the questions I get asked. So far no parent has said, “I hope my daughter picks up dying people off the street for no pay.” Why not?
The possessions in question are specifically land, property. It doesn’t matter if it is land possessed by an individual or an Empire. In the end, land is for the benefit of all, dominion does not work here.