You are lacking one thing

 

October 11^th , 09  Sunday Homily: Fr.Francis Chirackal CMI

Wis. 7:7-11, Heb 4:12-13; Mk 10: 17-31

For Readings

http://www.usccb.org/nab/101115.shtml 

There is an old story about an 18^th century man who was moving overseas.  His life's savings of gold and silver coins were carried in a big money belt he wore around his waist.  The ship hit an iceberg and started to go down.  It was sinking so fast that many people had to jump in the water and swim to the lifeboats already launched.  The man jumped in, but because he could not bear the thought of leaving that heavy money belt behind, he went to the bottom of the sea.  The story ends with this haunting question: "Would you say that this man had his money or that his money had him?"  In the Gospel a man asks a big question to Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus gives a simple direct answer to that rich young man. Jesus says, "You know the commandments." Here, the young man also rightly responded to Jesus by giving the right answer from the scriptures. He answered saying, ‘You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not lie, honor your father and your mother’. Jesus appreciated it. But, the man failed in the second part and Jesus felt pity him.

Today’s readings remind us that we should not possess anything in our life that we refuse to surrender to the Lord.  Things that we refuse to surrender to God, in turn, will make us to surrender ourselves to that one. It will make us seized and tightened with its tentacles like the octopus around its prey. The possession will take the role of the master, and the master will be pushed down to the condition of possession. The first reading tells us to be prudent enough to seek the true wisdom instead of worldly things. The second reading warns us that we are accountable before God, as to how do we use our blessings.  In the gospel, Jesus’ challenge exposes what was missing in the life of that young rich man. Here we see a lack of compassion for the poor and unwillingness to share his blessings with the needy.

When Jesus called His disciples, He never made this kind of demand from them. Why then did Jesus make this extraordinary demand of the wealthy man of today's Gospel? Here, the young rich man comes to Jesus and asks the question by himself. His words look as he was ready to do anything for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In fact, he was not. He was not with true disposition. Avoiding the evils alone will not add to one’s virtues towards the Kingdom of God. Doing good is the essential and important criteria for the Kingdom of God. Well, the young man had told Jesus of the sins he did not commit - adultery, murder, etc. The Master invites him to speak not of the evil he had avoided but of the good he had done and the virtue he has to practice. His problem was spiritual poverty. He suffered from "sleeping sickness of the soul." Christ's teaching is not a system whereby one just avoids doing wrong. It is a way of life that impels us to do good, and then becoming better and better. One has to grow in virtues, not by remaining static at a position, but by improving the efforts. Before Jesus, one’s real self will be unveiled as He reads the heart and knows the inner thoughts.

The young man wanted to attain eternal life on his own terms. But Jesus doesn’t require such kind of commitments or followers. The young man claimed that he had observed all the commandments that the Scripture mentioned.  His tragedy, however, was that he loved "things" more than people.  His possessions “possessed him” like that man with gold.  Even though the rich man had never killed, stolen, or committed adultery, he was breaking the commandment against idolatry and love of neighbor.  He worshiped his wealth more than he worshipped God.

Jesus makes it clear that a true follower who wants to possess eternal life,  not only be a respectable gentleman who hurts nobody, but also must be someone who shares his riches, talents and other blessings with the less fortunate ones. Unless we share our God-given blessings with the less fortunate ones with love and charity, we will not be able to follow Jesus or give a right answer before God. There, our path will be different from God’s path and we will be following our plan, which can’t be called God’s plan for us. Here, we should remember that, unless God is at the center, our life is incomplete, fragmented, unrewarding, unsatisfying, and unfulfilled. Many times, to give the supreme place to God in our life, along with giving up of evils, we may have to give up even some good things which we consider as important thing in life.  God may ask for a simple sacrifice or a radical sacrifice. One thing is sure that, if God asks for something, He has a definite plan for which may be beyond our grasp. The great example is Virgin Mary.

As we reflect on today’s readings, let us pray for grace to put ourselves in the hands of God and listen to His words whether it pleases us or not. His words are the Word of Eternal life.