Wis 7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
Gospel
Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
First of all -- Aaron, you said something cool last week that I would like to here more of if you have the time.
ReplyDeleteSecondly -- we (Greg and I) had a debate about whether or not Jesus' request to the rich young man was universal. We came to the understanding that Jesus will vary his requests while dealing in personal encounters throughout the Gospels, so we can't say that Jesus is asking us to all sell what we have and give it to the poor. Our main example was dealing with the Samaritan woman, whom Jesus asks nothing of, although He could have said follow me, He keeps her there to witness in her community.
Thirdly -- Matt's new album is awesome.
Fourthly -- I think it might be cool to also talk about the second reading. Epistles are usually very approachable and are meant entirely for edification. Plus, I would like to hear what Aaron has to say about them.
I agree that the admonition to sell all is particular, given to this young man (and certain others) and not to all Christians. Moreover, it is the teaching of the Church that all Christians are called to simplicity and detachment of a sort, but only some are called to poverty. (Indeed, during the Middle Ages the claim that all Christians must believe that the Apostles practiced poverty was condemned. They might have, but we don't know and it's not essential to the faith.)
ReplyDeleteAll that having been said, Christ moves beyond the particularities of this one man's life: "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." And the apostles realize that this call is not just for the young man.
Their response is something that caught my eye: "Then who can be saved?" Are they that materialistic? Are they just missing the point? No, they're not. Jesus affirms the difficulty of the task by telling us "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." But why were the apostles freaking out? I think it's because they took Jesus seriously. Not just about getting rid of material possessions, but about ridding our hearts of the desire for things, for comfort. A bit like Jesus comment about looking on a woman with lust. (I know my response is usually something like, "Lord, I'm not fornicating with anyone; isn't that good enough? Do I really have to control all my heart's little foibles?")
But returning to Jesus' comment, because it's a good one: "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Some people promote simplicity or poverty as a good human practice, something that will help clear up your life, make you feel better, etc. In certain circles it's seen as something like doing yoga. But Jesus makes clear that this is not about some kind of self-help scheme. Letting go of the world is something we cannot - CANNOT - do on our own. If you try to do this on your own it will be an exercise in pride and failure. Only with God's grace can we keep our hearts focused on Him.