August 17
The Rich Young Man
(Part 1)
Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22
Today's Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22 (The Rich Young Man - Part 1)
Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher,
what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me
about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into
life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus
replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not
steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’;
and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to
him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus
said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to
[the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When
the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many
possessions.
Reflection:
He'd kept every commandment since he was a boy. He
wasn't lying about that, and Jesus doesn't argue with him about it. The man's
problem wasn't disobedience. It was that he'd stopped at obedience, and Jesus
was asking him for so much more: total surrender, not just correct behavior.
That's a harder invitation than it looks like on the surface. Most of us can
manage rule-keeping. Total surrender is different. It asks what you're willing
to actually let go of, not just what you're willing to avoid doing wrong.
The young man went away sad, and Scripture doesn't tell us what happened to him
after that. Maybe he came back later. Maybe grace worked on him slowly, the way
it usually does with the rest of us. Our Lady's own surrender didn't cost her
possessions, it cost her every plan she might have had for an ordinary life,
and she said yes without asking to think it over first. She's the answer to
what this young man couldn't quite manage: total yes, given freely, without
going away sad. Sadness isn't a sin; it’s really being honest. It just can't be
where the story ends.
What's the one thing you'd walk away sad from, rather than hand over? Also,
is there something in your life that you are very attached to and feel would change you if you lost it? So as a result, you hang on to it.
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
