Word to the Wise
Monday, March 3, 2014 - Monday in the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Pet 1:3-9 and Mark 10:17-27]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.
The face of the man with many possessions is not the only face that falls in this story! The jaws of the disciples have dropped as well! The reasons are different, however! For the man who comes to Jesus, the reason is that Jesus has told him he can't have his "stuff" and be a true follower of Jesus at the same time! The disciples are "exceedingly astonished" because they believe that wealth is a gift from God. Why should wealth be an obstacle to entering the Kingdom of God?
Jesus makes it plain that material wealth is a burden to faith. The only burden worthy of the disciple is the cross! Wealth is a distraction from a focus on following Jesus! The disciples then ask, once they regain their composure, how anyone can be "saved" if it is an equally plain fact that everyone they know either owns or wants to own material possessions! Jesus makes it clear again that salvation is a matter of God's "possibility," not human efforts! It is only with God's help that we can get rid of the obstacles to following Jesus.
We are told that Jesus looked at the man and loved him before issuing the challenge. We know that the challenge was a shock to the man (and to the disciples as well). We don't know what happened after the man went away, but we do know that Jesus loved him. It is this love that can sustain us in the effort to shed the obstacles to the Kingdom. It is this love that makes all things possible for God! AMEN