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The Rich Young Man
As He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Jesus, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: `Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" He said to Him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." Jesus looking upon him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had many possessions.
Mk 10:17-22
This young man was a good man. In fact, he was a very good man. This man looked our Lord in the eye and told Him that all his life, he had observed the law and kept the commandments. We know that this young man was speaking the truth, because our Lord did not “suffer fools.” Recall when the Samaritan woman told Jesus that she had no husband – Jesus responded that the woman had had five husbands and the man she was with currently was not her husband (Jn 4:16-18).
We are given further insight into this man’s goodness in that Jesus “loved him.” As God, Jesus loved every man and woman. But the fact that the Evangelist remarked that Jesus looked at this man and loved him is very unique and certainly points to the quality of this young man.
It is not in spite of this young man’s goodness, but because of it that Jesus called him to a “higher” vocation. This man had done what was asked of him and Jesus invited him to accept the next challenge.
Very few of us will likely be called to give away all of our possessions as a precursor to following our Lord. However, each of us must strive to be ready to do so if called.
During the LOTW Retreat, each one of us recited the following prayer:
Jesus my Savior, led by the Holy Spirit,
I recognize You as Lord, I accept You as my Lord,
I invite You into my heart as Lord.
Jesus You are the Lord of the universe,
I want You to be the Lord of all my life,
And every area of my life.
I invite You to be:
+Lord of my time
+Lord of my body, mind, and spirit
+Lord of my health and sickness
+Lord of my family life
+Lord of my marriage
+Lord of my children
+Lord of my money and possessions
+Lord of my work and my rest
+Lord of my sorrows and joys
+Lord of all of my relationships +Lord of my vocation in life
+Lord of my hopes and dreams for the future
+Lord of my life and my death.
I surrender myself totally to you.
Come Lord, Jesus and take possession of what is yours.
I totally consecrate myself and my whole life to you, Lord Jesus,
For the glory of God
And the salvation of the world.
This prayer is the very essence of that which Jesus requested from the young man. But the young man could not profess this prayer. The young man had apparently accepted God as the Lord of his actions, relationships, sexuality and many other areas of his life. The young man was not ready, however, to make God the Lord of his many possessions.
The material goods which the young man possessed were not, of themselves, evil. The young man undoubtedly made good use of them. He probably treated his hired-hands well. As a devout follower of the law, the young man surely gave alms regularly and generously. Nevertheless, it was because he had many possessions that the young man “went away sad,” instead of joyfully entering into the company of our Lord.
There is nothing wrong with us having possessions. Rather, it is the excessive attachment to things that make them a source of sin. That which we value above all else is what we make the “lord” of our life. If we value Jesus above all else, He is the Lord of our life. If we value our possessions above Him, then they will be our lord.
If we are to make good on our recitation of the Lordship Prayer, we need not quit our job, leave our family and sell all of our possessions. We must, however, learn to lovingly detach ourselves from these things. We have given everything we are and have to Jesus. That which He asks us to retain, we must retain as loving stewards, not as greedy owners. And we must stand ready to give back to Him anything for which He asks.
Like the rich young man, we have had a personal encounter with Jesus. And, like the young man, Jesus has told us exactly what He desires of us – to make Him the Lord of every aspect of our life. Let us not “go away sad” like the young man. Rather, let us accept the incredible joy Jesus wishes to give us, the joy that comes only through a relationship of selfless love. Let us give to Jesus the tiny, unsatisfying little “everything” we have and receive from Jesus the infinite, all-satisfying “everything” He wishes to give us in return.
+JITIY+ |
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