Monday of
the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
August 17, 2015 6:30am
The man in today’s gospel is
described as young and rich.
And, apparently, he is also a good
person.
But, he feels that something is
missing in his life.
He obeys the commandments, but he
still asks Jesus:
“What do I still lack?”
In other words, “I am missing something. What is it?”
I think we all feel this way at
times throughout our lives.
There is more, there must be
more, something feels missing.
Jesus’ answer is interesting.
He tells him to sell everything
he owns and give it all to the poor.
I think Jesus is exaggerating to
make a point here.
He does this at times, like when
he says to tear out your eye if it is an occasion of sin.
Jesus exaggerates with this good,
rich, young man to make a point.
Jesus wants him to go beyond laws
and commandments, to go beyond black and white stuff and enter a religion and
spirituality of relationship.
Jesus wants this man to enter a
deeper relationship with himself.
He wants him to remove the
clutter that is in the way and enter a deeper communion or inner life with God.
And in doing this, Jesus wants
this man to enter a deeper relationship with others by becoming more proactive
and initiating.
He wants him to remove the
clutter so that his religious practice will not just be doing this or avoiding
that as it is prescribed in the law.
Jesus wants him to actually catch
the spirit of all the laws and commandments and even go beyond and do more than
the letter of the law.
I guess this man is not quite ready
for all of this just yet.
That’s too bad, but I believe he
remains a good person.
Maybe he will get the idea and be
ready for this spiritual step a year or two from now.
Maybe the same thing happens for
us in our lives.
What do you think?
