28th Sunday of Ordinary Time – B
October 13, 2024 11am
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 11am
A Question
So, a man asks Jesus a question.
And as he does this, he kneels before Jesus. In that culture especially, this is a gesture of petition and reverence.
He addresses Jesus as “Good teacher,” and then asks his question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
His question is one form of the ultimate question in everyone’s heart. What is my ultimate goal?
And how do I attain it? It is another way of asking, “How do I enter the kingdom of God?”
This man, as we learn in the conversation, was already obeying the commandments. But his question suggests that he is wondering about it all and senses that there might be something more.
Well, before answering the man’s question, Jesus asks him a question. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
Jesus is inviting the man to think about what he has said. Does he perceive in Jesus a goodness that belongs only to God?
Is he sensing that Jesus is more than just another human being? Jesus gently moves the man to think about this.
Jesus’ Response
Then, Jesus responds to his question by quoting some of the commandments.
As I have already noted, the man asserts that he was observing all of them. Jesus then, very quickly, puts his finger on the source of this man’s uneasiness.
He says: “There is one more thing you need to do. Sell what you have and give it to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven.”
Well, doesn’t this seem like a radical expectation from Jesus? I mean, he doesn’t ask others, even the apostles to do this.
For example, Peter keeps his boat and probably his home in Capernaum. So why does Jesus ask this one man to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor?
Why?
Jesus must have sensed that he was just too attached to his comforts and wealth.
He wants him to become aware that these riches can make us too self-reliant. They can lead us to forget our need of God and to become insensitive to those who are poor.
The passage says Jesus looks upon this man with love – the same word used in the Scripture that says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” So, Jesus wants this man to take one more step and be fully open to the kingdom of God.
What About Us?
I am led to this question: what about us?
What is Jesus saying here to us? Well, I don’t think he is telling us to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor.
I hope not – I feel pretty sure of that. What’s coming up for me is two words that he wants us to be praying about when it comes to our possessions and money: 1) greed and 2) prudence.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church names greed as one of the seven deadly or capital sins. These are called deadly because they can lead to other kinds of sin.
Greed is an excessive attachment to money or possessions. It can lead to self-reliance to the exclusion of God and to a lack of generosity.
I think Jesus wants us to be aware of this. Check our attitudes and lifestyle against the possibility of some form of greed.
And the other word is prudence. The Catechism of the Catholic Church names this as one of the four cardinal virtues.
So, it is an important virtue and has lots of impact on our lives. Prudence is right judgment.
It is the ability to look at a situation and know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. It leads to wise decisions and a healthy and holy lifestyle.
It is a virtue that Jesus wants us to pray for and seek. It will help us to know when we have enough and when we need to share.
Conclusion
I will stop here.
We don’t come away from this passage with black and white, clearcut rules for ourselves. But we do come away with some good guidance for spiritually mature decisions.
