28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The story of the rich, young man is one of my favorites from the Gospel according to Mark. The young man, who has probably inherited his wealth, thinks that he can likewise inherit eternal life. How does one inherit something? Usually, it is because you are family. When the young man asks "what must I do" he is effectively asking to be adopted. Jesus responds with a list of commandments and the young man, who kept these from his youth, still feels dissatisfied. What must it have been like for someone to have Jesus look and them and love them! However, then comes the challenge: "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." (Mk 10: 21) In order to aspire to true sonship the rich young man will need to become one of the poor ones, the anawim, whose only hope is in God and his fatherly, providential care. In other words he must imitate Jesus himself who trusts implicitly and absolutely in the love of the Father: "... who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on the cross." (Phil 2: 6-8) Such is the way of children as we heard in the gospel from last Sunday: "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." (Mk 10: 15) The rich young man: "was shocked and went away grieving." (Mk 10: 28) To grieve is to have lost something or to have someone we love die. The rich young man has the illusions of his own righteousness shattered. He is also confronted with his attachment to earthly possessions that prevents him from experiencing true intimacy with God. The challenge for each one of us is to know whether we control our possessions or do they "possess" us. Let us not be afraid to ask the question and to experience Jesus' loving gaze as he transforms us by his love and enables us, by his grace, to use what we have for others and thus become true children of our heavenly Father.