A young man approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good
must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me
about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life,
keep the commandments." He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus
replied, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not
steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and
you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All
of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him,
"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the
young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
(Matthew 19:16-22)
Introductory Prayer: Dear
Lord, I believe in you because you know what is best for me and what I must do
in order to reach heaven. I hope in you because you have called me to detach
myself from worldly things in order to possess you. I love you because you are
greater than any of the things you have created.
Petition: Lord, grant me
spiritual detachment from material things.
1. Are You Sure? Sometimes
we ask for or desire something without really considering the conditions
necessary to obtain it. We understand that most things cannot be obtained for
free; nevertheless, in the spiritual life we easily forget this. What the rich
young man asks for is the most valuable, the greatest possible achievement, but
he thinks getting it will be easy. Maybe he was accustomed to being able to buy
whatever he wanted with money. He probably didn’t even think that Christ might
tell him to detach himself from his possessions. The fact that we could want
something, but not want to do what is necessary to attain it, should raise a
question: Do we really want it?
2. A First Step to Eternity: Christ
takes the young man’s question seriously. He doesn’t want to waste the young
man’s time allowing him to think things are easier than they really are. Sadly,
in today’s society people are used to seeking what requires the least effort.
This is not the way of a true Christian.
To get to heaven – and everybody should really want to – one
thing is totally necessary: “Keep the commandments.” That means to avoid sin.
God’s love for us precedes the commandments. When we love someone, we do not
treat that person in any old way, but rather in a way that reflects the love we
have for that person. So, we keep the commandments not just to follow a moral
code, but to show in a specific way our love for God. This step is very
important, but it is only a first step to heaven.
3. Not So Sure: The
rich young man had no trouble with living the commandments. Feeling confident,
he asks for more, and Christ asks him to leave his possessions. He wasn’t
expecting this. He went away sad, because he had many possessions. The problem
is not having possessions, but that having many possessions makes us more
preoccupied with material things than with “things of above,” as St. Paul would
say (see Colossians 3:1). In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Where your treasure is
there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Conversation with Christ: Dear
Lord, help me to love you above all things. I realize that I am attached to things
that sometimes lead me to forget you. And yet, I can’t avoid hearing in the
depths of my soul your words: “You cannot serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).
Help me understand that it is not worthwhile to have many things, but not have
you.
Resolution: I will examine myself
to see what commandments I am not living fully and detach myself from some
concrete thing that prevents me from doing so
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