Mark 10:17-30
And the man said, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (RSV). [Pause.]
I find it very interesting that the man in our gospel story [Mk 10:17-30] seems to want to have "eternal life" given to him on a platter, like an inheritance. It would seem that he had inherited his wealth, because when St. Matthew tells the same story a few years later, he calls the man "young" (Matt 19:20). St. Luke's version says that he is a "ruler" (Lk 18:18).
The rich young man may have inherited his fortune, or he may even have worked hard for it.
- - If his wealth was inherited, which is very likely, he wanted the same "easy" way into the kingdom.
- - If his wealth was earned, which is unlikely, he wanted the magic formula of how to gain access all by himself.
Recently I had the honor and duty of acting as Special Administrator and Personal Representative of the Estate of a deceased friend. I was amazed at the large number of relatives and friends this person had specifically named in her Will. And they were truly surprised to discover that this seemingly poor person (economically poor, that is) had been so generous to them.
Now, in addition to being the Personal Representative of the Estate, I was also a good friend of the deceased. So I knew who her friends and relatives were. When I looked over the list of beneficiaries, one thing and one thing only seemed to have guided her decision to include them in her Will. You see, each person named:
- -had been consistently kind to her;
- -or cared enough to send cards during her illnesses, and on birthdays and holidays;
- -or called her on the phone when she was lonely in her widowhood;
- -or invited her into their homes on holidays and other celebrations.
Now when you think about Jesus' response to the rich young man, he first pointed him to obedience to the Commandments. The entire focus of the Commandments is geared to the needs of the whole community; and the ones that Jesus listed prohibited actions which might injure the community.
But Jesus also provided a balance by focusing on individual moral obligations, as well as community moral obligations. We can grant the rich young man the courtesy of saying that he was really trying to obey the law, the Torah. But Jesus found a serious flaw in the man's moral character. He was clinging to his possessions, at great eternal cost.
We all remember the sobering message in Matthew 25, where our final judgment is described as being based on our treatment of the poor. Sometimes our attachments to our possessions, at the expense of the poor, can be very subtle, even when we have limited possessions.
- There
is a story about Mother Teresa visiting Australia some years ago. A
young Franciscan was assigned to escort and to assist her while she was
there. He felt highly honored and looked forward to learning all that
he could from Mother Teresa. But he became very frustrated, because
people constantly crowded around Mother Teresa, and the young Franciscan
could hardly get a word in edgewise.
Finally, he had an inspiration. Mother Teresa was scheduled to go next to New Guinea. Perhaps he could pay his own airfare and accompany her on the flight. Surely, seated next to her on an airplane, he would have uninterrupted time with this saintly woman.
He approached her and asked permission to accompany her on the flight. Mother Teresa asked, "You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea?" The young man replied happily that he did. She said, "Then give that money to the poor. You'll learn more from that than anything I can tell you." (1)
If we want to "inherit" eternal life, we ought to know what we are asking for. The dictionary says that the root meaning of the word "inherit" is "to derive something from a death." Now, Jesus did in fact pave the way to eternal life for us, when he died for our sins. And that is Good News; that is our inheritance! We don't deserve that free gift of the grace of redemption; we did not earn it; we did nothing to receive it. Jesus made it possible for us to inherit the kingdom of God, but the only way to receive that free gift is to become totally dependent on God - with all that this phrase implies, and with the demands of discipleship that follow.
It's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for "a camel to pass through the eye of a needle." Those are Jesus' words, not mine! But Jesus also says that "with God, all things are possible." We, too, are called to a special "death." We are called to "die" to our attachments to possessions, and become dependent on God - our one and only Security! And we do that by extending care and compassion to our neighbors. It is good to remember what our Bishops teach us [Call To Action]: that a preferential option or preferential love should be shown to the poor, whose needs and rights are given special attention in God's eyes. "Poor" we understand as referring to the economically disadvantaged who, as a consequence of their status, suffer oppression and powerlessness.
So the bottom line of our Gospel today is this: don't lose your Real inheritance! Nurture your relationships with God and with your fellow human beings, and avoid the eternal pitfall of undue attachment to our possessions by dying to our selfishness!
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Notes:
(1) "Upper Room," Jan-Mar 1994, as quoted in SermonWriter, 10-15-00.
(Comments to Paul at prooney@uswest.net
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha