The gospel today shows us a man asking Jesus.. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life…” Well, he certainly knew who Jesus was and was humble enough to ask Jesus what he needs to do. Jesus tells him the basics – follow the commandments. The man, like pretty much like all of us, he says he is trying to do these things. Then Jesus says something harder for him.: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
We can see by his answer that the man was looking for something. The man knows he must do something else. When Jesus said he must follow the commandments, which he already does, he knew he must do something else. Alam nya, kasi hindi nya sinabing “yey, ok na ako, thanks!.” Jesus also saw what the man needed to do. We can see the second reading go alive in this, when we see God’s word through Jesus reveal the innermost thoughts of man. Jesus looked at him and loved him, and told him what he needs to do. Yes, Jesus loved the man, even if Jesus knew the man was not yet ready to give up everything for Him.
Good news – if we can say that we have been doing (or at least have been trying to do) the commandments that Jesus told the man, we are on the right path. We are halfway there!
Bad news – is it not enough. There is still something lacking. Jesus wants us to be detached from material things.
Jesus is not telling us getting rich is bad. Jesus is not telling us material wealth is bad. Of course it is nice to be rich – especially if you would share your blessings to those who need it. What’s bad is the attachment to material things – money, power, fame, etc. It becomes dangerous if accumulating such becomes the goal in life – when these things become the gods ruling our lives, and we lose sight of eternity with God. When we give too much importance to material things, then we lose the focus on God. Only when we are detached from material things can we truly focus on God and can wholly follow Him.
What am I clinging on right now? Do I want to follow God and have eternal life? What is preventing me from fully following God? Material things? A bad habit? An unhealthy relationship? Do I feel that I cannot let go of these things? Do I believe in God when he says he loves me, like he loved the man in the gospel? Do I pray to God to give me the desire to let go, and ask him to help me all the way?
May we pray that God help us and grant us the desire to follow him and let go of anything that is preventing us from fully following Him.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. thank you for another Sunday. Thank you for the gospel that reminds me that you love me and you want me to be saved. Lord, I ask that you help me have the desire in my heart – to follow you and to rid myself of anything that is hindering me from fully following you. Help me learn how to let go of the enjoyable and fun things in life if they hinder me from fully following you. I pray for faith – in you, your love, and your power in my life. May I live aware of what I should do to glorify you. This I ask in Jesus name, Amen.
Blessed Sunday!
Daily Readings
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 143
Reading I
I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
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