Gospel Reflection: Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 2

Heb 4:12-13

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.

Gospel

Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27

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."

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Christ looks at the rich young man and loves him. Through this loving gaze, Jesus sees the man for all that he is. He regards the good habits, but He also sees the attachments which might prevent the man from entering the Heavenly Kingdom. Jesus’ perfect love gives Him perfect understanding of this man, and of all God’s children.

The second reading says that “everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” Eventually, we all will undergo a final reckoning, and we can picture that moment like this episode with the rich man. We will stand before Christ, and He will see us in our goodness and belovedness, aware of the commandments we have followed and all that we strive to be.

But, He will also see what we lack.

Perhaps we lack the same thing as this Gospel character. The interaction between Jesus and the rich man provides us an opportunity to meditate on whether our possessions draw us towards gratitude and generosity or towards selfishness. But perhaps we are held back by another vice. Maybe we are resentful about past hurts, or maybe we cling to dreams of what we think “should” be instead of embracing the lives God is calling us to. We, too, should approach Christ and ask Him to reveal to us what we need to do to inherit eternal life.

Let us beg God for His saving grace, placing our faith in the truth that “all things are possible for God." Whether it is our possessions, our ego, or our sloth, let us ask Him to free us from the “one thing” that holds us back from inheriting the Kingdom. Let us ask for the courage to follow Christ.

Finally, rather than succumb to alarm or scrupulosity, let us also remember that God looks upon us—always—with love, and He cherishes our every effort. As we repeated in the responsorial psalm, “Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!” That loving gaze, which knows us so deeply, is our comfort and joy as well as our reckoning. We can trust in God’s mercy and His justice.

Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

+ Bishop Schlert



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