Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 14, 2018. Readings: Wisdom 7:7-11; Hebrews 4:12-13; Gospel of St. Mark 10:17-27. Theme: Free From the Inside Out!
The rich man in today’s Gospel was not all that different from many of us today. He enjoyed what life had to offer but at the same time he recognized that there was more to life than what we experience here on planet Earth. He knew that how we live in this life has a direct correlation as to where we will continue our existence in the next. It seems that his dilemma was really a matter of priorities. He stood in need of the gift of wisdom (as we heard in our first reading) so that he could make the best choice between two forms of wealth & success. Would it be the material pleasures of the here and now or the eternal luxury of treasures in Heaven?
According to Jesus, we cannot have it both ways! Striving after both forms of riches cannot successfully coexist as a double-goal in our lives. Or as Christ put it in a related teaching of his Gospel, “No one can serve two masters. For you will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) It’s not that wealth is evil in and of itself. But a fat bank account and a more-than-sufficient income can fool us into thinking that we are safe and secure, self-sufficient and masters of our own destiny. They can fool us into thinking that we are secure, and unstoppable. That is, until the stark reality of our human vulnerability and mortality slaps us in the face!
There aren’t enough riches or pleasures in the whole galaxy to keep disappointments or disasters, sickness or death away from us. And we all know that the old saying is true which tells us that “money cannot buy happiness” yet we so often just keep acting as if it can. We see the truth of this saying manifested in the rich man in today’s story. He had it all and lived a basically good life and yet… something was lacking, something was holding him back from real satisfaction with life and with himself. His money could not buy him the happiness he desired and in frustration he turned to Jesus for the solution. The Lord was able to look into his heart and told him precisely what was lacking, but he wasn’t open to hearing it. He wanted the best of both worlds which simply cannot be done. His wealth trapped him and he was possessed by all that he owned. And so the gospel tells us, “He went away sad, for he had many possessions.”
In passing on this story to us in his version of the Gospel, St. Mark wants us to honestly look inside ourselves and discern what is holding us back from more fully following Jesus? Maybe it isn’t money or possessions. Maybe it’s lust or arrogance; maybe it is envy or a hurt that we refuse to forgive. Maybe it’s a wrong relationship or a destructive behavior that we do not feel strong enough to break out of. But if we truly thirst for eternal life, then we need to honestly ask ourselves: “What is it that I lack that keeps me from giving myself completely to Christ? What is holding me back?”
The description of the Word of God in today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews can help with this personal diagnosis and its cure. It reminds us that Scripture is like a two-edged sword that can perform spiritual surgery, so to speak, and help us to cut out whatever blocks our full following of Jesus. This is why Pope Francis constantly reminds us to read at least a small portion of the Gospels daily. God’s Word has power to penetrate into our hearts, into our consciences, and to root out whatever does not belong to Christ. Like any medicine, it works over time and must be taken in daily dosages, but if we persevere in undergoing this spiritual treatment we will indeed gradually come to be free.
Jesus had offered the rich young man a pathway to freedom, but he preferred the comfort of his chains. He could not let go of the gold in his hand in order to grasp the hand of his Lord. Let’s not be like that. Let’s drop the gold of whatever it is that holds us back and take Jesus’ hand and follow Him, and allow him to lead us through life - with all its ups and downs - and finally bring us to that awesomely free and utterly fulfilling life with God that never ends.
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