Gospel Reading: Mk 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 Notesof 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.”
GIVE TO THE POOR AND YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN
Jesus’ response to the rich man’s quest for eternal life, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor… then come, follow me,” makes him go away sad. He cannot give up his possessions. His possessions comprise not only his material wealth and good deeds (he faithfully observes the commandments), but, above all, his self-sufficiency. He is full of himself.
By his standards, the man is very qualified to inherit eternal life. But for Jesus, he still lacks one thing – to acknowledge God as the source of salvation.
The rich man has yet to learn to share his material blessings to have treasure in heaven. When we face God after our life here on earth, we will not be asked how much wealth we have amassed, but how much we have shared with the needy.
“It is in giving that we receive” (St. Francis of Assisi).
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.