Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This gospel has a touching moment that no other gospel has.  In the middle of the story, we hear, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”  It is one of those beautifully human moments that Mark frequently has.  Mark’s Jesus is very human: he gets angry and exasperated and loses his “cool.”  And, here, he looks at a person and loves him – a deeply human response.

Why wouldn’t he?  The man was an enthusiast.  Running up to Jesus, falling on his knees, calling Jesus “good teacher,” he revealed himself to be a person who wanted to do more, to have his focus in life on the future, the ultimate future, eternal life.  And he wanted more: not just the good life, but eternal life.

He realized that it was a matter of some responsibility on his own part.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And when Jesus reminds him that choosing to live the commandments is to choose life, he says back, I do that already.  I have done all that, ever since I was a kid.  And you don’t get a sense of arrogance or pride but of simple fact.  And that’s when Mark writes: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”

Jesus then goes on: Well, that being the case, only one thing is missing.  Let go of all your possessions, give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come and follow me.  But this is too much for him.  Enthusiasm evaporates; energy dissipates.  “His face fell, and he went away sad,” Mark says simply, “for he had many possessions.”  He had a lot of stuff.  The man will willing to do more, but he was unable to do with less.

We know Jesus didn’t ask everyone to sell everything and give it to the poor.  In Luke’s Gospel, Zacchaeus voluntarily cut up the pie: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.”  Also in Luke, the women traveling with Jesus and the disciples helped to support them, which means they didn’t sell everything.

The words of Jesus today invite reflection.  It is hard to enter the Kingdom if you have a lot.  If your hands – and your heart – are already full with possessions and obsessions, there might not be any room for God’s presence.

We are for the most part a comfortable community.  Few of us have any fears about food or shelter, or basic human needs.  Our children are cared for, our responsibilities are met, our future is as secure as one might hope for in these insecure times.  But Jesus’ words today call us to look beyond our lives, to the needs of the poor.

Not all of us are burdened with wealth – but there can be other things that get in the way of following Christ.  Other things we possess.  Maybe it’s a fear of change, an inability to trust or to love.  Maybe it’s a stubborn attachment to a particular sin.  Maybe it is something rooted in fear, or insecurity, or our own resistance to change.

This gospel asks us to let go of what we don’t need, those “possessions” which keep us from following Christ completely.  Can we do it?  Will we do it?  Are we courageous enough to try?  It takes time for us to live without wanting to cling to our things, it takes time to live with open hands.

Every time we come to communion we can signal to God that this is what we want, approaching the table with our hands extended.  When we take the cup of salvation, we can do so with both hands.  And we can continue to pray this way each day always with open hands.

Paul A. Magnano

Pastor