“Come and follow me”
Wealth is of the world and will stay in this world. We cannot take our wealth with us when we die. A priest once said there will not be a U-Haul truck with all our possessions being driven right behind our hearse. Saint Paul writes to Saint Timothy, “For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.” [1] Whether we are insanely rich or completely broke, we all inevitably end up at death’s door. Jesus gives the rich and the poor the same invitation and says, “Come and follow me”. Salvation is a complete gift from God. We (humanity) had it and threw it away (original sin). We do not deserve it and yet we receive it free of charge through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
How can we follow Jesus? We follow Jesus by having a complete trust in Him and detachment of all things and people in this world.
What is detachment? It is asceticism, or the withholding of undue affection for creatures for the sake of the Creator. Detachment from creatures that are an obstacle to complete service of God is a normal condition for growth in holiness [2] We stray from the path of holiness for two primary reasons: one, we love something more than God or two, we fear something more than we fear God. We might love the senses more than God and therefore do not resist temptation. We might fear human respect and option more than God and therefore do not stand up for the truth. Detachment is therefore, loving God, detaching from anything love that would hinder us from the love of God. We are called to love God and neighbor for the sake of God. Our love of neighbor is disordered if it causes us to fail in our love of God. The ultimate sign of willingness to detach is martyrdom, to be willing to give the good of our life, for the greater good of God. Saint Gianna Beretta Molla died in 1962, she chose to give her life in order to save the life of her unborn child. “Toward the end of the second month [of pregnancy] she started experiencing sharp pain. The diagnosis was a fibrous tumor of the ovary. As a doctor, Gianna knew the score: either a hysterectomy that would kill her baby or surgery that would spare the child but leave her own life at risk. She chose the later. ‘Save the baby,’ she told her husband and her physician…Pope John Paul II beatified her April 24, 1994, and on May 16, 2004, declared her a saint. Her husband and children were present at the ceremony. In his homily at the Mass of canonization the Pope said, ‘The extreme sacrifice she sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give of themselves totally to God and to others are able to fulfill themselves.’” [3]
Search: Detachment is the first of four steps – Saint Teresa of Avila’s Train Analogy
When is it absolutely necessary to detach from a worldly good or person? In regards to detachment we should always be able to detach from worldly things and people IF necessary; we do not necessarily have to detach, but must be able to. For example, when people and worldly things bring us to holiness, this is good! If these things lead to sin and especially mortal sin however, then we must be able to detach. Specifically, we must detach when the thing or person separates us from God. Jesus asks us to radically separate ourselves from that which causes separation from God. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" [4]
Why do the disciples struggle to understand what Jesus says about material wealth? “In the Old Testament wealth and material goods are considered a sign of God’s favor (Jb 1, 10; Ps 128, 1-2; Is 2, 10). The words of Jesus in 23-25 provoke astonishment among the disciples because of their apparent contradiction of the Old Testament concept (24-26). Since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus rejects them utterly as a claim to enter the kingdom. Achievement of salvation is beyond human capability and depends solely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift (27).” [5]
Mark tells us in today’s Gospel that a man ran up and knelt before Jesus. Saint Matthew and Saint Luke tell the same story, but Luke says the man is an official and Matthew says he is a young ruler. What is important is that even the “rich”, the “young”, and the “ruler”, and in fact all of mankind, are asking the same question… “In its precise eloquence this deeply penetrating event expresses a great lesson in a few words: it touches upon substantial problems and basic questions that have in no way lost their relevance. Everywhere young people are asking important questions – questions on the meaning of life, on the right way to live, on the scale of values: ‘What must I do..?’ ‘What must I do to share in everlasting life?’…To each one of you I say therefore: heed the call of Christ when you hear him saying to you: ‘Follow me!’ Walk in my path! Stand by my side! Remain in my love! There is a choice to be made: a choice for Christ and his way of life, and his commandment of love.” [6]
Search: Material vs. Spiritual
Are material things bad? No. The majority of material things are not inherently or intrinsically bad. However, it is our excessive obsession with our material things that causes problems. “The sin lies in ‘trusting’ in them, as if they solve all life’s problems, and turning one’s back on God.” [7] We should ask basic questions about material things: What is it? What is it for (its nature)? What is its purpose or end? Let’s use a pen for example. What is it? A Pen. What is it for (its nature)? Writing. What is its purpose or end? A tool for which on can communicate by writing down thoughts, ideas, etc. If the pen is used as a weapon to stab, there is a violation of its nature and therefore a misuse or evil. If the pen or any material thing is worshiped or preferred over God, this too is a violation of its nature (for only one is to be adored and worshiped). This adoration is a misuse or evil.
ACTIVITY – The icons you venerate
What are the icons (pictures, images, things) in our society? Ten popular images could be taken as a sample, perhaps from “trending” images from the web, etc. Saint John Damascene says, “Show me the icons you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.” Veneration means to regard somebody or something with profound respect of reverence. What are the pictures, images, and material things in our lives. What do the icons (pictures, images, material things) that we show respect and reverence toward say about our faith or lack of faith?
Saint Pope John Paul II said that life is not a series of sensations to be experienced but rather a work to be accomplished. Our life and the joys in our life should not be reduced to just a handful of situations we experience in this life or a roomful of objects, but the continuing work we put in to love God above all else. Only then will we fully live out our lives.
Why does Jesus bring up a camel and an eye of a needle? Because we live in a different world than Jesus did, the message He is trying to teach can be lost in translation. In today’s society, many people think Jesus is referring to an actual sowing needle and a camel, but this was not what Jesus was speaking about. The eye of the needle was a passageway made in the wall of the ancient cities. Animals would pass through the eye of the needle so that animal feces would not make a mess in the main passage way into the city. The eye of the needle was just big enough for a camel to pass, but if the camel was carrying a large amount of goods, luggage, then the camel could not pass. When looking at our lives today; Do we have too many things attached to ourselves? Could we pass the “eye of the needle” test?
Search: The Kingdom of God
Does this attachment to wealth permanently keep us from God? No. Many of the apostles were worried about what Jesus said about possessions and money and thought that it would be impossible for anyone follow Jesus teaching, but then Jesus says, “all things are possible with God”. [8] “God will not deny this favor to anyone who asks it with humble confidence, and who resorts to divine help for overcoming the obstacles that stand in his way. The Apostles were fortunate, for having little they had not hesitated to leave all: homes, nets, fields, mother and father, brothers and sisters, for the sake of Christ and for the gospel.” [9] The rich young man came to Jesus with a humble heart, but when faced with reality, he could not commit. We hope that he later came to a realization of what he rejected and failed to commit to. In the same way, if we fail to realize Christ’s call in our life or even reject Christ, we must pray that we will be able to realize our failure, show sorrow, and resolve to choose Christ. The Examen prayer in the packet is a daily practice in the Ignatian Spirituality which helps us to actualize this desire to follow Christ daily.
Notice how Jesus did not go running after the young man after he decided to leave. Jesus seemed to be saddened by the choice the young man makes when He says, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God”. [10] The same goes for us when we choose to use our freewill to walk away from Christ when the demands of love are too great. Let us not let this opportunity slip away nor lose the invitation. “We need to make his life and his teaching part of our very being, of the very air we breathe.” [11] The prodigal son is a perfect example of the reality that when we are still alive, it is never too late to return home to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.
[1] 1 Timothy 6:7
[2] Fr. John Hardon, S.J.; Modern Catholic Dictionary
[3] Russell Shaw; Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church
[4] Matthew 9:43-48
[5] Footnotes St. Mark’s Gospel NAB
[6] JP II, Homily on Boston Common
[7] Navaree Bible Commentary, Gospel of Mark, pg. 141
[8] Mk. 10:27
[9] Divine Intimacy pg. 120
[10] Mk. 10:23
[11] Fernandez, In Conversation with God, 5, 38.3