Something to figure out

Listen to the homily podcast here: https://anchor.fm/becketmonk/episodes/Something-to-figure-out-e18j7eu

As I read the Gospel I really want the man with many possessions to do the right thing.  As he looks up at Jesus, Jesus looks down at him and loves him, St. Mark says.  Does he change his mind?  Does he pick up his jaw off the ground and decide later that he makes a mistake? He sounds like a perfectionist—would this move make him perfect?  We do not know.  But what we do know is that this is a difficult decision.  Why?  People believe that many possessions are blessings from God.  That is why Jesus stuns the disciples.  If this man has to give away all he owns to obtain salvation then no one can be saved. In a TIME magazine survey a number of years ago, 61% of Americans agreed that, “God wants people to be financially prosperous.”  Yet when asked about whether “material wealth is a sign of God’s blessing,” 73% of Americans disagreed.   Are we a little confused? 

         The words of Jesus are clear. “You are lacking in one thing,” Jesus tells the man with many possessions.  This statement belongs to us also in a very profound way.

         “Many possessions” may not belong to us.  Sure it belongs to the man who appears in front of Jesus asking what else he needs to do.  We probably lack something else.  In the words of Dr. Karoline Lewis from Luther Seminary,  “Lack takes on many forms in our life.”  There is one thing we lack.  We-need-to-figure-that-out.  “God wants our full attention,” says the late Dr. Donald Juel.  What is that one thing, one action, or one behavior that prevents me from following Christ as a fully dedicated disciple?  Most likely it involves our neighbor.  The letter to the Hebrews says, “No creature is concealed from Him, but everything is naked…” God knows what we lack and we need to figure this out. 

         What helps is praying and pleading for Wisdom.  The Christian Life is not a passive participation in the life of Christ.  We are both subjects and objects of faith.  Since we lack at least one thing that keeps us from discipleship, may all good things come to us as Jesus looks down at us and loves us!

Fr. Becket, O.S.B.

28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B