Dear friends in Christ,

The Gospel passage of this Sunday in fact speaks about an unnamed person’s encounter with Jesus and his profound question to Jesus about eternal life. But to his surprise, Jesus replies with emphasis on the true meaning of “treasures,” that is, not worldly goods, but belonging completely to God and to God’s Kingdom. Hearing the Words of Jesus, the man goes away sad, preferring to hold on to his earthly possessions and not leave them behind. Nevertheless, the man in the Gospel passage today runs up and kneels before Jesus, with good will, admiration and enthusiasm for Jesus. He seems to making the best of the long-awaited occasion to meet Jesus. In any case, the man addresses Jesus as “Good Teacher,” expressing esteem and reverence for the person of Jesus. Perhaps the man saw in Jesus more than just a teacher. Possibly he had heard of Jesus’ extraordinary personality and his miraculous deeds as well as his unusual mercy to sinners, outcasts and lepers.

 The seriousness of the question, “What must I do to inherit in eternal life?”, reveals the man’s great opinion of Jesus. There is a belief and trust on the part of the man that Jesus knows and can reveal to him what is needed to acquire eternal life. The question of the man can seem somewhat surprising, since the Torah, the Law of God, already gives the answer. Even so, since the man has been keeping the Law since his childhood, he perhaps suspects the inadequacy of mere observance of the Law and the possibility that there is something more he must do.

Jesus answers the question about eternal life by recalling the commandments of God, most especially love of God and of neighbour, summarized in the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Keeping those fundamental commands is doing the will of God and thereby moving toward sharing in eternal life. The man speaking with Jesus answers that, as an observant Jew, he has tried to keep God’s Law faithfully all his life. Looking upon the man and recognising his good will and positive disposition toward the Kingdom of God, we are told that Jesus “loved” him and invited him to become a disciple of the Lord. For the man in the Gospel this Sunday, and for each of us, the way to eternal life is to become a follower of Jesus, without counting the cost. The principal command of Jesus, then, is “come and follow me”. To be fully free in order to share Jesus’ mission of salvation is what the man is being invited to, and we as well.

By abandoning wealth, the man would free himself completely in order to be able to offer himself totally and finally to a new call as a follower of the Lord. However, the Gospel says, the man is not willing to give up his many possessions and so, at least at this moment, he refuses the way Jesus shows him. He goes away sad, most likely because he knows that the special vocation to which Jesus calls him requires from him a special and definitive answer, but for the present, the man cannot give. Discipleship of the Lord requires “giving up,” in order to have what is really needed, namely, God and the Kingdom.

Jesus is the source of life, the new life of One raised from the dead, who is the source of all gifts, joy, happiness and understanding. Nothing can be more valuable than those things! We should be willing to recognise that fact and give up all to have the “ETERNAL LIFE”. If we are willing to sacrifice everything for God, we indeed discover that we have not lost anything. Because, we belong to God and Jesus really desires that we ultimately return to God. Amen