What do I still lack? | August 17, 2015

 August 17, 2015

Today’s gospel is another Jesus zinger and one that really invites us to re-evaluate the things in our lives to which we are attached. The first thing we learn is that we can do no good apart from God. The young man asks Jesus, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” You see that’s just it….eternal life is based on God’s goodness not on our own. It’s not that we aren’t good (because God made us good) but entering heaven is a result of God’s mercy and the sacrificial love of His Son. What we can do is follow Christ and learn what that kind of love looks like, acts like, and is like so that when we meet God face to face we will know how to choose. The devil is pretty efficient at acting super shiny and attractive because he knows that humans have a weakness for those kinds of things. He entices us with things that look and feel good, or that sound and taste good, but like junk food, they do not satisfy and slowly we become malnourished. We become addicted to unsatisfying things that constantly swoon us toward the next latest and greatest. This is how Lucifer (which means “shiny one”) works.

The next thing Jesus teaches us is that if we “wish to enter into life” we must keep the commandments. The young man asks  “Which ones?” because there were 613 laws in the Jewish faith and to follow ALL of them might have been a little overwhelming. Jesus highlights the big ones: Don’t kill, commit adultery, steal, tells lies, do honor your mom and dad, and love your neighbor. The young man probably sighed a big “whew” of relief because he was already observing these. I love this kid’s persistence and thoroughness because I think he really wanted to go to heaven and he was looking for some sort of magic formula to guarantee that he would get there. I feel like I do the same thing sometimes. Just give me a checklist with bullet point guarantees that I can present to God when I die. They will all be checked off perhaps with dates and times that they were accomplished, and most likely with side notes explaining the awesomeness of, well, me! Then I’ll get a permanent glow in the dark hand stamp and I will be an official resident of heaven!! Sounds good to me. Raise your hand if you can relate to this?

I picture the young man scratching his head saying, “All of these I observe. What do I still lack?” What a great question. What a great prayer. Imagine if at the end of every day we asked God, “What do I still lack?” Jesus comes back with a bit of a sting, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Let’s unpack it.

“If you wish to be perfect….” I know the word perfect is intimidating and that only God is perfect, however, Jesus is really referring to spiritual maturity here. The word mature means: “completed, perfected, or elaborated in full by the mind; ripe, as fruit, or fully aged, as cheese or wine; fully developed in body or mind, as a person.” The man in the story is young, not fully aged or complete, and neither are we in our spiritual lives. But, there are things we can do to ripen ourselves for the eternal harvest and that gives me comfort because of course, I am a doer. Striving for spiritual maturity will be on my daily “To Do” list so, yay.

First, we must wish for spiritual maturity or holiness, then we must “Go, sell what we have and give to the poor.” Love is a verb, it’s active, it’s alive, and it goes out. If you have never watched the TV show, “Hoarders”, you now have a spiritual homework assignment to do so! One episode of “Hoarders” will change your life and I guarantee you will feel the need to clean something and/or get rid of stuff. Jesus is clear, we must detach from stuff and share our wealth with others. He doesn’t say give our stuff away, he says sell it and give to those in need. He doesn’t want any of us to be poor, but he wants us all to share because we don’t really possess anything. Everything is a gift to us from God and when we share our gifts with one another, we are growing, ripening, and becoming fully aged souls.

We must wish for holiness, we must go and give, and every time we give we, treasures in heaven are being deposited. It’s like an eternal savings plan. Every time we share our time, talent, and wealth with others, especially the poor, we contribute to heaven’s abundance where everyone can partake in forever. How cool is that?

After we desire perfection, and detach from stuff, and share our wealth with the poor, and our heavenly treasure is established, then we have one more thing to do…follow Christ. We can’t truly follow Christ unless we have a desire to be holy, we are actually giving love away, and fixing our sights on heaven. There’s the formula that we’ve all been looking for. It’s easier said than done but it is not impossible especially when we unite our hearts in the Eucharist. One must be part of the vine if one wants to become ripe for the harvest. “Follow me” means get back on the vine and grow; grow in spiritual maturity by giving yourself away.

The last line of this gospel really stirs my heart…”When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” It really is an open-ended conclusion. Of course, we want to assume that his sadness over his possessions meant that he did not heed Christ’s words and follow him, but we really don’t know that for sure. Following Christ requires sacrifice and sometimes we will get sad over the things that we must give up, but Jesus promises us treasure in heaven, so while we will be sad over our earthly losses, when we fix our hearts on the rewards waiting for us in heaven, we can “enter into life” with a fool proof formula: Follow the commandments that bring life and closeness to God, ask God what it is that you still lack, desire holiness, detach from the world, go out and love the poor, keep your eyes on heaven, and follow Jesus.

Reading 1 JGS 2:11-19

The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals.
Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers,
who led them out of the land of Egypt,
they followed the other gods of the various nations around them,
and by their worship of these gods provoked the LORD.

Because they had thus abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth,
the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel,
and he delivered them over to plunderers who despoiled them.
He allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about
whom they were no longer able to withstand.
Whatever they undertook, the LORD turned into disaster for them,
as in his warning he had sworn he would do,
till they were in great distress.
Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them
from the power of their despoilers,
they did not listen to their judges,
but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods.
They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken,
and did not follow their example of obedience
to the commandments of the LORD. 
Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge
and save them from the power of their enemies
as long as the judge lived;
it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries
of affliction under their oppressors.
But when the judge died,
they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors,
following other gods in service and worship,
relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

Responsorial Psalm PS 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43AB AND 44

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They did not exterminate the peoples,
as the LORD had commanded them,
But mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
They sacrificed their sons 
and their daughters to demons.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They became defiled by their works,
and wanton in their crimes.
And the LORD grew angry with his people,
and abhorred his inheritance.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Many times did he rescue them,
but they embittered him with their counsels.
Yet he had regard for their affliction
when he heard their cry.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Alleluia MT 5:3

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.