Gospel: Matthew 19: 16-22
Matthew begins Jesus’ public ministry with the Sermon on the
Mount, wherein we saw that the Beatitudes form the central focus of Jesus’
entire teaching, and that through the sermon Jesus will show the inadequacy of
the external law and the primacy of the internal law. This teaching comes to the forefront in this
encounter with the rich young man in today’s story.
The man wants to know how to gain eternal life. Jesus first tells him to keep the commandments,
specifically those regarding our relationships with other people. The man has kept all these and he has still
not acquired that which he seeks. So now
Jesus gets to the heart and root: sell
what you have, give to the poor, and follow him. This the man cannot do for he possessed – or was
possessed by – many things.
How many of us have similar attachments that hold us back from a full relationship with God? We possess many things, and many things possess us. The Beatitudes are the pathway to freedom from possessions: to be poor in spirit, meek, empathetic, thirsting for righteous, seeking peace, and suffering with joy. With these we desire no possessions and none can hold us. We are for God and for others in the service of mercy and love.
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