Monday of the
Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges 2:11-19; Matthew 19:23-30)
“Bear” Bryant won the reputation of harsh and successful taskmaster. His players were notoriously slim, not
because they didn’t eat but because he trained them so hard. Coach Bryant’s teams very impressively won
six national titles in his twenty-five years as the head coach at the University
of Alabama. In today’s gospel Jesus
presents himself similarly as the one who leads his disciples to perfection.
The passage challenges its readers. It seems to indicate that the way to eternal
life is to renounce one’s wealth in order to follow Jesus. “Are then,” it may be asked, “only those who
take the vow of poverty guaranteed a place in heaven?” An affirmative answer here is faulty on two
levels. First, it misses Jesus’ point
that perfection is a matter not so much of being destitute but of following him. True, the young man in question is ostensibly
called to poverty, but more generally the sine
qua non of eternal life is adherence to Jesus, not forfeiting possessions. Second and as a corollary, taking a vow of poverty
or even living in radical poverty does not necessarily mean having a virtuous
life. Again, eternal life is a matter of
taking one’s cues from Jesus.
Still, we should not be overly consoled by the understanding
that renunciation of wealth is not absolutely necessary for eternal life. The rich very often find their greatest satisfaction
in what they can do for themselves and not in what God does for them through
Christ. Such a stance is incongruent
with following Jesus.
