Monday
of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges
2:9-11; Mathew 19:16-22)
The fact
that the man who approaches Jesus in today’s gospel is “young” has a bearing on
the passage’s teaching. The young men
are commonly ambitious. They are willing
to do whatever is necessary to obtain their heart’s desire. They will work twelve or fourteen hours a day
to acquire a fortune or will spend a night queued at a ticket office to attend
a concert.
It cannot
be said that ambition is evil as lust or greed is evil. However, ambition tends to fog one’s
conscience. Prodded by ambition, a young
man or woman may ignore responsibilities to family, friends, or the Lord. In
today’s gospel the ambitious young man thinks that he might work to gain heaven
as if it were real estate. He poignantly
asks Jesus, “’What must I do to gain eternal life?’” When Jesus points
out that heaven requires trust in the Lord, not specific works, the youth’s illusion
is shattered. He cannot give up control
of his life, even for an eternal destiny.
We may
wonder if we must sell all we own and give the proceeds to the poor to attain
eternal life. Not literally, but we must
discern deeply and critically what the Lord expects of us. Then we must follow up on our conclusions in
continual dialogue with him.
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