28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Wisdom 7:7-11. Psalm 90:12-17. Hebrews 4:12-13. Mark 10:17-30
A man, any man, me, you, approached Jesus, “running”. He was in a hurry. To meet the Master? To listen to him? Or to seek solution to a problem he had? It seems that he wanted to learn from him: “What shall I do to possess eternal life?” Any Jew knew that the most direct path to eternal life was to keep the commandments. Jesus reminds him thereof: “You know the commandments…”. Curiously, the Master only cites the commandments of the second table of the Law, those that concern human relationships: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit fraud, do not commit adultery. The house of ‘eternal life’ is built with the bricks of ‘earthly life’. It already has the flavour of ‘the fullness of life’, when we live it in Light and Love.
But this man was looking for something more. “All this I have been doing since my youth.” Jesus understands and responds: “You lack one thing. Go, sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, and you will have a treasure in Heaven. Then come and follow me!” Go, free your heart from attachment to things. Go, share and be generous. Dream big. You are capable of more. If you accumulate, you hold back. If you share, you multiply. And your life becomes a treasure, a little bit of Heaven. Go, free yourself from the imaginary security that possessions give you. So, yes, come. Follow me.
But the man did not seek that much. He left “grieved, because he had many possessions.” He was not prepared for the sequel, to be a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth. He approached the Master, “running”, but was not willing to “walk” in his footsteps. Not willing to learn from him, to look at life with different eyes. He came in a hurry, but without lightness in his soul. He came in haste, but heavy, for possessions occupied his heart. The ‘eternal life’ he sought was just one more thing to “possess”, not to receive with gratitude. Therefore, he was incapable of gratuitousness, of giving.
As in other moments, Jesus transforms an unexpected episode into an occasion of teaching for those who follow him. “Then he looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples are “astonished.” After all, wasn’t wealth a sign of God’s blessing, as classical Jewish theology taught? Weren’t the rich closer to God? Didn’t they have more possibilities of saving themselves? They could offer God the best sacrifices and therefore be more pleasing to Him. Therefore, they are able to receive in return the best favours, the most abundant blessings.
The Master breaks with that theological vision, which religiously legitimized the social hierarchy based on wealth. And it made the poor even poorer and it was something far from God! Jesus does not align himself with this ‘prosperity theology’. Instead, he follows the tradition of the prophets, who criticized a worship full of pomp, a worship detached from justice and solidarity with the poor, disconnected from the commitment to life.
No. No one is saved only by his or her effort, his or her merits, and their sacrifices. And even less through money. That would be ‘buying’ salvation, manipulating God. This is an ever-present temptation in the religious world. And it is exploited by unscrupulous pastors, for their own benefit. Salvation is first and foremost a gift of God. “With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible”, Jesus says to his disciples. What seems impossible from the human perspective, receiving salvation freely, is not impossible for God: to offer salvation selflessly! The Kingdom of God is not conquered. It is welcomed. It is not sold or bought, but received. Life is not possessed, but received with gratitude. Life multiplies, giving itself freely. This was what the rich man did not understand.
But there is another “thing” that makes it difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God: trust in riches. Some ancient codices of the Bible insert this detail in Jesus’ statement: “My little children, how difficult it is for those who put their trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Faith is a matter of trust: there is someone who loves me, leads me, and watches over me. I trust in God. The rich rely on wealth. Their security is in possessions. They dedicate their hearts to possessions. There is little or no room left for a relationship of trusting abandonment to God. There is little room left for gratuitousness and solidarity with others. Because, for the rich, accumulation and the mercantile logic of winning or losing counts.
Every man and woman always needs “one thing”, to free ourselves from attachments, false securities, the instinct of possessing. We need to free ourselves, to let go; not to lose, but to gain more humanity. We need to free ourselves, to be freer, lighter; to empty ourselves of ‘things’ and to be filled with humanity. All of us always need “one thing”, to grow in confidence and trust in God and in life, knowing how to welcome it as a free gift, how to share it with generosity and gratuitousness.
“I prayed and prudence was given to me. I begged and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred it to scepters and thrones, and in comparison I regarded wealth as nothing. With her came all my good things, and through her hand innumerable riches” (Wis 7:7-8, 11).