In yesterday’s readings for mass, Jesus warned us about “mammon” which is another name for money. Today’s gospel is also a warning not to love money more than God. Spiritual perfection lies in loving God above everything else in life. That doesn’t mean you do not need money at all, but to place love of God and love for other people above everything else in our life, including what we own. This is the theme for the gospel today as well.
Money can become the capital sins of pride and greed, if we are not aware of our true priorities in life. This is so easy to creep into our hearts if we do not maintain a close relationship with the Lord, worship God regularly at mass, and progress in our spiritual life by learning to love other people just as much as we love ourselves. Therein lies the problem with wealth. It causes selfishness to creep in a little at a time, unnoticed by us until it completely skews our perspective in life. We learn to look through the lens of selfishness a little at a time, until God and other people are pushed to the back burner, or cease to have any real meaning in our lives at all. The wealthy can run the risk of living a superficial life. Venial sins creep in a little at a time and become a mortal sin and therein lies the danger of wealth.
In today’s gospel a wealthy man ran up to Jesus and asked him what he should do to inherit eternal life? Eternal life is pretty clear cut. You either make it to heaven or not. Making it into heaven should be our number one priority in life, not the secular pursuit of money and possessions. The wealthy man at least understood this, intellectually. Why did he ask Jesus this question at all if he already obeyed the commandments all of his life? Could it be that a small part of his conscience tugged at his heart about his wealth, which prompted him to question Jesus?
It’s interesting to note how Christ responded to the rich man. First of all, Saint Mark records that, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” This was a profound enough occurrence, or feeling, for Saint Mark to remember it years after Christ’s death and record what Jesus felt about this wealthy man. He loved him. The wealthy man had worshiped God all his life and obeyed all of God’s commandments. Jesus knew this, that he was really trying, but he still didn’t get it. Life is about love for other people too, not just love for God.
Jesus told the rich man to go and sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. This is the spiritual remedy the man needed in order to cure the confusion of his true priorities in life. He couldn’t serve God and money both. The rich man had to choose. If he truly loved God as much as he said he did, he would let go of his possessions and follow the son of God. Jesus asked the rich man to come and follow him, after he had sold his possessions and given the money to the poor. The wealthy man would have then become worthy of being his disciple, or perhaps even an apostle if he was able to let go of his wealth. Christ loved him, but was he capable of loving Jesus more than his possessions? Evidently not, because his face fell and he went away sad.
After he walked away from them, Jesus told his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” Then, in order to stress the importance of his words he repeated himself. How often do we hear Christ repeat his words in the gospels? But, he stressed the importance of his words by saying it again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
We must not pass over these important words, that Christ felt was important enough to repeat two times, in order to pacify our conscience with the last words he said in the gospel.
When Jesus’ disciples started talking among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” People that commit murder are also able to be forgiven, but there is a grave danger in the sin that they have committed. Only God can cause a true conversion of the heart, but it is possible for Him to do so.
We need to beware of human wealth, to use it wisely to provide for our basic needs in life, and the needs of our family as well. But, if we aren’t careful to tamper the desire for wealth, by a greater focus on our faith, we run the risk of a grave danger not only for ourselves, but for our children as well.
Daily Mass Readings:
1 Pt 1: 3-9 / Ps 111: 1-2, 5-6, 9, 10c / Mk 10: 17-27
