Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10, 17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
“You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“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.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
Peter began to say to him,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Sell what you have and follow me
Whoever wants to follow the Lord has some points to work on and values to remember:
1. Wisdom. It’s the first thing we must ask the Lord for. The great wealth of a person is not how much he has, but how much wisdom he possesses. If the world is in crisis today, it’s because of the lack of wise people. To be wise, you don’t need to read so much about life, but to deepen your understanding of life. The key to be a wise person is prudence. You will be aware of how wise a person is not by what they say, but by their prudence in speaking.
2. The word of God. Saint Paul shows us the other point that a child of God should always take into consideration: to meditate on the Word of God, to make time to read God’s word and meditate on it. Whoever nourishes his life with the Word of God is wise, and also full of hope and peace. Give yourself time to read the Word of God, because whoever doesn’t know the scriptures, doesn’t know God.
3. The following of Christ. Those who follow God renounce themselves, their plans, and their personal whims. When you decide to follow Christ, you make up your mind and go forth. On the other hand, if you decide not to follow him, you’ll remain in the same place, you’ll be left behind in life. God shows you what’s required to follow him, and He also shows you the rewards. God’s calling always brings surprises to your life. At first, you might be scared by what you must leave behind, but then you realize how wonderful it is. I feel like one of those people, blessed by the Lord. When I felt that God was calling me, I felt that the biggest obstacle was that I was not going to have the big family I dreamed of. It struck me hard to leave that dream behind, but nevertheless, today I realize that letting go was worth it. Look at how many children I have and what wonderful children!
The only thing that can prevent you from accepting God’s call is greed; clinging to material things and not letting go of them. Those who cling to material things aren’t wise, leaving God aside, and only living for their own plans. They may have a lot of money, but they won’t find the meaning or the joy in life. If you feel there’s no joy in your life, if you can’t find a real purpose, the best medicine is to visit a poor or sick person. They’ll teach you how to make sense of life, and you’ll realize that many of your complaints are pointless!
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
