Gospel – 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.”

Reflection on the Gospel

Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.

In today’s Gospel reading we are reminded of our call to follow after Jesus. Just as Jesus is about to set out on a journey a man runs up and asks him, “What must I do to have eternal life?” This is the question which all of us frequently ask our Lord, it is perhaps the most important question that we could ever ask. Jesus listens to this man’s questions and reminds him to follow the Commandments and so far the man is on board with Jesus, even reminding Jesus that he does in fact follow all of these Commandments. We are told that “Jesus loves him” for this and then challenges him once more, telling him to give up his riches and follow him. It is at this point that the man has a change of heart and his ‘face falls’ and he goes away sad. How do we respond when we are challenged by Jesus? Does our face fall? Do we walk away in sadness? Or are we like his disciples-amazed by the Lord’s words and willing to accept this challenge? We are told that this is an impossible task for people to do alone, but that with God, all things are possible. So, let us never forget that no matter how challenging it is to live out the Gospel message, if we rely on God for help, that nothing is impossible!

Mr. Michael J. Stewart
La Salle Academy – New York, NY

Saint John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts – Forever.