No one is good but God alone

14 OCTOBER (Mk 10,17-30)

About the goodness and righteousness of the Lord the Psalm weaves wonderful praises. We are from the goodness of our God. We must always let us be reshaped, and reassembled by it. The day we make us from ourselves or from men, we are lost forever.

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your loving-kindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the LORD are loving-kindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the LORD, For He will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles. (Psalm 25 (24), 1-22).

Today, Jesus is called “Good Teacher”. Jesus is not the “Good Teacher”. He is the “Good disciple” of the Father, and the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Holy Spirit are the ones that every day fill him with goodness, wisdom, knowledge, truth, love, charity, compassion, mercy, heavenly discernment, and unerring intelligence in pointing men the way of God, so that they run it through in order to reach eternal life.

As he 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.

Being Jesus a “Good disciple”, always listening to the Father and the Holy Spirit; he can show this man the best way of all so that he can give full meaning to his life. But this man is master of himself. He is not a good student. He does not listen to Jesus Christ. He walks away sad and disconsolate because of his great wealth. This man gets out of the history of God. He is no longer his disciple. Never could he become it. He is a disciple of the matter. He follows the matter. He feeds on the matter. He feeds his spirit with matter. Even if he currently observes the Commandments, there is no salvation for him. Matter will soon lead him to disobedience, because it will have devoured his soul.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels, and Saints make us true disciples of Jesus.