YOU ARE LACKING IN ONE THING

1Pt 1,3-9; Ps 110; Mk 10,17-27
28 MAY
For a son of Abraham the way of life was the observance of the Law, of the Norms and of the Statutes which from time to time the Lord made to reach his people. A man, having heard of Jesus, listening to all his Word, certainly must have thought that the way to the kingdom was no longer the way it was before and asks Him to have absolute certainties. In truth, the way of the kingdom has passed from obedience to the Word of God, contained in the Old Testament, to listening to the Word of Jesus revealed in the Sermon on the Mount. This is a non-minor passage. The way of the kingdom is now Christ the Lord. The Father has constituted only Him and He will remain forever the one and only way.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined” (Mt 7,21-27).

To this man that interrogates him, Jesus confirms that the way of the kingdom begins with the observance of the Commandments. We listen to the Word of the Father, we follow the path to the kingdom. You do not listen to it, you move forward for sure, but not towards the kingdom of God. Do you walk alone towards the kingdom or you can consecrate your whole life to help every other man to progress towards it? As Jesus has consecrated his life to pave and smooth out the way of the kingdom for all, so he proposes this man to imitate him in this consecration. If he wants to do this, he will have to sell all his possessions and distribute the proceeds to the poor, leave everything else and follow him, Jesus, to learn both the truths of the kingdom and the ways for a perfect service. The way of the kingdom must be indicated to every other man. It is a necessary mission. Love for the man to be led to eternal salvation does not win in this man, but what does is the attachment to the goods of the earth.

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; honour 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.”

The words of Jesus as a seal of this refusal must be well pondered: “How difficult it is for those who possess riches to enter the kingdom of God! it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”. The difficulty stems from attachment to riches. If the heart is imprisoned in them, even when it is a small alms, we abstain from doing it. We know that the rich villain did not even see Lazarus, the poor man, sitting at the door of his house. It is not the riches that lead to perdition, but their idolatry. The heart is dead.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints, free us from all idolatry.