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Ez 24:15-23
Mt 19:16-22
It’s a very haunting question the young man asks Jesus. A question that youth may ask, or the middle-aged as well as the elderly. In fact it’s a question one may ask more than once during the journey of life. “What good must I do to gain eternal life?”
Jesus gives an answer from the context of who he is and where he is. It’s an answer understandable to a young man living in Palestine in the first century: observe the Mosaic Law and follow the dictates of your Jewish faith. But the young man presses on: “What do I still lack?”
Jesus sets out what true discipleship in the Kingdom is about. Detach yourself from material goods and worldly ambitions, be compassionate to your brothers and sisters, especially those who are the needy and marginalized in society. And then be open to living under the will of my Heavenly Father and your Heavenly Father. The young man went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Were material things the stumbling block for this young man? Was it the inability to put himself at the service of his brothers and sisters? Or was it lack of faith , to believe that there is a loving God who sent his only Son to bring him into a divine relationship leading to eternal life.
We all want the surety that we are on the right path, that what we are doing, how we are living has more meaning then the here and now. And even if we protest wanting that surety, no matter what we say outwardly, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee,” as St. Augustine says.
Jesus offered the young man an approach to eternal life but not a guarantee. He laid out a plan in his life, death and resurrection. He sent his Spirit to guide his disciples, his church, down through the centuries. He constantly invited us in the stillness of our being to come and follow him. He is the Divine Plan.
But it’s a journey of faith, a walk in darkness and trust, standing before the mystery of God. “ If you would be perfect” is slowly chipped away” and our being is slowly grasped by the Divine Love.
It is good to ask that question of the young man, “What must I do to gain eternal life?” It’s the most important work we must be about. Why were we created? To know him, to love him and to serve him in this life so to be happy with him in eternity.
Fr. Richard Nalepa, CP is the Vicar of Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, N.Y.
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The author points well to the perennial challenge of this question for we change in life. That is why it is especially beneficial that we hear these stories again and again. Having answered the question positively once, we may find ourselves in a different place later. Perhaps now, we have more “wealth” to surrender than before.