What goodness have you done in life?

Mark 10:17-30

As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?" 18 Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. 19 You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother." 20 He said, "Teacher, I have--from my youth--kept them all!" 21 Jesus looked him hard in the eye--and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me." 22 The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go. 23 Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who 'have it all' to enter God's kingdom?" 24 The disciples couldn't believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: "You can't imagine how difficult. 25 I'd say it's easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for the rich to get into God's kingdom." 26 That set the disciples back on their heels. "Then who has any chance at all?" they asked. 27 Jesus was blunt: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it." 28 Peter tried another angle: "We left everything and followed you." 29 Jesus said, "Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land--whatever--because of me and the Message 30 will lose out. They'll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land--but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life!

Food for thought!

Tough question. Tough answer.

The young man that came to Jesus asked a tough question: what must I do to get eternal life? This is a question that we all ask, directly or indirectly. As we grow old, as we move away from our birth and come closer to our death, we silently make this question. When I am dead, what will happen to me? Where will I go after this life? Is this life all there is? In other words, what must I do today to live tomorrow? How must I conduct myself today in order to survive tomorrwo? This is the tough question.

Tough questions require tough answers. I praise this man because he knew where to take his tough questions. He took his question to Jesus. The Gospel says that he came running up, greeted Jesus with great reverence, and put to Jesus his question.

Where do we take our questions? To whom do we go when we need answers to our difficult questions? We do well to run to Jesus, the wisdom of God, as the second reading put it:

The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves. (Heb. 4:12-13)

When you decide to take your quest to Jesus, you must prepare yourself for what he will tell you. Sometimes Jesus' answers are just too tough; you must be ready not only to ask but also to listen. Otherwise, you will be like the young man in the Gospel reading, to whom Jesus said: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart.

Why did this man go away the way he did? Well, Jesus had quoted to the man the commandments which were the basis of the decent life. Without hesitation the man said he had kept them all. And he was not lying; he was saying the truth. And Jesus liked him for that. However, note one thing, that with one exception they were all negative commandments, and that one exception operated only in the family circle.

In effect the man was saying, “I never in my life did anyone any harm.” That was perfectly true. But the real question is, “What good have you done?” And the question to this man was even more pointed, “With all your possessions, with your wealth, with all that you could give away, what positive good have you done to others? How much have you gone out of your way to help and comfort and strengthen others as you might have done?” Christianity consists in not doing bad things ONLY; Christianity consists ALSO in doing good things. That was precisely where this man, like so many of us, fell down. We think that we are ok, just because we never robbed a bank, never stole a car, never did any of those of horrible things. We are not Ok until we learn to do good to others.

And this is what Peter was saying: We left everything and followed you. Peter is saying, We stopped everything and followed you; we know we are doing good. We are not like that man who refused to follow you; we followed you. What will happen to us? Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land--whatever--because of me and the Message will lose out. They'll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land--but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life!”