Cycle B - Year II:  

14 October 2018: Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Wisdom 7:7-11

Second Reading:   Hebrews 4:12-13

Gospel:   Please Read  Mark 10:17-30

What will you give up... for Jesus?

Here is a story of a rich young man who wanted to have complete control of his future. One day he asked a popular preacher: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

The Teacher told the young man to know all of God's commandments.

The rich young man replied, "All of God's commandments I have observed from my youth."

"You are lacking in one thing," the Teacher said. "Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

This, in gist, is the conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and a rich young man in this Sunday's Gospel narrative. Sadly the story ends with the young man walking away from Jesus, for he had many possessions.

Our Lord Jesus uses this encounter with the young man to teach some important lessons to His followers about the kingdom of God, and how we can enter it.

The truth is that it is only with God's grace that we can actually enter His kingdom.  Because on our own merit we can not be in God's kingdom.

And in today's Gospel incident, it is even harder for those blessed with wealth to be able to enter God's kingdom. But why is this so?  Well, pride may be one reason. For wealth can make one feel falsely independent, meaning to say, without need of God's grace. Wealth can lead one to selfishness and possessiveness,  

Also, wealth can be distracting. Because we tend to spend our energies chasing money and the pleasures it provides, rather than investing our lives into heavenly treasure.

So this Sunday our Lord Jesus Christ warns us about the danger of richness. Of course, Jesus was not against wealth per se, nor was He against the wealthy. He had many friends who were well-to-do, including some notorious tax collectors. In fact, one even became an apostle.

In sum, the central message of this Sunday's Gospel is that life is more than food, the body needs more than clothing, and that happiness does not depend on earthly possessions. Jesus invites us instead to store up "treasurers in heaven" where our hearts will have real rest and true peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the greatest treasure we can have. So giving up everything else to be with our Lord Jesus Christ is, in fact, the greatest joy.

This Sunday is also Indigenous Peoples' Sunday and Extreme Poverty Day. Celebrating this special theme does not mean the Church "glorifies" poverty. It simply means that we must remember in our prayers our own tribal and poor Filipinos, and contribute or do something about their aspirations for improvement of their material and cultural conditions.

Let us take heed in the words of Pope Francis, "You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That is how prayer works".... with good deeds.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!