Homily for May 25th, 2015: Mark 10:17-27.
It is tempting to dismiss this story about
the rich young man on the ground that we=re not rich. Even if that is true,
this young man resembles us in another way. He takes his religion seriously. How
devastated he must have been to hear Jesus tell him he is still Alacking in one thing.@ When he heard what that was, he was shocked.
>Sell everything?= we can imagine him asking. >You=ve got to be kidding!= No wonder that that Ahe went away sad.” Wouldn=t you? After all, enough is enough.
Jesus disciples were equally shocked.
Their religion taught them that wealth was a sign of God=s favor. AThen who can be saved?@ they ask. Jesus’ answer could be
paraphrased as follows. >If you think you can get to heaven by your own efforts,
forget it. You cannot. That is impossible. You won’t get there without your
best effort. But at the end of the day getting into heaven is a miracle, a
miracle of grace. Heaven is not a reward
for services rendered. It is God=s free gift.=
Jesus summons us, as he summoned the
rich young man in today=s gospel, to trust not in our own efforts, but in God, for
whom all things are possible. So -- When life seems too much for you;
when you are weighed down by anxiety, illness, injustice, the claims of others,
or the nagging sense of your own inadequacy; when God=s demands on you seem too great B whenever, in short, you come up
against the impossible; then you are up against God. He is the God of
the impossible. In every impossible situation, in every trial that is too hard
for you to bear, his divine Son and your best friend is saying to you, with
tender love:
AFor you it is impossible, but not for
God; for God all things are possible.@
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