Daily Devotion April 10, 2014 Mark 10:17 “’Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” I have always marveled at this question posed to Jesus. How does anyone earn an inheritance? I suppose that one could but then what would it be worth and how would one feel about it. Would it be a source of joy and freedom or would it be like a weight dragging you down? The rich man, who had kept all of the commandments and who had been blessed by God with great wealth, theology of the day, asks Jesus how he can earn life everlasting. How can one earn something that is free? Jesus tells him that the only thing standing between him and “eternal life” are his possessions. All that he has to do is sell it all off, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him. I have always wondered what happened to the guy because the story tells us that we went away sad because he had a lot of stuff. Jesus takes this opportunity to talk to his followers about camels and needles and the difficult that the rich will have entering “the kingdom of God”. In fact Jesus says that it is really hard it is for anybody to enter, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!” Then they want to know just who can be saved and Jesus tells them that only God can accomplish the impossible. Through and by and with God “all things are possible”. This story in Mark concerns possessions, stuff, the things that controlled the man’s life. You could put in that honor as well. The man had great honor, great standing in his community because of his stuff. If he sold it all off, he would have been considered by society as a fool and his honor would have turned into shame. It is a story of today as well, yet in our day and age we can be owned but more than just our “great possessions”. We can be owned by the drive to succeed, the desire to have good health, the need to be liked by all, the desire to avoid risk and the failure that might come. I suppose that the list could go on and on and I suppose that you can add you own twist to this list. You see “great possessions” come in many forms not just a boat-load of livestock, fancy cloths, or wealth, and honor in the community. I look at them as anything that comes between us and God, the one who is the grantor of the free gift of “eternal life”. The Christian life is one of paradox and the gift of “eternal life” is one of those paradoxes. For you see while it is indeed free it is not without cost. The most prominent thing in the man’s life was his possessions and not the following of the commandments. If it were not so the man would have been happy to comply with Jesus’ direction. How often do we find ourselves in the same place as the man with much stuff in Mark’s story? I don’t know about you, but as for me it is more often that I would like. Lent is almost over, yet is never too late to place our stuff, our “great possession” in their proper place in our lives. That place is somewhere after Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit and family and friends and…well you get the picture. Peace, Fr. Reid
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 15:31:09 +0000
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