Gospel MT 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Reflection:
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
The young man saw eternal life as a goal that could be earned by doing good.
Jesus responded with a question:
“Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
The young man asked him, “Which ones?”
Jesus named six commandments.
The first four have to do with not harming others or ourself; whenever we act selfishly, we always feel a certain loss of self.
“You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness…”
The last two have to do with being loving toward others; it is equally true that when we act with love toward others, we feel love as well.
“…honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Clearly, even though the young man had kept the commandments, he still felt something was lacking; he did not feel fulfilled. To feel fulfilled is to feel loved.
In his heart, the young man knew something was missing.
We each know the feeling of doing all the right things but still feeling empty.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
What does it mean to feel “perfect?'”
To feel “perfect” is to feel that we are one with God.
We are most assuredly “one with God” when we are doing good, not simply obeying a commandment or trying to gain favor with God. We respond to the love of God that is within us by extending selfless acts of kindness to others.
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad for he had many possessions.
Many of us can relate to this young man as we try to fill the empty places in our hearts with our many possessions and discover that these “things” do not bring us real happiness.
“When I place money in the outstretched hand but feel no love for the beggar, I walk away with an empty heart.” Unknown