THE WORD
1 Pt 1,3-9 / Mk 10,17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass though (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Christianity is one of the religions that offer eternal life. Do we want to enter heaven? Do we want to gain eternal life? What is eternal life? In John 17:3, Jesus said: “This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.” In this particular biblical passage, Jesus points out the importance of “knowing the only true God” and “whom God sent,” Jesus Christ himself. In this case, knowing God and Jesus is the first step to gain eternal life.
In today’s Gospel, a man asked Jesus: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him: “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” The man replied and said to Jesus, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Based on Jesus’ question, the second step to eternal life is to “know God’s commandments.” The man showed to Jesus that he not only knew God’s commandments but had been applying these in his daily life since his youth!
Upon hearing the man’s answer, Jesus looked at him with love and said: “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
It could have been a perfect conversation between Jesus and the man had he said yes but… as the story continues: “At that statement his face fell and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”
Do we really want to gain eternal life? Jesus gave us some tips. Know God and Jesus. Know and live God’s commandments. Be detached: share and give what you have to the poor. And finally, follow Jesus.
- Fr. Glenn Paul Gomez, SVD | DWC, San Jose, Occ. Mindoro
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
