In today’s Gospel, a young man asks Jesus, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The young man said, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” To this Jesus said, “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.” Then Matthew tells us, “When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”
It seems like one of the first words in life that we learn to say is the word, “mine.” From our earliest days we have been grasping at things, claiming them for ourselves, labeling them as “mine.” Having, acquiring, possessing and using things just seems to come naturally for us. On the other hand, we have to be taught over and over again to share with others, especially with those in need, rather than to possess and hoard things. Yet like the young man in today’s gospel, something tells us there is more to life than our attachments. Thus, Jesus tells the young man, “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.” He sensed there was something more that our Lord was speaking to his heart, but he wasn’t ready to follow through with what Jesus invited him to do in order to have it.
This begs the question of each of us: Is the Lord asking me to “let go” of something, as well? What in my life is standing in the way of following our Lord with complete trust and surrender? What do I need to let go of? In prayer we might ask Jesus, “Lord, what is keeping me from giving myself over to you in complete surrender?” If you were to ask the Lord the same question as this man, what answer would you be afraid of hearing? I would submit that each of us has some sense, some interior idea of what the Lord wants us to let go of in our lives, but that frightens us.
For many of us, there is certain kind of psychological security that comes from having things, whether in storage units or in the stock market. Financially, we may have “investments and securities.” Yet having “nest eggs” for retirement and well-managed portfolios for future financial “security” often brings plenty of stress and “insecurity” over potential and real market losses. Sharp changes in the market can leave investors with anxiety and at times a variety of other psychological issues. While Jesus may not be saying to us, ‘go, sell what you have and give it all away,’ he is asking us to allow him to be Lord of our lives, and ALL that is ours.
In the gospel, we notice that the young man “went away sad, for he had many possessions.” Yet something prompted him to ask Jesus, “What do I still lack?” The Lord saw in this man’s heart the capacity for even greater adherence to the divine will, yet he lacked the confidence to trust God at his word because of how attached he was to so many material possessions. Herein lies the hidden danger of material things – they give us a false security.
More than 30 years ago, I celebrated the wedding of a young woman whose family I knew quite well. For the sake of this writing, I will call her “Mary.” Mary was a rising star in her company and they sent her on a one-year assignment to work in Europe. At the time she was earning a six-figure salary, and she and her husband were traveling all over Europe. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, and they were making the most of it. During that time, she came home to visit family and asked if she could stop by to see me. I was happy to see her and after some small talk I asked her, “So what’s up, Mary? Is there some reason for your visit or is this just to catch up socially? At that point she burst into tears and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong. We are having a great time in Europe, and its all going well, but I’m just not happy and I don’t know why.”
In that moment, the Lord gave me what I needed to know and say, and so I said to her, “Mary, I think I know what’s wrong.” She looked surprised and asked, “What is it?” I simply said, “Mary, you don’t need God, do you?” She paused briefly, then answered me in the affirmative. I then explained to her that many people who live on a level of financial security feel like they don’t need God – that they can provide for themselves. But soon, they feel the burden of having life on their own terms, taking on the stress and anxiety that it entails, leaving them feel quite distant from God, and that’s a scary place to be. People who have to rely on God for everything are often closer to God versus those who are self-reliant.
So, is your faith maturing to the point where you need God more than ever before? Is the Lord inviting you to a new level of intimate friendship with him by letting go of something in which you find misplaced security? Remember, Jesus told the young man, “…go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” The less that I shop online, fewer are the things I need or want. The less attention I pay to advertisements, the freer I am from material temptations and distractions. And the more I focus on following the Lord, the more fulfilled I am in the present moment. So, notice what you are attached to in this life and let it go!!!
