28th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

Wis 7:7-11           Heb 4:12-13          Mk 10:17-30

There was a man who had worked all of his life, had saved all of his money, and was a real miser when it came to his money. Just before he died, he said to his wife, 'When I die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the after life with me.' And so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him. Well, he died . . . He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said, 'Wait, just a minute!' She had a box with her; she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down, and they rolled it away. Her friend said, 'I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband.' The loyal wife replied 'Listen, I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him.' Immediately her friend asked, 'You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him !!! ?' The wife said, 'I sure did. I got it all together, put it into my account and wrote him a cheque. If he can cash it, he can spend it.'

St Paul says: We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1Tim 6:7). Today’s liturgy of the word, invites us to reflect upon the worldly riches we possess which we never take with us when we leave this world.

In today’s gospel, we see, a man came eagerly to Jesus seeking for eternal life. But when Jesus made a last note: “Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor and… then come, follow me,” (Mk 10:21) he was shocked and went away grieving, for he was a man of great wealth. It was indeed a great challenge for him to forgo his wealth in order to inherit eternal life. The same words of Jesus are addressed to each one of us now and it stands as a challenge to us. We are not people of great wealth but we have attachment to certain things and it is a hard reality for us to give up even those. In order to point this as the hard reality, Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Lk 10:25)

Once Italian most renowned and honoured actress Sophia Loren sobbed about the theft of her jewellery and was telling it to Italian film Director Victoria De Sica. Immediately Director Victoria replied, “Listen to me, Sophia. I am older than you and if there is one great truth I have learnt about life, it is this: Never cry over anything that can’t cry over you.”

Some of us might have insured a life insurance policy. Even I have one. An interesting definition I read about Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die rich. It looks funny but we still carry on with it. I do not mean to say that all those who are insured are fools.

By all these examples and quotes I only invite you all to reflect deeper about life realities. Often we fail to realize that the things that we seek most and rely upon are really paradoxical. May be we have not really initiated a serious thought about it. But today’s gospel initiates such a thought in us.

Today’s gospel invites all of us to ask one important question: What is our real possession? What we posses in life like our houses, jewels, money, cars, etc. can we consider them as our real possessions? The rich man in the gospel believed what he had as great wealth as real possession and found it hard to forgo those.

Let us always remember that what is temporal, cannot be the sustainer of what is eternal? We as Christians are called to inherit eternal life. Therefore, our worth and value is much more than that of what is temporal, tangible and perishable. The created is never greater than the Creator. The material things are never greater than the author of life who is God.

As we are called by God to a Christian way of life which is a greatest gift, we are God’s own possession. If we are God’s possession, what is the point in, we rely ourselves on other possessions which has no power in itself. While Jesus sent his twelve disciples on a mission, he instructed them not to carry staff or bag or bread or money or a spare tunic (Lk 9:3). It is an indication that any possession even in small form would very much hinder our real Christian journey.
- It would deviate our right orientations
- It would shake and shatter our strong convictions and determinations
- And ultimately, it would terminate our good will

Jesus says: Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too (Mt 6:19-21) What is the best way to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven? The best way is to share our possessions with others who are in real need which Jesus gives as an advice to the wealthy man. For that, we need the heart to look at others with genuine love.

Once, a rich man met a Rabbi requesting him to teach one important lesson in life. The Rabbi took him near to the window glass and asked him, “What do you see?” The rich man replied that he sees men, women and children walking in the streets. Again the Rabbi took him before a mirror and asked him, “What do you see?” The rich man replied, “I see myself”. The rabbi said, “What you saw in both was through the glasses. Through one, you were able to perceive others whereas in the other you were able to see only yourself. The one in which you saw yourself was glass which had silver coating on one surface. Similarly, when you attach yourself to wealth, money and possession you will see only yourself and not others.”

It is true that as long as we have core attachment to the worldly possessions, we will never have the heart to turn to God or to others in the real sense. St Paul acknowledges that: ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds (1Tim 6:10).

To the man who was following the commandments of God very faithfully, Jesus pertinently pointed out: You lack one thing? If non-sharing of wealth is that which lacked in the wealthy man in the gospel to inherit eternal life, let each one of us ask to ourselves: What is that which is lacking in me?