Homily for 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Oct. 10, 2021
Mark 10: 17-30
St. Joseph’s Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.     

“Jesus … said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’” (Mark 10: 23).

Christ and the Rich Young Man (Heinrich Hofmann)

A wealthy man has come to Jesus, asking what he “must do to inherit eternal life” (10:17).  He’s basically a good man, observing the 10 commandments.  But Jesus tells him that in spite of his observance, something is still missing in his relationship with God.

Note that he’s asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.  It’s the wrong question; it starts with an erroneous premise.  At your job, you earn your paycheck by showing up at the assigned time and doing your assigned responsibilities.  But no one can do anything to earn an inheritance.  One’s given an inheritance, usually by virtue of a family connection.  Similarly, no one can do anything to deserve eternal life.  It’s a gift from God to his sons and daughters who have been brought into his family by their relationship with Jesus Christ.  That’s why our Collect this morning prayed that God’s grace “at all times go before us and follow after” and help us “carry out good works.”

So Jesus tells this man he needs a closer relationship with him.  That closer relationship must begin by getting rid of everything he has been depending on and by having consideration for his neighbor:  “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me” (10:21).

“Thou shalt give money to those in need” isn’t among the 10 commandments.  Those commands are the bare minimum of our faithfulness to God.  Jesus commands us to go further.  He commands us, for instance in several of his parables, to help those in need.

In our gospel reading 2 weeks ago, Jesus told us to do away with whatever holds us back from God’s kingdom:  “If your hand or your foot or your eye is an occasion of sin to you, cut it off, pluck it out,” lest it keep you from entering the kingdom (Mark 9:43-48).  He wasn’t ordering us to do bodily mutilation but to focus ourselves wholeheartedly on God.

Now he gives a similar instruction to this rich man:  give your money and your property away and come along with me.  Those who are actually following Jesus—the apostles—are “amazed at his words” (10:24).  As we have followed Jesus’ apostles thru the gospels, we’ve seen their concern about the advantages they expect to come from following Jesus.  They think his kingdom will bring them wealth and power, like earthly kingdoms.

But Jesus keeps telling them it’s not so.  Rather, wealth is an impediment.  “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  Someone who’s rich, or someone who has political authority, relies upon himself.  What can I do to inherit the kingdom?  You can’t do.  You can’t buy your way in.  You can’t command your way in.  You have to empty yourself.  As Jesus tells us, we have to deny ourselves, take up a cross, and follow him (Mark 8:34).

We know instinctively that people who pursue wealth at all costs, or who pursue power at all costs—denying the rights and dignity of others, perhaps by cheating, by trafficking in drugs or human beings, by killing (including abortion; Pope Francis recently reminded us again that abortion is murder)—such people are not being good and are not on the road to God’s kingdom with Jesus.

But there are other obstacles to our traveling along with Jesus.  How many of us are rigid and stubborn in our opinions and won’t tolerate anyone who disagrees with us?  How many of us love to inflate our importance by gossiping about others and passing along some scandal or other?  How many of us are proud and arrogant and look down upon others for some reason and pass judgment upon them?  How many of us are addicted to some un-Christian behavior like pornography or contraception or the abuse of alcohol?  How many of us get into showing off fancy clothes or electronic gadgets or other consumer goods?   How many of us are so angry at someone that we refuse to forgive or even to pray for that person?

Those obstacles aren’t monetary.  But they are attitudes that we possess that we must dispossess ourselves of, must give away, if we want to remain with Jesus.

          We know from our experience that it’s really hard to change those kinds of attitudes in ourselves.  That doesn’t mean we have to be discouraged by our faults or our sins.  “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God,” Jesus says today (10:27).  “All things are possible for God” (10:27), including our conversion from selfish, stubborn, proud, judgmental, and addictive attitudes.  “Go, sell what you have,” get rid of what holds you back from Jesus, and walk with him.