The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)
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, 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.
—Mark 10:17, 21-22
At various times in our lives, each of us reaches moments of decision—“watershed moments”—that mark a change or turning point in our lives. These moments of decision might include the choice of what college to attend, whether to extend or accept a marriage proposal, or to enter seminary or religious life. These moments are a fundamental part of our journey of faith, as well.
Thinking of our spiritual ancestors, two great examples come to mind...
The first is Saint Francis of Assisi. The spoiled and rakish son of a wealthy cloth merchant, Francis’ turning point came when he returned to his home from war and imprisonment as a sick and defeated youth. He recognized that his life and its trajectory no longer made sense and he felt himself being called to something new. The decisive moment came a short time later when he stripped off his clothes and stood naked before his father and the bishop and people of Assisi—stripping himself of his old life—to set out on a way of discipleship that would help reshape Christianity.
The second example is much more subtle, but no less significant: Saint Teresa of Kolkata. Born in Albania in 1910, she had entered the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland before being assigned to her order’s schools in India. The Bengal Famine of 1943 and the Hindu/Muslim conflicts of 1946 had plunged Kolkata into extreme poverty and famine. On September 19, 1946, Sister Teresa experienced her “call within the call,” realizing that she was being asked to “leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” In that moment, as one biographer observed, “Sister Teresa” became “Mother Teresa.” She would go on to establish the Missionaries of Charity, the international community of women and men religious who serve the poorest of the poor throughout the world.
Like Saint Francis and Saint Teresa—as well as the 12 new saints who will be canonized by Pope Francis on October 20—the rich man of today’s Gospel was faced with an opportunity and a choice. Quick to point out to Jesus that he has observed all the commandments from his youth, he seems to be asking Jesus to affirm his righteousness and virtue. Jesus finally responses by telling him, quite clearly, the true cost of being a disciple: let go of everything that was holding him back from giving himself completely to God.
"The Rich Man Went Away Sorrowful" (Le jeune homme riche s'en alla triste) by James Tissot (1886-1894
We can understand the man’s frustration and confusion: He was able to do what Jesus asked of him and so,, “he went away sad, because he had many possessions.” Jesus was asking him to shift his focus his own self-justification and from earthly possessions and concerns to the things of God. As the fifth-century author Salvian “the Presbyter” reflected:
“Note what kind of riches it is that God loves. Note what wealth he demands that we should store up for children. Note what possessions he especially orders us to guard: faith, fear of God, modesty, holiness, and discipline. Nothing earthly, nothing base, nothing perishable or transitory.”
We have to realize, however, that Jesus isn’t only talking about the “possessions that possess us.” While that is certainly a key part of the text, we also have to keep in mind that material goods and possessions are gifts that can enrich our lives. Instead, Jesus is talking about the danger of having a divided heart. The issue at stake is whether or not we are willing to let go of all the stuff we use to self-medicate, to project the best image of our selves onto the world, and to insulate ourselves from life’s challenges and the demands of discipleship.
When we hear the words from Mark’s Gospel alongside the First Reading of this Sunday’s Mass (Wisdom 7:7-11), we realize the Wisdom of God—Christ—is worth more than any sort of riches or possessions. And, like the king in the First Reading, we should be willing to let go of everything else to accept the greatest treasure of all:
“I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her… Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands” (vv. 7-8, 11).
And this brings us back to where we began in this reflection. When we have those watershed moments in life, we are often left permanently changed by the decisions we make, particularly when we have chosen the good. We have only to look within our families and around the Church to see how God rewards our single-hearted devotion: the student and family who sacrifice and save for the best possible education to ensure good prospects and opportunities for the future; the married couple that faces the challenges of parenting, fidelity, and budgets yet finds comfort and consolation in their spouse, children, and shared life; faithful, humble priests and religious who sacrifice wealth, status, and families but who discover freedom to give themselves fully to God and their ministries, experiencing the blessings of community and a life lived for others.
The choice is ultimately ours to make.
We can hold on to what we have now, or we can let go of what possesses and divides our hearts and accept the invaluable richness of God’s grace and love: “Jesus said, ‘Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.’”
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
