In the Gospel Reading for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 10:17-30, Jesus challenges us to examine ourselves to see if we carry obstacles to enter the Kingdom of God. In the Gospel Reading for the 26th Sunday, Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48, Jesus reminded us to get rid of obstacles that can stumble us to sin and to cause others to sin, in order not to be condemned to Gehenna.
Besides what can cause us to sin and to cause others
to sin, what else can be an obstacle not to be condemned in Gehenna but to be
blessed to enter the Kingdom?
According to Jesus in the Gospel Reading for the 28th
Sunday (Mark 10:17-30), it is our excess.
So, we must ask ourselves: Are we too big to enter
the Kingdom through the gate as small as the eye of a needle? Of course, “the
eye of a needle” (Mark 10:25) is a metaphor in Jesus’ hyperbolic expression to
remind us how narrow the gate of his Kingdom is (Matthew 7:13; Luke 13:24).
It was when Jesus and his disciples were about to
head out to Jerusalem to consummate his salvific mission on earth to suffer and
die, a man came up to him, saying, “Good
teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(Mark 10:17).
This man seemed have waited for Jesus to come and apparently
wanted to make a good impression of himself to Jesus.
And Jesus’ immediate response to this man was:
Why
do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
Mark 10:18
As Jesus called himself “Son of Man”(e.g. Mark 8:31),
rather than “Son of God”, it shows his humility not to be called “good” but
remind that only God deserves to be called “good”. Though he is, indeed, God himself, as he is
the Theos-Logos (the Word that is
God) incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14), Jesus did not
consider the equality with God but went through kenosis as a servant
(Philippians 2:5-7).
Then, Jesus said to the man that he knew God’s
commandments, by directly referring to the Decalogue (Mark 10:19), to test him.
Aha! This man exposed his pride, which can be an
obstacle in him to let him stumble to sin. So, in reply, the man indicated
himself to Jesus as if he were perfect in observing the commandments since his
youth (Mark 10:20).
So, Jesus gave the man his “diagnosis”, as well as,
his “prescription for treatment”, by saying:
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. Mark 10:21
The “diagnosis” given to the man by Jesus is that he is lacking in one thing.
But what is lacking in the man – though he seemingly
observe all the commandments?
The answer may be found in the “prescription for
treatment” given by Jesus.
What is lacking in this man was humility. So, Jesus “prescribed”
to him to have humility by giving up his assets for the poor.
In this context, Jesus indicates that humility can
be found in our care for others, especially the poor – the least among us – as it
may mean to serve Jesus (i.e. Matthew 25:40).
Even observing all the commandments in the Law may
not suffice to inherit eternal life and enter the Kingdom – unless we are
humble enough to give up our own possessions for the sake of others, especially
those whose needs are greater.
But, the man just could not accept Jesus’ “diagnosis”
and “prescription for treatment”, because he just could not let go of his
personal possessions for the poor – even it was the “prescribed” way to inherit
eternal life and to enter the Kingdom, by the “good” rabbi, Jesus (Mark 10:22).
After the man left for his possessions by forfeiting
eternal life, Jesus turned to his disciples and said:
How
hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
Mark 10:23
And he pressed on further:
Children,
how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of
God. Mark 10:24-25
Hearing these words of Jesus, the disciples seemed
to be shaken. So, they asked among themselves who can be saved, then (Mark
10:26).
So, Jesus said:
For
human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.
Mark 10:27.
Now, Jesus is directing the disciples’ attention to
God of almighty (El Shaddai), because no human can save himself or herself
alone. As God alone is good (i.e. Mark 10:18), God alone can save us (i.e. Mark
10:27). Therefore, we must be humble ourselves to God, who alone is good and
can save.
Then, representing the disciples, Peter said to
Jesus that they had given up everything for him to follow him (Mark 10:28).
Yes, they sure did (e.g. Mark 1:16-20; Matthew
9:9-13).
So, Jesus gave an assurance for giving up for him,
for his Gospel and to follow him:
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:
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with
persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. Mark 10:29-30
Jesus told the disciples that they were bound to
their rewards in the Kingdom, manifold of what they gave up for him, for his
Gospel, contrasting them to the man who failed to give up on his possession to
follow Jesus.
And, Jesus also indicated that the disciples’
rewards would be manifold more through suffering and enduring persecution for
eternal life.
This is like Jesus telling the disciples that being
his disciples to enter the Kingdom through the gate as narrow as the eye of an
needle by giving up everything for him and his Gospel is to deposit everything,
including their own lives, in God’s trust, so that their deposits will be
returned to them with the greatest compound interests, making them manifold
more. But, to enjoy this reward, one must truly give up on everything. And,
withholding something for oneself means a lack of faith, which is trust. This
will cost the manifold rewards.
Now, it is up to us.
Shall we give up on everything, even our own lives,
for the sake of Jesus and his Gospel, and enjoy the great rewards when they are
due, according to God? Or, should we just enjoy the riches in our own
possessions until we die, forfeiting the Kingdom, eternal life, and the
manifold rewards far greater than all we have?
Remember, we need to redistribute our excess – what makes
us too big to go through the gate, as narrow as the eye of a needle to enter
the Kingdom – for the poor, the least among us - to inherit eternal life and to
enjoy manifold rewards.
What keeps us from giving up on everything then?
It is also important to read the following sentence
in Jesus’ saying:
But
many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Mark 10:31
So, Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that their
manifold rewards in the Kingdom for giving up on everything for him and his
Gospel to follow him is like being first in the Kingdom for humbling themselves
to let others be first through their servantship on earth.
Keep in mind that Jesus’ statement in Mark 10:30-31
leads us to appreciate the Gospel Reading for the following Sunday, the 29th
Sunday, Mark 10:35-45, in which Jesus addresses the importance of humility and
freedom from fear of drinking from his cup of suffering and to go through his
baptism to death on the Cross by carrying our respective crosses.
In connection to the Gospel Reading about giving up
on everything, even our own lives, for the sake of Jesus and his Gospel, in our
discipleship, for the manifold rewards in the Kingdom (Mark 10:17-30), the
First Reading (Wisdom 7:7-11) tells us that the rewards as the wisdom. And,
this is a feminine form of metaphor for Jesus himself as he is the incarnated
wisdom pre-existed (Proverbs 8:22-31). In this reading, we are reminded that
there is nothing greater than the wisdom, Jesus the Christ, anything – any riches
on earth. So, why don’t we seek the wisdom rather than anything else? And this
means to seek the manifold rewards in the Kingdom that Jesus preached in the
Gospel Reading (Mark 10:29-30). And this wisdom (Wisdom 7:7-11) is indeed the
heavenly treasure that Jesus spoke of in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
6:19-20).
And this wisdom (Wisdom 7:7-11), heavenly manifold
rewards for depositing everything in God’s trust with humility (Mark 10:29-30)
is God’s love that fulfills us, as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm, which
is Psalm of Moses in seeking God’s love and mercy (chesed) (Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17).
So, is there anything still holding you from giving
up on everything for the sake of Jesus and his Gospel? If you do, it is an
obstacle to inheriting eternal life and to enter the Kingdom. In light of the
Second Reading (Hebrews 4:12-13), it means that you need to let the Word of
God, living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrate you to
crush this obstacle that keeps you from eternal life and the Kingdom. Let the sword of God’s Word destroy the
obstacle that let you cling to your earthly possessions and let you stumble to
sin! Let Lord Jesus crush it with his Word as he knows what obstacles we may
harbor to keep us from following him and from the manifold rewards and from the
wisdom, which is Jesus himself.
The wisdom, the Word of God, sure makes us humble - the poor in spirit - to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 5:3). Blessed are the poor for the Kingdom of God is theirs (Luke 6:20).
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