Monday, May 28, 2018
8th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Peter 1:3-9
Gospel: Mark 10:17-27
Just as Jesus was setting out on his journey again, a man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat, honor your father and mother.” The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking. Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus insisted, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The story of the young man teaches us that fulfillment of the commandments alone doesn’t make one a bona fide follower of Christ. When he reported that he had complied with all the commandments, Jesus gave him a reply which established the three final steps in the ladder of discipleship, namely, detachment (“Go, sell what you have…”), charity to the poor (“…and give the money to the poor.”), and the following of Christ (“Then come and follow me”).
Fulfilling the commandments is just preparatory to scaling the ladder of discipleship. The rungs of this ladder are detachment, charity, and following Christ. Only by scaling this ladder without skipping a rung will one become a genuine disciple. If one skips detachment, the resulting discipleship is calibrated. If one skips charity, discipleship is for sheer self-preservation. If one skips both, discipleship is hypocrisy.
On hearing Jesus’ words, the young man went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth. To see everything he worked so hard for go to the poor and to follow a leader thereafter who did not even have a place to lay down his head was a big financial suicide. He chose the security of his material possessions over the risky attempt to follow Jesus. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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