I Think I'm Possessed!!!!!

The Gospel reading for Oct. 11th is a tough one for me to read (Mark 10:17-30). It is about the young man who comes to Jesus asking how to get to Heaven. Jesus and he agree that he is a good guy. He follows the commandments and knows what they are. But then Jesus asks him to give away his possessions to those in need, and come and be a disciple with Him. The young man walked away from the most generous invitation that anyone could ever receive. The Gospel says that he walked away sad because of his many possessions.

I do not consider myself a wealthy person. In the eyes of our culture I am comfortable but not rich by any stretch. Compared to some of the Third World countries that I've seen, or even parts of our own state or the inner cities of our country, I am extremely wealthy. However, I consider some other "possessions" as detrimental to my being able to be the disciple Jesus would have me be. I know that I possess some pride in my insistence on being "correct". I also possess some false judgement in the ways that I classify people. I possess laziness and apathy in my failure to want to change some "bad" habits. I possess fear when I am confronted with an opportunity to change and be a better person. The list could take up several pages of blogs if I wanted to list all of my possessions. So I'll just leave it here with the ones that I'm comfortable to declare. But just like the young man in the Gospel, I have chosen to cling to these possessions rather than give them away in order to help others and be a better disciple.

Jesus gives a rather funny image to talk about us rich people. He says it would be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's Kingdom. I think He meant this to be a funny image for His disciples to help them jettison some of their baggage in order to be a part of God's way of living. If you read the Gospel of Mark, Jesus keeps repeating Himself. He tells the disiples several times that they have to trust God like He does in order to be a disciple. They may not have gotten the message, but He kept on issuing the invitation to them. The same is the Good News for you and me. Daily God calls us to let go more, to trust more, to know God's forgiveness, mercy, and compassion more, to grow deeper into the life of His Kingdom and abandon the foolishness of selfish living. God keeps on offering opportunities. He never quits. Whether we totally ignore Him, or begin to trust just a little, God gives us more chances to squeeze in. Let's look for something to let go of today.

paz,
Fr. Chuck