28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 13, 2024

Wis 7:7-11.  Ps 90.  Heb 4:12-13.  Mk 10:17-30

Deacon Jim McFadden

       Today’s Holy Mass offers us the encounter of Jesus and the man who “had many possessions” (Mk 10:22) and he goes down in history as “the rich young man.”  Interestingly, we do not know his name, his age, etc.; he comes across as being generic, an Everyman, suggesting that we can see ourselves in him, as though in a mirror.  His encounter with Jesus comes down to a test of faith.  Do I love Jesus or my possessions, the things of the world.  Reflecting on this gospel is a test of our faith. 

            The man begins with a question:  What must I do to have eternal life” (v. 17)?  Notice the key verbs: “must do” and “have”.  The man is coming from a religiosity that is based on duty in order that I can obtain something.  I do something, I relate to God in a certain way,  to get what I want.  His sense of religion is one of obligation and transaction: tit for tat.  The man is stuck in a commercial relationship with God, a quid pro quo. 

            The man just doesn’t get it: Faith is not a cold, calculating transaction, a “must-do-obtain”; rather, it is a question of freedom and love.  Here’s a good test for us: what is faith for me?  Am I performing certain religious duties as a bargaining chip: namely, to get to Heaven?  But, such a disposition misses the point: salvation is total gift; it is free and cannot be obtained through our religious action: all we can do is to gratefully receive it.  If we’re embroiled in a transactional view of religion, we really need to let go of it because it insinuates a very distorted image of God as being an accountant God, a controlling God, and not a loving Father which we see on display in the Prodigal Son parable.  Too often we can go through life experiencing a commercial, transactional relationship with God which is so sterile and manipulative: I do this so that God will give me that.

            At the next stage of the dialogue, Jesus helps the man to see the true face of God.  Indeed, the text says, “Jesus looking upon him loved him” (v. 21).  Jesus is the Word made flesh; Jesus is “true God from true God”!  So, it is God “looking upon him”!  This is where faith is born and reborn: not from duty or transaction, not from something that God has to do if we’re good, but from a gaze of love to be gratefully received but not earned.  If we allow Jesus to gaze upon us, our life simply becomes rich and beautiful.  Our life is no longer about ourselves, our abilities and plans, but is about God’s gaze. 

            Are we invigorated by the gaze of Jesus or is our faith a bit mechanical, checking off the boxes of religious duty.  If our faith needs to be reinvigorated (and whose doesn’t?), then sit in Adoration and allow Jesus to gaze upon you; allow yourself to be forgiven and experience God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; stand before the Crucified One and simply say, “Jesus, I love you.” This is the starting point of faith: letting oneself to be loved by Jesus, who was given to us by his Father for our salvation. 

            The next stage of the conversation involves an invitation and a choice.  Jesus says to the young man that “You lack one thing” (v. 21).  What is he lacking? Giving, selflessness, generosity: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor” (v. 21).  It is perhaps what we are missing too.  In our brokenness we cling to something that we think we’ll make us happy.  Jesus challenges us to let go of that obsession and turn towards the One who gives us true Life that is eternal.  And, the only way that we can participate in this divine Life is to stay in the loop of grace by sharing God’s grace with others.  God is love and if we are going to be in right relationship with Christ Jesus, we live as he does: namely, generous self-giving.  Brothers and sisters, a faith without giving, without pouring your life in service to others, is an incomplete faith; it’s a weak faith that is on life-support.  It’s like playing soccer for 90 minutes without scoring a goal; it’s like eating a meal without flavor, that lacks ‘salt’. 

            A faith that is devoid of generous self-giving, without gratuitousness, without concrete works of charity, makes us hollow Christians, which leads to sadness.  A sad Christian is an oxymoron!  But that’s what happened to the young man, who return home “sorrowful”, who had a sad face even though he had been looked upon with love by Jesus.

            Where am I in my faith?  Do I experience my Catholic faith as being routine, mechanical, like a relationship of duty geared towards transaction?  Or do I allow myself to be gazed upon and loved by Jesus?  That is what our Catholic faith is about: letting Jesus look at us, love us.  When we do, we will experience joy at a very deep and profound level.  And, attracted by him, do I respond freely, with generosity towards my family and brothers and sisters with all my heart, expecting nothing in return? 

            May the Virgin Mary, who said a total “yes” to God, a “yes” without any reservations, help us to savor the beauty of making our life a gift.  Amen. 

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you struggled with the “must do” and “have” religiosity?
2. Have you ever imagined God an accountant God, a controlling God, and not a loving Father?
3. What is the one possession that you have to let go of in order to experience the gaze of Jesus?