A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
Something about Jesus drew this young man to come to him and ask a question that, properly speaking only God was qualified to answer. The man probably thought of Jesus as a wise rabbi who had been known to discourse on the way that led to life. Yet he seemed to dimly perceive that Jesus had, not just an opinion, but a definitive answer. After all, what good would a mere opinion be for a question of such importance?
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
Jesus was clearly not saying that he couldn't answer, since he went on to do precisely that. Rather, he wanted to rich young man to realize that he himself was the answer. First he asked the young man to reckon with the idea of the law as a path of moral perfection leading to life. The young man sincerely desired to know which commandments were in view so he could be sure that he hadn't missed any that might hold him back. But according to Jesus the list of commandments were just the ones the young man knew himself to have kept since his youth. It was not that doing so was inessential, but rather that it was insufficient for the fulfillment and fullness of life that the man desired.
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
The young man sensed that in all of the legal observances he had maintained throughout his life that there was still something lacking, and that he himself was still meant for more. He seemed to partially realize that this answer was to be found in Jesus himself, since he asked Jesus for the answer. But he still thought that the answer was something he could hear and learn and then go on his way.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
To answer the young man's question about gaining eternal life Jesus invited the young man to follow him and to radically reconfigure his life around him. If he did so he could begin to experience even during his mortal life the reality he would enjoy forever in eternal life. But he was attached to the things of this world to too great of a degree to accept the invitation. At the center of his heart, in some measure, world riches still held the central place. His heart was ordered as though such riches could bring the joy of eternal life he sought. But they were obviously not capable of delivering such happiness. Only Jesus himself would suffice as a load bearing pillar at the center of one's heart. Only pursuing him could open the way to a joy that would truly never end.
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
When do we go away from Jesus in sadness? What are the invitations he makes to us that we could do but opt not to do even though sadness is the result? This is the worldly grief, that, if we indulge it to too great a degree, leads to death. To change our relationship with our wealth or any other addiction will also lead to sorrow, but one that is temporary, and leads to salvation (see Second Corinthians 7:10).
Worldly wealth, any kind of treasure we find here on earth, comes with the liability of potentially making us forget the God who gave us birth, as with the idolatry the psalmist laments. Such wealth makes is slow or unable to respond to the dynamic invitation that Jesus is always speaking to us, calling us to follow him more closely. Sometimes we can manage to change our relationship to such wealth without being rid of it. But if even a limb that causes us to see should be cut off, how much more should we rid ourselves of competitors to Jesus in our hearts? Is it Jesus himself who is the delight of our eyes and the desire of our souls, or is it something earthly, something temporary? The choice is ours, even if it seems difficult. Let us follow Jesus and go away, not with sorrow like this young man, but with the joy that characterized disciples like Zacchaeus (see Luke 19:1-10).
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