GO, SELL, GIVE, COME, FOLLOW

Introduction

The first letter of Peter was written in Rome and addressed to non-Jewish Christians of the Asian region. The assistance of a secretary may explain how his Greek is rather sophisticated for a fisherman from Galilee. He begins his letter with a hymn, as some Greek authors were wont to do. Key themes of the letter, like baptism and the difficulties from the part of non-Christians, appear in this hymn.
The young man of the Gospel is proud, perhaps a bit pharisaic, to have observed the commandments since his childhood. But Jesus asks more: for the kingdom of God one must be willing to follow Jesus absolutely and give up everything else for it. Jesus’ offer is too demanding for him to be accepted. The young man was not willing to pay the price. Are we always willing to pay it fully?

1 Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honour
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls.

Responsorial Psalm 111:1-2, 5-6, 9 and 10c
R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R.

He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R

He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R.

Alleluia 2 Corinthians 8:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mark 10:17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
“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.”
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“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.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”

Commentary:
No one can fault the nobility and the intensity of the desire of the rich young man: he comes running, and he kneels before Jesus in an act of great humility. As per some interpretations, he “knelt” Jesus, possibly referring to kissing the knees of Jesus as was the custom with Jewish rabbis. The object of his desire was of the highest order as well—eternal life. There was one problem, though: his question was what he must “do” to gain eternal life. He thought he could “buy” or “merit” eternal life by the many good things he could do, but failed to realize that eternal life is a gratuitous gift of God through Christ, and what was required of him was more a certain way of being than of doing. Let go and follow! Not what you have, but what you left behind. Not how many material properties that belong to you but how you belong totally to Jesus. Thus, Jesus makes clear, he was to care for nothing other than being with Christ, which would mean letting go of all attachments and attaching himself to Christ alone. It is a pity that the young man could not respond to this call, like many of us, and went away “sorrowful.”
The steps are very interesting: if you GO, you must SELL. If you sell you must GIVE. If you give, you must COME. If you come, you must FOLLOW…

What attachments are preventing me from belonging to Christ?

Blessing
Usually an encounter with Jesus changes a person. But one can also refuse, like the rich man of the Gospel. May we have encounters with him that change us. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!