Praise Glory and Honour Action

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider how our attachments may be drawing us away from our life purpose to be the image and likeness of God.

Some opportunities

The First Letter of Peter advises disciples of Christ that their life in faith will be subject to many trials.

* [1:6–9] As the glory of Christ’s resurrection was preceded by his sufferings and death, the new life of faith that it bestows is to be subjected to many trials (1 Pt 1:6) while achieving its goal: the glory of the fullness of salvation (1 Pt 1:9) at the coming of Christ (1 Pt 1:7).

Jesus words to the rich young man in the Gospel of Mark provoke astonishment.

* [10:23–27] In the Old Testament wealth and material goods are considered a sign of God’s favor (Jb 1:10; Ps 128:1–2; Is 3:10). The words of Jesus in Mk 10:23–25 provoke astonishment among the disciples because of their apparent contradiction of the Old Testament concept (Mk 10:24, 26). Since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus rejects them utterly as a claim to enter the kingdom. Achievement of salvation is beyond human capability and depends solely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift (Mk 10:27).

The USCCB introduction to the Letter of Peter points to the difficulty of living the Christian life in a hostile, secular environment that espouses different values and subjects the Christian minority to ridicule and oppression.

The problem addressed would not be official persecution but the difficulty of living the Christian life in a hostile, secular environment that espoused different values and subjected the Christian minority to ridicule and oppression.

Maureen McCann Waldron concludes there is very little wiggle room in today's Gospel.

I am ashamed. In my rush to cling to what I have, I am ignoring what you ask. I am not very free, Jesus. I am surrounded by things, people, situations and a job that let me pretend that I am in control of my life. I hear what you say next in the Gospel and my face falls. “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God.” I almost despair.Help me, Jesus, to understand how to live out this message in my own life, the way you really want me to. What are you calling me to, Jesus? Where will I get the courage to answer? Then I re-read this Gospel and it is there: For us it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible with God.

Matt Skinner, Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary offers a commentary on Mark 10:17-31 noting that the preacher's challenge is to show that the kingdom of God confronts us with a vision of life and identity quite incompatible with so many of our core presuppositions about wealth, prerogatives, and selfhood.

In the end, this story is untamable. That is, like a parable, it resists simple explanations and denies loopholes, making us so uncomfortable that we are liable to talk circles around it in hope of stumbling upon a basis for softening its message. This story, again like a parable, intends to be experienced rather than explained--experienced not in a simplistic manner or with a belligerence that violates the spirit of the narrative, but in a way that keeps a congregation focused on the real-life demands of discipleship, on the seriousness of the new community envisioned by the kingdom of God, and on the foundational promise that God makes salvation possible.

Don Schwager quotes a sermon “Seek the life that endures,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments' (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18). He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality; and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever." (excerpt from SERMON 84.1.9)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:17-27 comments that the rich young man in today’s Gospel could have learned something from Ignatius of Loyola.

It’s all about flexibility. Jesus wasn’t condemning the young man for his riches; material wealth can be a blessing from God. Besides, most of us aren’t called to literally renounce everything. But if there is something that we are holding so tightly that we can’t ever imagine life without it, we need to learn to relax our grip. As we do, we will become more free to accept whatever calling, gifts, or even challenges, that the Lord sends our way.

Friar Jude Winkler addresses two objections to Peter as the author of the letter bearing his name. Jesus, when portrayed as a rabbi, uses Jewish extreme exaggeration to make some points in dialogue with people. Friar Jude finds a picture of something so absurd in the Gospel as an indication that only God can bring the rich person around to re centre his life.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that, as conscious human beings, our life purpose is to be a visible expression of both the image and the likeness of God. Each of us reveals a unique facet of the divine. This is what Franciscan John Duns Scotus called haecceity or thisness.

Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks—we will also find our path of authentic service in the world. True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.

We struggle to align our lives with the attitude and action exemplified by Jesus. God helps us.

References


(n.d.). 1 Peter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/1Peter/1:3

(n.d.). Mark 10 Retrieved May 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/mark10.htm 

(n.d.). 1 Peter — introduction - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1peter/0

(n.d.). Mark 10:17-31 Commentary by Matt Skinner - Working Preacher .... Retrieved May 28, 2018, from https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=402

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). 8th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved May 28, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/