It
is not only awesome, but at times it is frightening to preach the Word of God,
because the Lord said "By your words you shall be judged." Judged,
because if you proclaim God's truth and remain idle and not the doer of what
the Lord has commanded, and what you know well enough to proclaim to others —
then, how shall you stand before the judgment of God? This does not apply only
to the priest, but to every Christian who is called to be a witness, an
apostle, one that brings God's word to the people who are in darkness or
twilight, who need divine light, and truth and life.
To-day's
Gospel challenges us all so sharply. It begins with words that may be
interpreted in more than one way: "Good Master — what shall I do to have
eternal life?" And the Lord answers, "Why do you call Me 'good'? Only
God is Good". Jesus doesn’t say, "You are wrong". He does not
deny His right to be called good as God is good; and thereby, to those who have
ears to hear, those who have a heart capable of perceiving the surpassing
goodness of the Lord, surpassing all human goodness, all human beauty and truth
— it is a testimony: Yes, you are speaking to your God, and it is your God that
will answer your question.
And
then Christ gives us two indications. The one is: if you wish to have eternal
life, keep the Commandments. The Commandments of God are not only rules of
behavior (although, of course they are such), but as one of the Psalms puts it,
should be in our innermost hearts. It should be from the depths of our heart
that we accomplish the Commandments, not because we are commanded from outside,
but because they have reached us with the ring of truth; not because God has
spoken, but because with all our being we have answered "Amen!" This
is truth, this is life, this is the way into eternal life.
When
we hear Christ mentioning these Commandments — where are we? Who of us can say
that he was faithful to every word of this short list that indicates that
without which we cannot live? Where do we stand? I, who am preaching, you who
are hearing, because it is as responsible to hear as it is to speak. How often
do we think — as this young man, and with how little reason — that we want
perfection. We want perfection without having first trod the road of the
Commandments.
But
Christ says to us quite clearly: "If you want perfection — give all you
possess." It is not only material things which we can give: every one of
us has treasures hoarded in his mind and heart, in his soul, things which are
more important to him than anything material, that is his wealth. Each of us
should turn inward and ask himself, "What is there which is my peculiar
treasure? What are those things which I will not give away even for life eternal,
for God?"
We
do not put things in such a crude manner, but we hug those things which are
precious to us, and still we hope that we will enter the Kingdom of God, we
will reach perfection, we will become in all fullness what we are called to be,
the kind of persons of whom God dreamed when He created us — and it is not
true.
In
the Book of Revelation there is a passage that says, "I have only one
thing against you — you have forgotten your first love". This first
love, for each of us, is the Living God,
Whom we call in so many ways: we call Him 'Life', we call Him 'Fulfilment’, we
call Him 'Happiness', we call Him by all the names that mean that we should
reach the fullness of our being. At times we know that only in God it is
possible, at times we imagine that we can outgrow ourselves — all the same,
this is our first love: to become as great as God has dreamed us, willed us.
And
we do not follow the Commandments because we think that we can achieve it in a
simpler manner; and we do not give away all we have, that is: the only thing we
are not prepared to give away, in a hope that God will accept us, and our
burden.
Let
us reflect on this story. This is not even a parable, it is something that has
happened to a young man. It happens to all of us when God says, "Have you
been faithful to the way of life which I have described to you in terms of
commandments, outlined in these terms as one can outline a road by milestones?
Do you want to attain fullness — start at that point." And if you are
aware of having been faithful in these things, then ask yourself the further
question: what is the treasure which I will not give away, even for eternal
life?
The
young man heard the words of Christ, and went away sad. He had earthly
possessions, but we have so many possessions which are not material and which
are our burden, our fetters.
And
yet, there is in this story one thing that can give us so much hope. Christ did
not condemn this young man; Christ let him go without a word of reproach,
because what He had said was like seed sown into the mind and heart of this
young man. He let him go wounded at the heart, puzzled in his mind, called to
be himself by an act of heroic will and surrender, let go of himself, as Christ
said, give everything away and follow Him. Where to? Along the road of human
life on one hand, on the other hand — into the fullness of life eternal.
When
Christ says to us "Follow Me", He does not call us to walk a
frightening, dark road; He says, "I have trodden this entire road, I know
every turn and pitfall in it — you can safely follow! I am the Good Shepherd
that walks in front of His sheep, meeting all dangers Himself, so that the
sheep may be safe."
We
all will go home like the young man, perhaps saddened, that neither are we
keeping the Commandments, nor are we able to give away our most precious treasure:
but remember — we will not go condemned, we will have been faced with an
ultimate choice, and as long as we can struggle on earth — there is time.
But
let us not be beguiled by the length of time: time flies, time goes — let it
not be too late, let us turn to life, let us become all we are capable of
being.
The
answer to today's Gospel is evidently clear — "Who then can be
saved?" — To man it is not possible by our own strength; but to God, all
things are possible." That is our hope: God is with us, and nothing is too
much for us, because nothing is impossible to Him.
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