Diane Ward
Keep the Commandments (and something more)
My affinity is strong for the wealthy young
man who came to Jesus seeking the path to eternal life. I know the occasions of my life, (the when, where
and who) that stood in the way of my “leaving all to whole-heartedly follow
Him.” As Jesus responds to the seeker
with “keep the commandments if you would have eternal life,” the young man’s claim
of obedience to this matter comes up short.
Jesus divines the treasure of his heart, his love and enjoyment of the
world. This was the rock on which he
split. I understand why the young man went away sad. Penetrating his statement of qualifications
Jesus answers "if you would be perfect, you must prefer heavenly treasures
above the wealth and wisdom of the world, you must leave all and follow me.
Doubtless, many of us have
heard him call and not dropped our nets, our attachments to family, work, possessions,
fear of scarcity, inadequacy and our flawed perception of security. Are we to suppose that Jesus was seriously
asking the young man to immediately sell all that he had and join the band of
disciples? Perhaps. We cannot be sure. Might He seriously ask us to liquidate
financial holdings, or family homes and property? Perhaps, or ---------- is He simply asking, “Where
is your eternal treasure and what are you willing to invest?” The Finance Industry commercial asks “what’s
in your wallet?” Jesus asks “what’s in your
heart, your eternal treasure box?”
"I ask you to
ensure that humanity is served by wealth, and not ruled by it". I
think it speaks to that tension we live in as threshold beings- We have to
have money to live; but we never know how much. We deal with that
ambiguity by hoarding it....and thus, being ruled by it.
Pope Francis
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