Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel (Mark 10:28-31) follows directly after Jesus tells the rich young man to “go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). The young man, disappointed, leaves. Following this event, the apostles start to realize (if they haven’t already) how difficult following Jesus is going to be. Jesus tells them twice that it won’t be easy to enter the Kingdom of God, and then, pressed on the issue, informs the disciples that “with man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). Enter today’s Gospel.
In reflecting on today’s readings, I stumbled upon the New International Version translation. There is a funny difference in the translation of Peter’s statement that the disciples have already given up everything they have to follow Jesus – the NIV uses an exclamation point, where others use a period. I love this, because given the fact that Jesus has just told them that it’s impossible for man alone to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the response of “We have left everything to follow you!” just makes me feel as if Peter is just complaining. It’s as if he’s saying “following you has already been difficult! What do you MEAN it’s impossible to be saved???”
The rest of today’s Gospel reminds us that we are not called to sacrifice things in our own lives for no reason. There is a higher order and goal in our abandonment of things in this world. In response to Peter’s whining, Jesus tells him that the result of his sacrifices will produce a good which is a hundred times that which can be achieved in the here and now. Giving up our “creature comforts” to follow Jesus will only produce more joy and peace for ourselves in the long run.
In case you have somehow forgotten, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which means we read this Gospel as we are about to enter into Lent. As we are about to enter into a time that we normally associate with giving things up, I’d like to draw your attention to this clip from part of our IME series from this past Fall – “Vibing with the Venerables. Follow this link and watch for about four minutes. I’ll wait right here for you to come back.
It is very easy to decide to give up something for Lent when it’s something we already want to change. Maybe we give up swearing, sweets, or late-night TV. There’s definitely something good about seeking that continual conversion and correcting where we act wrongly. But this year, the day before Ash Wednesday, Jesus reminds us that we must be willing to give up all that we have for His sake, and even then, we cannot be saved without God, through whom all things are possible.
As we sit and prepare ourselves for Lent, let us ask ourselves what things in our lives we might need to give up to better follow Jesus. What things in our lives would make us exasperated like Peter, to the point that we say, “what else could we possibly do??” Let us do this, not that we might punish ourselves or stroke our own egos with what we could give up, but instead to remind ourselves that we are created for a God that is beyond this world, who, if we give up everything to follow Him, will rewards us a hundredfold.
- Marty Bagatti
(To watch the all of the Vibing with the Venerables series click here)