Last Sunday we heard in the Gospel how difficult it is for a
rich person to get into heaven. The
burden of possessions weighs heavily.
The young man proclaimed himself to be a ‘good person’ but
could not bring himself to face the truth Jesus called him into living as his
disciple. For the young man, giving up
his worldly possessions was more than he was willing to sacrifice for the kingdom
of God.
It was more than material possessions Jesus was calling the
young man to sacrifice. He challenged
him to change his whole way of life; his whole world view. Jesus called him look at the poor and the
whole world in a radical new way. Behind
the young man’s sad face was his fear of changing his heart; of sacrificing his
long held understandings of this world.
The Lord said:
“I
will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities
and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I
will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will
remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36: 25-26
Jesus called the young man away from himself. He called him to seek fulfillment in service
to ‘the other’. To see ‘the other’ with
the love of God; taking responsibility for their well-being, their justice and their
peace.
Jesus, in today’s Gospel, calls James and John away from
seeking glory for themselves into seeking fulfillment in a life of service to ‘the
other’. James and John sought to possess
Jesus in a material way; riding on his coat-tails into positions of power and
honor.
But Jesus calls them away from themselves. He calls them into a radical new way of
looking at the world. He tells all the
disciples that those who serve others are true leaders. They, who give up their lives in service to
the needs of ‘the other’, are the ones who gain true glory in the eyes of
God. They shall receive their reward in
the love of God; becoming inheritors of His eternal kingdom.
Jesus calls his disciples into a life of sacrifice. But this sacrifice is not one of loss, as the
world thinks of sacrifice. It is a sacrifice of love, of joy and of fulfillment
found in the embrace of God.
Those who serve the least of His children find their reward
not in the material things of this world: which decay and do not last; but receive
the reward in the ever-lasting glory of God and the peace of His heavenly
kingdom. ~Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don
No comments:
Post a Comment