From the responsorial psalm: “You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you. You forgot the God who gave you birth. When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing and anger toward his sons and daughters. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19:16-22)
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
In today’s Gospel, a young man approaches Jesus, asking what good he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. The young man asks which commandments, and Jesus lists several, including the command to honor one’s parents and love one’s neighbor. He tells Jesus that he has kept all these commandments since his youth. Jesus then tells him that if he wants to be perfect, he should sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him. And this hits hard. The young man is sad on hearing this because he has many possessions and is unwilling to part with them. Jesus asks if the young man wishes to be perfect. In the same way, Jesus calls each of us to be perfect. How is this even possible?
God, as David said in the Psalms, you have probed me, you know me. You know, then, that there is no way on my own that I can be perfect. Yet, that does not prevent Jesus to calling me always to a higher standard. What are the things that get between me and you? For the young man, it was his possessions. Help me, Lord, discern what my obstacles are and have the courage to put them aside. Even if I do all that Jesus commands the young man to do, I will still always fall short in being perfect just as you are perfect. Where that is lacking, supply the grace I need in order to let Christ live in me more and more to fill the gap. Show me the way to understanding and wisdom, and strengthen my love for your Son so that I am able to follow him with single-minded devotion.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.