Camels and the Eyes of Needles

Today's passage from the Gospel of St. Mark is the familiar yet difficult story of the rich young man. He pays homage to Jesus and then asks what he must do to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus responds that he must obey the commandments. The young man claims that he already does that and asks if there is anything else. This is where the man's train of thought derails. Jesus tells him to sell what he has, give it to the poor, and to follow after him.

Traditionally, we like to think of this story as applying to those within the community who take a vow of poverty, members of religious orders. However, Jesus' words are meant for everyone. So what does this story have to say to all of us?

First of all, I am amazed at the young man's assertion that he keeps all the commandments. Can you say that? I can't. Yes, I try to keep the commandments. I have to admit, however, that sin is just as much a part of my life as it is of anyone's. I may not steal or kill or covet what is my neighbor's. Yet I have to admit that there is never any lack of things to say when I confess. So I suspect that the first thing the Gospel story says to us is to be careful about saying that we already keep the commandments. As the reading from the Book of Sirach says today: Turn again to the Most High and away from iniquity (Sirach 17:26a).

The second part of the Gospel proves even more difficult. Jesus advises the young man to sell his considerable possessions and give them to the poor so that he can follow after Jesus. In order to understand what Jesus is saying, we have to know a little bit about how these people think. They believed that when God created the universe that God also created enough material goods for everyone. No one had too little. No one had too much. Creation was a matter of balance, order out of chaos. Along with this thought, they also believed that there was not more to be made or grown or amassed. God's created order was viewed as finite, limited.

Consequently, they believed that if someone had more than he needed, he had deprived someone else of what their just share. We Westerners, people of a completely different culture and different mindset, look at the world differently. As a friend of mine who is an accountant constantly reminds me, if the U.S. government runs out of money, they just print more. Our lack of conservation of the environment also betrays our attitude that we simply don't believe that we will run out of natural resources.

Perhaps we need to rethink our behavior and return to an "Eastern" mentality with regard to worldly possessions. In other words, we need to realize that when one person has more than they need, there are many others who have less than they need.

Pope Francis has had much to say on the topic lately. I was particularly struck by his comment that when the stock market falls, the headlines carry the news immediately. However, when thousands starve, we don't seem to notice.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator