Inheriting Eternal Life

Usually people think of today’s Gospel as the story of “The Rich, Young Man.”  As we start looking at the challenges that the Gospel presents us today, the first thing I would like to point out is that Mark says absolutely nothing about the man’s age.  Yes, Matthew does identify him as a young man.  Mark, on the other hand, simply tells us that he approaches Jesus to ask a question: “What must I do to enter inherit eternal life?”  The answer to that question is really quite simple.  There is nothing he can DO, nothing we can DO, to inherit eternal life.  The sooner we move away from the “doing” approach to our life with God, the better off we will be. 

The second thing that I would like to point out is that Mark includes another little detail that sets his version of the story apart from the others.  He tells us that Jesus “loved him,” or, in some translations, Jesus “looked at him with love.”  As is the case when anyone loves us, it calls for a response.  It calls for us to love in return.

The encounter between Jesus and this man provides us with a “call story.”  This man is genuine in his desire.  He has kept the commandments since his youth.  Jesus calls him in the same language which he used when calling Peter and Andrew, James and John while they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee.  However, the evangelist tells us that he is unable to answer the call because he had many possessions.

Wherein does this man’s wealth lie?  The answer to that question comes to us rather indirectly and only when Jesus is alone with those who have already answered the call to follow.  “We have given up everything and followed you.”  (Mark 10:28b)  Jesus’ response to this assertion identifies the wealth that these disciples have left behind.  “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”  (Mark 10:29-30) 

This response clearly explains that the wealth of people who lived at the time of Jesus was not a matter of cash, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, or stocks and bonds.  Wealth was not held by individuals; it was held by families.  As I have written so many times before, these people lived in extended families.  The sons brought their wives to their father’s house and lived together with the father or the eldest son holding the position of patriarch.  Leaving one’s family, as the disciples of Jesus did, meant leaving one’s past, one’s present and one’s future.  Jesus creates a new family by setting aside twelve of his disciples and living with them.  He has created what scholars call a “fictive family.”  In forming that family, Jesus gave us all a great source of wealth, for they were to be the foundation of the family we call the Church. 

Following Jesus means making Jesus the priority of our lives; it means living the Gospel.  For some, that means sharing their wealth with the less fortunate.  However, Jesus’ call to follow is not limited to those who have many possessions.  We are called to leave what we have if it stands in the way of following Jesus.  We are called to respond to the love with which Jesus looks upon us all, the love which has saved us.  To inherit eternal life, try love.  

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