“What Must I Do?”

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

This coming Sunday, we will hear the story of the rich man who asks Jesus, "What must I do to gain eternal life?" I suspect that many of us look at our quest for heaven in much the same light. Our culture and society dwell on the issue of "earning" so continuously that we have somehow woven it into our spiritual life. "Keeping the commandments" has become a benchmark for many of us. If we obey, then we are somehow worthy.

St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians emphasizes that this kind of thinking is not God's way of thinking. He takes his fellow Jews to task for thinking that they are righteous (in right relationship with God) if they follow the dictates of the Law. However, I think that if we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that none of us can claim that we are always obedient. We are all sinners.

This is why St. Paul uses such strong language in the Letter to the Galatians. If we believe that we can be saved by obedience to the Law, then, he says, we are cursed. The only way to be in right relationship with God is to accept that which God so freely gives. We cannot earn our way into this relationship.

When we approach the altar, we do not speak of getting the Eucharist; we receive the Eucharist. This sacrament of God's love is freely given. This dynamic is exactly what St. Paul is speaking of in his explanation of how our faith is the only true measure of salvation. Those who believe will be saved.