Reflection for May 27, Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 10:17-27

Gospel: Mark 10:17-27

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.” 

He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”  Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” 

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

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Reflection:

Who is this man in the gospel who walked away from his desire to follow Jesus in favor of his treasures? We don’t know but we could compare the attitude of this wealthy man to our own attitude when it comes to wealth. 

Many of us can’t give away our wealth so that it may serve its real purpose none other than to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. When the wealthy man walked away from Jesus he allowed himself to be possessed by his love for his wealth. He was already at the threshold of the real meaning of life. Yet he still chose to be possessed by worldly life which is accumulation and possession of wealth and power. 

Many of us including our politicians allow ourselves to be possessed by this false meaning of life. Which in the end will only serve as our downfall for the simple reason that we allowed ourselves to be possessed by our greed for wealth and power. 

What will it do us if we have wealth yet we don’t have peace of mind? What would wealth bring to our lives if we don’t have God? Nothing but false sense of security, nothing but a life devoid of meaning and a life of emptiness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas