Somehow Matilda agreed to carry out her husband’s final wish—Morris wanted to be buried with all the money for which he worked so hard his entire life. After the funeral, Matilda’s worried friends asked, “Matilda, you are nearly penniless, why did you agree to bury all that money with Morris?” Matilda replied, I had no problem with the idea at all, I put a check in the casket.”
Pope Francis observed, “You never see a moving van behind a funeral procession.” Today’s poignant Gospel scene speaks to us about our attitude toward wealth and possessions: A well intentioned, well-to-do, young man runs to Jesus and kneeling at his feet, asks him a question which is of fundamental importance to everyone. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
We discover that he has been a faithful observer of the Lord his entire life but now he was seeking more. He wants to be assured of his salvation.
Jesus looked at him with love [I appreciate this detail of St. Mark] and says, “You are lacking one thing.” Amazing…just one thing! It was an invitation to follow the Lord unconditionally without any attachments: “Sell what you have and give it to the poor and then come and follow me.” But the invitation fell upon deaf ears. The rich young man goes away sad—his wealth was the obstacle preventing him from taking that extra step.
Nowhere in the Gospel does the Lord condemn wealth. Jesus counted many wealthy people among his friends: Matthew, Zacchaeus, Joseph of Arimathea, we might also include Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in their company. Wealth is not immoral in itself, but it can be and often is, an obstacle to holiness and salvation when we become too attached to it. The young man’s problem lay not in his possessions but rather in his attachment to them.
We can imagine that the young man’s life was complex, days filled with worries, many affairs to take care of, and many people to relate to. He inability to let go made him unable to develop the intimate relationship that the Lord offered him.
It is easy to dismiss this Gospel, saying, “I’m not wealthy. Better to proclaim it in the Hamptons, not Hamilton. But don’t be so eager to dismiss it. What God wanted of the rich young man he desires in every disciple. Our Lord does not expect everyone to move to a monastery on a high mountain in the way of St. Benedict, St. Francis, or St. Clare. He calls most of us to live in our complex and busy world but without being tied down by unimportant things. St. Ignatius of Loyola called them “disordered attachments.”
The spiritual life requires a certain degree of detachment so that we make more room for God and our neighbor. It increases our capacity for loving God, people, and the noble things of life. being firmly rooted in him, free of those things that prevent us from hearing his voice. St. Robert Bellarmine sums up well today’s Gospel message:
Your God is gentle and mild. He does not command that while you are a pilgrim on earth you must utterly forego creaturely consolations” Indeed, he created all things to serve you. But he did command that you use them with moderation, sobriety, and temperance, that you share them cheerfully with the needy, that your possessions not be your master, but theirs, and that you use them to attain God.
