Come, Follow Me

 

Mark 10: 17-27

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷ As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But he ^[a]was deeply dismayed by ^[b]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “^[c]Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

As we move toward Ash Wednesday and Lent, we too are faced with choice.  What can we "let go"   to make this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving effective in cementing our relationship with Jesus? We all have "possessions" whether material or not, our wills, our :"having it my way", our self-centeredness.  When we look at our lives, there's lots of room for improvement, for we are truly "works in progress". Jesus is inviting us to take a step further this Lent toward a total self-giving and readiness to do it HIS way, not ours.  What is he asking of me this Lent?

Bro. Rene 
Let us pray:
Christ our teacher, you call each of us to be free of the things that enslave us, and enter into true freedom as children of God. Open our hearts, that we may accept your invitation, “Come, follow me.” Give us the grace today to commit our whole selves more fully to you. Help us especially this day to overcome any attachments in our lives that prevent us from following you as fully as we can. Amen.

 Rev. Louis DelFra, C.S.C.