A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Lectio (Reading)
Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.Meditatio (Reflecting)
Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
Oratio (Responding)
Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.This reading cuts to the heart of the matter, if anything in this world is more important to you than the teachings of Jesus, you must cast off those things, and follow Him. For the rich young man, his heart was open, he was planted in rich soil, but the thorns of wealth and privledge were choking off his faith, preventing him from acheiving completely what God has willed for his life.
This too, is true for all of us as well. It is not necessarily always wealth, but that can be a big one, but poor people can also have their faith choked by the thorns of pride, envy, etc. The point of this passage is that we all need to consider for ourselves what jesus would say to you if you asked Him the same question. What is it that Jesus would ask you to give up, to follow him.
Life is full of things that can lead you away from Him, and choke out your faith. We all have these things in our lives, what is yours? Today is your chance to ponder this question, and decide if it is more important to you than god. The irony of what jesus said to this rich young man, was that if this young man had done what Jesus suggested, he would have stored up much more treasure in heaven, treasure that would be with him forever.
The treasures of this world, stay here, after you die, it is only by doing good, speaking truth, and pursuing the beautiful that you attain treasure in heaven, and that treasure will be waiting for you for all eternity. If this young man had really loved possesions, then Jesus is actually giving him the recipe to be richer in heaven than he could ever imagine he could be here on earth. What is standing in the way of you achieving the wealth in heaven that God wants for you?
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.Resolutio (Resolving)
Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.Oh lord, help me today to seek you over the things of this world. Help me to identify what it is in this world that I am holding onto that keeps me from true dicipleship and give me the courage to do what I need to follow your path over the path I choose for myself.