28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B, Year II)

Community Word:  The Kingdom of God belongs to those who submit to His authority.
Theme:  We submit to God’s authority when we share our blessings with those in need.
Promise:  “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more in this present age …. .”  (Mk 10:29-30a)

Reflection: 

The rich man does not seem to be a bad person.  By his own declaration, he obeys the commandments of the Lord. He demonstrates both enthusiasm and humility by running up to Jesus and kneeling before him to ask the question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

And yet, despite his apparent righteousness, what did our Lord reply? Jesus said: “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,” (Mark 10:21). The rich man was not prepared to hear this, and he goes away sad.
But let us not be too quick to pass judgment on him.  Let us pause and reflect.  If any of us were to meet the Lord today, and we were told to “sell what we have and give to the poor.” how do you suppose we would respond? Would our faces drop and would we walk away as the rich man did? Or, are we going to be like Peter, who exclaimed: “We have given up everything and followed you.” (Mark 10:28)

The Lord is not asking us to sell all that we have and give it to the poor in a literal sense.  What Jesus is challenging us to do is to forego, or let go, of the one thing (or things) in our lives that prevent or hinder us from following Him without any reservations – body, soul and spirit.  In the case of the rich man in the gospel, he placed financial security above that of Christ’s call.  For others, the priority could be a career, family, power, or fame, or some other, worldly attachment.

At  Bukas Loob Sa Diyos Covenant Community, we have varying degrees of commitment based on our stage of spiritual development, as ‘Regular’, ‘’Committed’, or ‘Covenanted’ disciples.  Regardless of our stage of commitment, Jesus invites us to examine our hearts for any hidden attachments that may continue to hold us back from following Him totally. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” (Mat 6:21).  Are we ready to abandon all other priorities for Jesus.

Why do you think the rich man was saddened by Jesus’s reply to his question? His material possessions were the source of his sense of security, confidence and assurance, and he was not prepared to let go of it.  By walking away, it is clear that he trusted his money more than he trusted our Lord.

What about us? How about those of us who have been blessed with more than what we need in life?  Does that mean it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for those blessed with abundance to enter the kingdom of God?  It is not the intent of Jesus to discriminate against the rich who are blessed with more material possessions than they need.

What He asks of each one of us, whether rich or poor, is the right disposition of the heart. We accepted Jesus in our lives during our LSS baptism. So what more do we need to do at this point? The Lord says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal”. (Mat 6:19-20)

How do we store up treasures in heaven? Jesus puts it very clearly and simply in the gospel: Give to the poor.  This is in fact our theme for this week.  The Lord is not advocating that we sell everything we own and give it to the poor.  But He is telling us to share whatever blessings we have with those in need.

Laying up treasures in heaven, means making God our top priority at all times and putting our trust in Him.  This is a lifetime struggle.  Giving up material possessions and other worldly treasures for Jesus is not easy.  But it comes with eternal reward that is immeasurable.  That is God’s promise: “There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age …” (Mark 10:29-30a)

Are we going to walk away like the rich man in the gospel, or are we going to commit to Jesus, full of conviction as Peter did? The choice is ours to make.

Prayer:
Lord, it is not easy to become your disciple.  You demand so much from those who choose to follow you. Today we ask You to empower us, so we can make You our number one priority in life.  Give us the grace to let go of the one thing that blocks us from following You with everything we have.  We want to obey your command to “Love the Lord your God,” with all our heart, and with all our soul and with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, (Luke 10:27). On our own we cannot do it, Lord. But in You, all things are possible, for it is when we are weak that we find strength in you.  Thank You for your faithfulness to us despite the many times we have failed You.  Today we make a decision to commit our life to You completely.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1.What is the one treasure that remains hidden in your heart and is preventing you,
like the rich man in the gospel, from following Jesus all the way?

2. Are you willing to surrender this “treasure” and put Jesus in its place now and forever?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
October 14, 2012 (Sun)    Wis 7:7-11/ Ps 90:12-17/ Heb 4:12,13/ Mk 10:17-30
October 15, 2012 (Mon)    Gal 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1/ Ps 113:1-7/ Lk 11:29-32
October 16, 2012 (Tues)    Gal 5:1-6/ Ps 119:41-48/ Lk 11:37-41
October 17, 2012 (Wed)    Gal 5:18-25/ Ps 1:1-6/ Lk 11:42-46
October 18, 2012 (Thur)    2Tim 4:9-17/ Ps 145:10-18/ Lk 10:1-9
October 19, 2012 (Fri)    Eph 1:11-14/ Ps 33:1-5,12,13/ Lk 12:1-7
October 20, 2012 ( Sat)    Eph 1:15-23/ P s8:2-7/ Lk 12:8-12

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”