Good News ReflectionFOR NEXT SUNDAY: October 11, 200928th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA: For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection, please go to Catholic Digital Resources:http://catholicdr.com/calendar/October/28thB.htm - Preview a sample
Next Sunday's Readings:Wis 7:7-11Ps 90:12-17Heb 4:12-13Mark 10:17-30http://www.usccb.org/nab/101109.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings: http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_10_11.mp3
In next Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus asks the rich young man, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good." There's a double message here.
First, if the young man truly believes that Jesus is good (and wasn't merely trying to win him over through flattery) and that his teachings are good, and if he has observed his miracles and sinless life, then it should be obvious to him that all this goodness is proof that Jesus is God.
Secondly, Christ's question offers the young man an opportunity to become more humble. If he truly believes what Jesus says, then he should realize that since only God is good, no one else, including himself, obeys the commandments perfectly. Such a realization should have opened his heart to the truth that Jesus explains next.
How does this truth affect your own heart? Jesus is saying: "There's only one thing keeping you from being holy like God: earthly attachments. You can gain freedom from this world and possess only what belongs to the kingdom of God by giving away your earthly treasures."
God is not asking us to become destitute. To "give up" anything we possess means being willing to give it away. If it's a good thing for us to have, the source of it is God (for example, the purchases we made thanks to the talents he gave us that got us our jobs) and he wants us to enjoy it, but true joy comes from being God's partner as a distributer of his wealth.
It's awesome to help others by sharing what God has given to us. It's then that we control our possessions instead of being controlled by them.
By ourselves, we cannot achieve complete freedom from attachments. It's difficult to let go and become willing to share anything and everything that would benefit others. But it's the fullest way to live! And we are called to live this way; to remain attached to earthly stuff is a sin that distances us from God and hurts others.
The good news is that Jesus made it possible by taking our sins to the cross and sharing with us his own Holy Spirit. Our lives on earth are to be spent detaching from more and more of everything that doesn't belong to heaven. While doing this, we receive the treasures of heaven.
Questions for Personal Reflection:In comparison to the holy ways of dealing with life's circumstances that Jesus modeled for us, how unlike Jesus – how worldly – are you today? And how divine is your behavior? What earthly treasure is most difficult to give away? Decide upon an action that will help you detach from it this week.
Questions for Community Faith Sharing:Share the story of a time when you gave away an earthly treasure even though you really didn't want to detach from it. What motivated you to give it away or let go of it? How did God repay you?
STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org* To join and become a member, go to: http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/
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