by Fr. Tommy Lane
What a difference between the young man in today’s Gospel and Peter (Mark 10:17-30). The young man went away sad because he could not detach himself from his possessions (Mark 10:22). But Peter said, “We have given up everything and followed you.” (Mark 10:28) That young man was a good person. He ran to Jesus and knelt before Jesus. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus listed five of the ten commandments (plus “you shall not defraud”). The commandments Jesus listed concern loving our neighbor: you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. The young man had been living these commandments since his youth. Jesus elsewhere summarized the commandments as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. So, the young man was living the second part: loving his neighbor as himself. His difficulty was with the first part: loving God above everything, above his riches. That was the difference between him and Peter. Peter and the other apostles left everything to follow Jesus, but the young man was unable to do so even though he loved his neighbor.
But when we look at Peter’s life, we see that he still had possessions! He still apparently had his boat because after Jesus’ crucifixion Peter went fishing in the boat with some of the others (John 21:1-3). Peter still had his house. He had grown up in Bethsaida (John 1:44) but moved to Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, obviously to be near his work, fishing. He had a house there. Jesus visited Peter’s house and cured his mother-in-law and Jesus made Peter’s house in Capernaum his base during his three years of public ministry (Matt 4:13; 9:1; Mark 1:21ff). So, Peter still apparently had his boat and had his house, but he could say, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus did not rebuke him or say to him that he was telling lies. He had given up fishing and given up everything else in the sense that he was detached from them so that he could use them for the kingdom of God and put the kingdom of God first. Peter gave lodging to Jesus in his house, and we can imagine that he often used his boat to take Jesus from one shore of the Sea of Galilee to another.
Just like us, Peter had things of this world, but he was detached from them and put the kingdom of God first. The question for us is where we stand. Are we more like the young man, loving our neighbor but at the same time not loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, or are we more like Peter, owning what we need but at the same time putting the kingdom of God first? Look at the difference between the state of mind of the young man and Peter. The young man went away sad, but Peter seems to have been very happy. Putting worldly things first will only lead to unhappiness and lack of peace within. Jesus offered the young man “treasure in heaven” but he went away sad (Mark 10:21-22). Putting God first leads to happiness and peace within even if we have a cross, or “persecutions” as Jesus says in today’s Gospel (Mark 10:30). Because of all the attractions and allurements of worldly matters, the only way to put God first and receive “treasure in heaven” and not be pulled towards the things of the world is to pray, pray, pray. Prayer leads us to God and what pleases God. If prayer is difficult, keep praying until prayer becomes a joy for you and is a beautiful time with God every day that you would never want to miss. With all the distractions, attractions, and allurements all around us, prayer every day is essential to live the Christian life. Without prayer, we are spiritually starving and cannot love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
That is why Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23). The riches that may come between us and the kingdom of God may not be the wealth that the young man in the Gospel had but a different wealth. It could be excessive TV, excessive internet, Facebook, Instagram, social media, or anything else that is a gift from God to us but to which unfortunately we become enslaved instead of allowing it help us along the road to God. We have more of everything at this time than ever before in history and yet we have the impression that God is more and more being pushed aside. Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” This sounds frightening but it is the exaggerated (hyperbolic) language that was common in Palestine at that time. Clearly Jesus means there may be things in our lives that could keep us apart from God. That is why, as I said, prayer, prayer, prayer, is necessary to live the Christian life. The young man passed up “treasure in heaven” but Peter chose “eternal life in the age to come.”
We all have more of everything than people ever before had in history. “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23). Do we go away sad like the young man because we do not put God first or seek “treasure in heaven” first, or do we use what we have to serve the kingdom of God like Peter who said, “We have given up everything and followed you” and was promised by Jesus “eternal life in the age to come.”
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2021
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
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