8th Monday - Rich Young Man & Jesus

 

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a young man ran up, knelt down before Him, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good, No one is good, but God alone.”

How moving, that this young man ran up to Jesus, and knelt before Him! The act of kneeling down before someone is a sign of great respect, but did the young man, see Jesus only as a human being, rather than God?

When Our Lord said, “Why do you call me good, No one is good, but God alone.” It sounds like Jesus really didn’t want the young man to call Him good, because only God is good, and so, some say, Jesus is denying His divinity. Far be it! This is completely wrong! Rather, Jesus told the young man, that Our Lord is good, not because He is a good man, but, because He Himself is God, who is goodness itself. If the young man wants to attain eternal life, He must see in Jesus, not just a good teacher, but the divine Savior, the only Master, the only one who, because He is God, is goodness itself.

Let’s closely examine what happened. First of all, this man had great respect for Jesus because when He came up to Jesus, He knelt down before Our Lord. The man also seemed sincere, as He wanted to know how to gain eternal life. Besides having respect, being sincere, he also was righteous, because He kept all the commandments since his youth.

And Jesus did something many would have loved to experience. Our Lord “looked at him and loved him.” The rich young man was able to see the love of Jesus in Our Lord’s face. And finally, Jesus even wanted the man to follow him. But the man lacked one thing; he was attached to his material possessions.

Our Lord told Him, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.” But the man refused. St. Mark tells us what happened: “At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

How true it is that many do not follow Jesus, because they are attached to possessions. This is a reminder to all of us to be detached from material things so that we can be attached to God alone, knowing every gift we have comes from God and if we use His gifts for God’s glory and honor and for the good of the poor, we will ensure we are following Jesus.

In the Eucharist, we follow Him, walk in His path, stand by His side, and remain in His love. As we prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to turn our hearts to contemplate the face of Christ, so that His radiant face, may gaze upon the depths of our soul.