Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We, as Americans are very pragmatic. “Just tell me what I have to do,” could easily be an American mantra. When we see a goal, we want to know how to achieve it. The rich young man had this same sort of mentality. He asked Jesus, “‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What do I have to do?
There is no sense in this Gospel that the man was trying to trick Jesus, or that Jesus was trying to trick the man. What we heard was an honest exchange between a person who wants to go to heaven, and the one who could reveal how to do that. In fact, in giving the rich young man the extended call of following Jesus, Mark is clear that Jesus loved the rich young man, and the call that followed was a result of Jesus’ love. The tragedy of it all is that the man cannot bring himself to follow through with the call beyond the call: what do to when the Ten Commandments are being obeyed.
When it comes to the spiritual life, there is never “I’ve done enough.” Yes, the Ten Commandments are the basics of living a God-centered life: love God above all else, keep His Name holy, honor God on the Sabbath, and do not harm your neighbor through murder, adultery, lying, stealing, or envy. Perhaps some of you have achieved that goal, and you don’t find yourselves breaking the face-value sense of the Commandments. Praise God!
But if you have mastered the Decalogue, then Christ invites you to something deeper. It may not mean giving up all your possessions, but it always means following Christ more closely in your particular vocation. Even when it comes to the Commandments, Jesus, in teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, goes beyond the face value. No longer can one simply say, “I haven’t murdered anyone,” but one must consider whether or not one holds a grudge against a neighbor, or insults a neighbor. No longer is it sufficient to not have sex with someone else’s spouse, one is not to look at another with lust. And so, for all the Ten Commandments, there are deeper considerations, deeper ways of following Jesus.
For the rich young man, it meant giving up money, and that was hard because the man loved his money. But for us it can mean giving up a grudge, or stopping the practice of keeping up with the Joneses, or working on how we talk about others or think about others, or spending more time in prayer. For all of us, there are ways that we can go deeper in our spiritual life, but we have to make it a priority.
Doing this by ourselves is very difficult. Almost from the beginning, everyday Christians looked towards spiritual guides to help them live that deeper life beyond the Commandments. Very quickly those guides were given titles of respect, Abba or Amma, Father or Mother, as in Abba Anthony (St. Anthony of the Desert) or Amma Mary (St. Mary of Egypt). Throughout the centuries saints have guided everyday people to go deeper. For this reason we talk about Benedictine, or Dominican, or Franciscan, or Ignatian spirituality.
But sometimes it also helps to have another person alongside us, on this earth, urging us on as we urge them on. A few months back I started working out with weights 4 or 5 times per week (can’t you tell?!?). I had tried to work on physical strength before as an adult, but never really got into it. A few years back I made a New Year’s resolution to do push-ups and sit-ups 3 times a week. I was successful for about six weeks, until life got busy, and I found excuses not to do it (plus, it wasn’t really that much fun). So what made the difference this time around? What has kept me on track since around June? A good friend taught me how to start working out. At first we started with only a few exercises, and we would meet at least once per week. Both of our schedules have filled up since then, and now we might work out together once or twice a month, if that. But I still keep at it because we challenge each other to work out when we can, and we hold each other accountable.
I would suggest having someone to help you in your spiritual life. Don’t try to tackle it by yourself. When you are ready to go deeper, involve a friend or two who can hold you accountable and urge you on. If it’s reading more Scripture, have another friend read with you (physically, or at least reading the same amount each day or week). If it’s working on a virtue or a penitential practice, check in with each other. Notice that Jesus calls the rich young man to follow Him, which meant being in the group of disciples who worked together on being more closely conformed to Jesus. We tend to do better, and Jesus knows this, with others when we try to grow in our relationship with Him.
If you’re struggling to still keep the Commandments, have someone help you with that. If you’ve mastered the Ten, then find a friend who will not let you settle, but will work out those spiritual muscles with you each week. Hear and accept the invitation that Jesus is offering you today to follow Him.
