Today’s Gospel poses four points to us that should direct us—in our lives—to write the ending of this gospel in light of our own personal lives. The gospel begins as a man runs up to Jesus with a question: What must I do to inherit Eternal Life? You can almost hear the excitement, even his breathlessness in these words. Jesus responds by telling him to sell everything that he possess and dedicate himself to the poor, the vulnerable in society and you will in fact have treasures in heaven. Let’s see how scripture scholars what us to understand this gospel:

There are four components to this message. Frist, there is a source of expectation in the man’s question: what must I do to inherit Eternal Life? The word “inherit” implies a sense of entitlement. Tell me what to do in order to have what I am owed. Second, there is a sense of self-satisfaction. I’ve done all that already—and really well from my youth—what else must I do? Just tell me, I’ll do it and then give me the prize! At this response, Jesus looks at the man with love and acceptance and then tells him what else he must do: go sell all that you have and give to the poor. Jesus does not judge him or refuse him, he rather encourages him out of love to do what is righteous and achieve the hope of eternal life. There is sadness though from the man because the request of Jesus is not what the man expected. The answer, in fact, of Jesus perplexing to everyone: give away everything that I have, that I am, and then I will have treasures? Jesus is asking the man to empty himself of every obstacle that is in his path to eternal life and to share his very self with the vulnerable, then and only then will the man be able to see the face of God. Finally, there is a sense of being flabbergasted—even from the disciples who ask Jesus, “Then who can be saved?”

We have a sense of eternal life as impossible to achieve. What mortal can do it? And like in many gospel accounts, it seems unanswered as we do not know what the man does. But it is not just written for the readers of that day, but for us. We too are asking the same question as the man in today’s gospel. Jesus wants our answer too.

While achievement of eternal life might be impossible for us all on our won, nothing is impossible for God. The answer to today’s question is this: will I trust in the Lord to grant to me the grace to become the person He has intended me to be? Will I open my heart to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and be transformed into Christ’s partner in carrying out His mission and ministry through the Church today? It is not actually about selling every article of clothing I possess—every sweater and shirt—or in giving away every red cent I have in the bank or in selling my home and furnishings and living in a dirt floor hut eating berries and twigs, but rather it is in the order of my life: what are my priorities and do I allow my desires or passions to be the singular motivating force for everything that I do and say and become in this world. Simply put, do I care only about me and my world or I do look at others with love…as Jesus did to the man with a question? For nothing is impossible for God. Let’s start asking Him for help.