What Do I Still Lack?

(Homily for the 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B)

     The three readings of this Sunday are quite fascinating especially from the perspective of their literally styles, however, they seem not to have a common thread, but in reality it is not so. At the heart of the first reading and the Gospel we are presented with the existential experience of choice making. On this, we have two figures: King Solomon and the rich young man in their different choices. The first made a sapiential choice while the later made an imprudent choice. In that bid, the common thread that dovetails into the three readings, somehow in a latent and manifest way is that of wisdom and an invitation to a prudential approach to life in general and to riches in particular. The pertinent question we could ask is this: who is not desirous of making money in this world? Who does not desire to have riches, to accumulate material wealth? Indeed, only few people are immune from this avidity. This is what St. John called “pride in possession” (cf. 1Jn. 2:16), the obsessive desire to possess and behold the things that one sees and take pride in them. In Solomon’s sapiential request he prayed for the wisdom that comes from God in order not to be a victim of this obsessive desire. The rich man of the Gospel instead was carried away by this obsession. In the context of the Gospel passage therefore, wisdom according to Christ signifies the capacity to use earthly riches and wealth without attachment and without seeing the riches as an existential extension of oneself.

     In the first reading (Wis. 7:7-11) King Solomon had to make a choice of God’s gift above all else: Wisdom. While in the Gospel the Rich young man made a choice of wealth in place of Jesus’ offer of His Sequela. Our life daily is made up of many choices. But the singular question we have to grapple with is what do we choose? Solomon declared to have received the gift of Wisdom, as a response to his prayer. This wisdom is not ordinarily a fruit of studies or human intelligence, but a gift of and from God. This Wisdom is a participation in the Wisdom of God. Solomon’s greatness as we can see lies in his preference of God’s wisdom to fame and power. In the human person, the wisdom in question is God’s action in man. It involves seeing, judging and acting in accordance to God’s parlance. Be that as it may, we have two contrasting figures in the readings of today. The rich young man of the Gospel is really a contrast of King Solomon in the first reading. King Solomon placed wisdom before riches, and wisdom here could be linked to the right relationship with God, with human beings and with things. As a matter fact, biblically the tradition of comparing wisdom to material wealth at the expense of the later could be traced to Solomon’s prayer in the first book of Kings (3:6-9). This comparison is common in wisdom literature. Thus, this passage indeed matches the Gospel periscope of the rich young man.

     In today’s Gospel (Mk. 10:17-30) we are nourished by that wonderful decisive encounter between Jesus and the rich young man. This passage of the Gospel is a continuation of the presentation of the catechesis or instructions of Jesus to his Apostles and disciples, on the significance and exigencies of his discipleship. A holistic consideration of the discourse reveals the novelty of the Gospel of Jesus and the radicality of his request, which has to be welcomed with ponderation and not in a cursory or superficial manner. Today Jesus teaches his followers (us) the right attitude towards riches and reminds us as well that attachment riches are obstacle to true discipleship.

     The rich young man met Jesus and asked him what he can do to gain eternal life. He said: “Good Master, but Jesus retorted “why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone”. Furthermore, Jesus drew his attention back to the commandments, but according to him he has observed them all since his youth. The man in question ran to Jesus with many dreams and aspirations for the future life (eternal life). So many people who met Jesus went away happy, transformed and healed. But for the first time in the Gospel a man met Jesus and went away sad afterwards (Mk 10:22). He went away sad because he had dreams, but he does not have the courage to realize them and to transform them into reality. What is it that changed the whole thing? The words of Jesus: Go, sell all you have, give the money to the poor, then come and follow me. Jesus gave the man a challenge that he was not ready to accept: go, sell, give, come and follow. “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mk. 10:21). The young man went away sad, at first one would have imagined that he was very close to God, because he seemed to be a very spiritual person, but the outcome of his encounter with Jesus reveals the contrary. In that encounter, Jesus invited the man to follow him, to abandon all, as Peter and the other apostles have done. This was a privilege, and a call of predilection, but the man in question refused to follow him, even though he has been a good person (he observed  all the commandments since his youth, but the words of Jesus saddened him, “he went away sad” (v.22). Indeed, it is true that “no one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt. 6:24).

     Interestingly, Mathew’s version of this passage is quite different. In the Markan version when the young man addressed Jesus as Good Teacher, Jesus reacted: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Jesus is God and he is therefore good, but he does not want to be flattered). But Mathew substitutes this with “Why do you ask me concerning that which is good? Again, in Mathew’s version Jesus admonished his apostles on the renunciation of wealth and personal discipleship as a counsel for perfection, “If you want to be perfect” (Mt. 19:21). Thus, to renounce wealth and follow Jesus in that special manner is not necessary for salvation (but is necessary for those who want to follow Jesus radically as in special consecration). On the other hand, obedience to the Mosaic Law alone is not sufficient to gain eternal life. In that bid, the discourse of Jesus on riches opens two prospective: Frist, effective and radical renunciation of all earthly materials to follow Him (for those that received a special call). Second, affective detachment of the heart from earthly material wealth (for all Christians).

     Practically Jesus was telling the rich young man that true treasures are not material wealth and money but persons (the poor). Here, we cannot but remember St. Lawrence (deacon) who at the point of martyrdom presented the poor and needy as the treasures of the Church. The rich man was living the beatitudes of the unsatisfied, cor inquietum. He was searching for something more, but he rejected the real treasure. As we have seen in the Gospel, the rich man has no name, money took away his identity. On the other hand, in the gospel many rich people like: Zaccheus, Levi, Lazarus, Susan and John were mentioned by their names. They had their names because money did not take away their identity. What did they do? They stopped placing their treasure on riches, seeking security from money. They placed their treasure rightly on God. But the young man of today’s gospel lost his identity because of the misplacement of his treasures. He lacked generosity and the spirit of sharing.

     Upon Jesus’ invitation to follow him, the young man walked away embittered, even though he was described as a good man, who has been faithful to the commandments. To his reaction, Jesus turned and said, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God” (vv. 24-25).

●Why is it difficult? Because it is difficult for a rich man who is attached to his riches, in which he feels secured, to trust and abandon himself to God. It is difficult for that category of person to be aware of his poverty as a creature and his indigence. Truly, when one feels secured in his riches, it becomes difficult for the person to open up to the gratuitous gift of grace.

●Who then can be saved? They apostles asked in bewilderment, and Jesus replied them: “By human resources it is impossible, but not with God: because for God everything is possible” (v. 27). There is need for a rich to detach from his riches and open up to divine grace. Therefore, if a rich man seeks God and follows him detaching from his riches, the promise of eternal life will be made possible. Then, Peter spoke up and worriedly reminded Jesus “Behold, we have left everything and followed you” (v.28).

●Then another question emerges: what will be the recompense of those who like Peter and the apostles have left everything to follow Jesus? To them Jesus assured a hundred fold in the present time and in the future, eternal life, together with persecution (because the disciple has to experience the ordeals of the Master). Jesus promises total recompense, a definitive joy and eternal life.

     Indeed, Jesus profited from the existential experience of this man, to give us an important lesson on riches. He said that wealth and riches are dangerous for one’s salvation, where there is attachment. For they render one insatiable and unconcerned for the needs of others. Jesus does not ask all to follow Him, but to those who follow him (Christians) he requests detachment from riches. A real follower is one who detaches and shares in love. This is the formula of today’s Good news: Detach and Share. Of course, to detach from riches is not easy, but through God’s grace “all is possible”. Jesus told the rich man “you lack one thing”, and that is his incapacity to detach and share in love. Also for each and every one of us, the words of Jesus still resound again “you lack one thing or many things”. What is it that you lack? What is it that makes you to put a frown on your face and walk away from God? Where do you place your value and true treasure? Unfortunately, we can see some aspects of ourselves in this man, and thus we may well ask: do we go away sad in the different ways and moments we encounter Jesus?

     The second reading (Heb. 4:12-13) talks about the Word of God, which is very much esteemed in the Old testament, Therein, God’s Word effects what it says (cf. Is. 55:10-11), it has an effective power of realization. And this passage is one of those New Testament passages that try to deepen this Old Testament picture of God’s Word. God’s wisdom is concretely expressed and manifested to men through His Word. The Word of God is “alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword”. It penetrates into the inner recesses of the human heart. This assertion on the Word of God should be inspirational for all our choices and actions. The “wisdom” of God incarnated is Jesus, the Word of God, the hidden treasure, that a man sells everything he owns to purchase (Mt 13:44). And in the Word of God, his wisdom is fully manifested. Thus, the hearts that prays and are nourished by the Word of God, acquire gradually the wisdom of God; they in the words of St. Paul will make theirs the mind of Jesus (cf. Phil. 2:5).

     In this contemporary culture, the discourse of Jesus on riches will be a real hard nut to crack, for we live in a society that is profoundly materialistic, and the dominant culture is the idolatry of riches and well-being, of hedonism and the satisfaction of one’s desires and instincts. A culture of “fast food and take away”, to the extent that that today we even have “fast food spirituality.” We want everything here and now. This is the society in which a Christian is called to live and bear witness, he has to do this with a continuous  effort to distance himself from the seduction of riches, learn how to use the earthly goods without becoming a slave to them, and to share his wealth with those in need. Even though Jesus does not ask everyone to leave everything and follow him in the life of special consecration to Him, but he asks all to detach their hearts from riches and renounce egoistic possession of wealth at the expense of the poor. Drawing the issue further, in this invitation of Jesus, consists the wisdom of the heart. The wisdom that king Solomon prayed for in the first reading, of which the psalmist implored in the responsorial psalm, especially in the first stanza.

     The Word of God today, therefore, invites us to adopt a sapiential and prudential approach to life, not only with regards to material wealth, but also in our daily living in general. For in biblical terms, “wisdom” stands to indicate having a balanced rapport with God, with men, with oneself and with things. And also to see and judge things and events in the light of the supreme truth, God and the conformation of one’s life to the will of God. Truly, to be able to do this, we need the constant help of the Word of God, in and through which divine wisdom is revealed. No wonder, the Psalmist also tendered his sapiential request to God, thus: Give us O lord, the wisdom of the heart” (Ps. 90:12b). This is an invocation we ought to repeat on and on. Let us appropriate the sapiential prayer of Solomon and the Psalmist and thus re-echo our voices with theirs in asking: Lord give us the wisdom of the heart! Let us pray, Lord Jesus, only you can satisfy the deepest longing in and of my heart. In your benevolence, keep me free from all possessiveness, discontentment, selfishness and greed, help me to know that You alone are my true Treasure, Amen!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

A Helper Fit For Him!

 (Homily for the 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B)

God didn’t make a woman out of a bone of Adam’s foot, so that he should tread her underground, nor out of a bone of his head, so that she should dominate him; but he made her out of his rib, which is close to his heart, to teach him to love her truly, as his companion. St Bernardina

     In these times when the sacramental bond of the Christian marriage is under attack by many ideologies and currents of thought, when there are many attempts to destroy the inherent values of the Christian marriage and the subtle moves to redefine the family and its values, the message of the first reading and the Gospel passage situates us well into context. The issue of marriage is one we cannot afford to treat with scorn or refrain from, for the future of mankind depends on the family. And as such, let us not be carried away by the human desires and longings about marriage which many a times are self-centred and tend to lower the vision of marriage and as such drift away from God’s plan, rather let us ask ourselves a number of pertinent questions: what is God’s plan about marriage? (cf. Gn.2) What does Jesus say about marriage? (cf. Mt.19:4-6). The institution of marriage has its foundation in the will of God, and not on the desires and longings of man. In all, it behoves us to underscore that marriage calls for moral commitment, especially in this age when marriage is under attack, let us hold on to God’s original plan, as emphasized by Jesus in the Gospel. We cannot but affirm that marriage as intended by God in creation can never be equated with its social institutionalization.

     The first reading (Gn. 2:18-24) starts with words of concern from God towards man “it is not good that he should be alone”. God said: “I will make him a helper fit for him”, this entails that they are equal in dignity. Here God can be seen as a Connector, a Communion-builder. Indeed, the beautiful words of St. Bernardina above expresses this in a fascinating manner. In the narrative as we read, out of the ground God formed every beast of the field and birds of the air, and after that he brought them to man to name. Man gave them names, but none of them was a helper fit for man. Then, God made man (Îs) to fall in a deep sleep, and as he slept, God took one of his ribs. And used the rib to make woman (Îssa), He brought her to the man, and the man said “this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man”. As if to say finally “God na now you come”. As such, the reading concludes with the divine binding force thus: “Therefore, a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (v.24).

     Existentially speaking, God in his providence intervened in the primordial solitude of man and in the same way; He continues to do same even today. No creature was able to fill that solitude except woman. The fact of taking a rib from man to create woman indicates that they are of the same nature, equal in dignity, thus, woman is not inferior to man; they should complement each other (complementarity). This is the original plan of the Creator. The original plan of God is not “Îs and Îs” or “Îssa and Îssa” (man and man or woman and woman), rather it is “Îs and Îssa”. Therefore, man and woman are called to form a communion of life and of love. Christian marriage establishes a union between husband and wife, a union that is superior to every other union of love, “for this a man shall leave his father and mother…” (Gn.2:24; Mk. 10:7). Secondly, it makes the two to be intimately involved, “and the two will become one flesh” (Gn.2:24; Mk. 10:6). This is not merely a physical union, because in biblical language, “flesh” in Hebrew signifies the person in his totality, body and spirit. Above all else, however, the main thrust of this passage from the book of Genesis is by no means geared towards the subordination of women, rather her complementarity with man. Unlike the animals, she is a real consort, a helper fit for him

     In the Gospel (Mk. 10:2-16) Jesus reaffirms the indissolubility of marriage, when the Pharisees came to test him by asking “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He asked them what Moses commanded them. They immediately answered that “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to put her away”. In the Mosaic Law it was only the man that can give the woman a certificate of divorce (cf. Deut. 24:1). Moses had a very good reason to prescribe that law, because before and after the law, men had been accustomed to send their wives away for the smallest reason (badly cooked meal, sickness, disagreement, having fallen in love etc.), as a result Moses had to put them under the obligation of a formal dismissal letter to protect to some extent the right of women. However, one may ask: what of if the wife finds something against the husband, can she also write a bill of divorce and hand it over to him? But unfortunately, this was not stated. Interestingly, while addressing this hydra-headed issue, Jesus did not deny this Mosaic Law which gives a man the right to divorce his wife. But He did not get himself entangled with it, rather He pointed out that the Mosaic Law on divorce is as a result of their hardness of heart, and hardness of heart here indicates a stubborn and hardened conscience bent on wilfully disobeying God. Jesus takes rather a strong stand and affirms that marriage should be monogamous, permanent and indissoluble; he made reference to the book of Genesis. This teaching of Jesus on indissolubility and permanence of marriage needs to be re-echoed in our society today, where divorce is gradually being seen as a normal thing. Marriage is an eternal covenant between a man and a woman (husband and wife) made before God.

     At this point, Jesus intervened reminding them that it was as a result of their hardness of heart that Moses gave them the law. Not only that, he went back to the original plan of God in the beginning. And what is that divine original plan “the creation of male and female”, which has a purpose: “for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”. The fidelity of the couples to each other is a symbol and reflection of God’s faithfulness to His people, and the faithfulness of Christ to the Church. In fact, fidelity is at the heart of God’s name, He is the “I am” (cf. Ex. 3:14-15), and the name “I am” indicates faithfulness and fidelity. I am for you; I will be there for you. In the wedding promise, is as if the couples say to each other: “I am here for you, I will be there for you”, this indeed is at the heart of the sacrament.

     Afterwards, he gave them a sort of advice “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (or let no man put asiri (gossip) under as some would jokingly say). The indissolubility of marriage as Jesus opined lies in the “totality and foreverness” of the commitment. And as such, the conjugal union does not survive only on the “Yes” pronounced on the Wedding day, but on the “Yes” that is renewed daily. A wedding lasts only one day, but marriage for the rest of life. Besides, after Jesus’ explanation, yet the disciples remained at sea, because they asked Jesus again about the issue. And in response Jesus made it more profound, that “whoever divorces his wife and marries commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (vv.11-12). Thanks however, to the intervention of the disciples, because in response to it Jesus introduced the novelty of His message on this issue. Prior to this time, for the Jews only the man can divorce his wife, but Jesus brought something new: also a woman can divorce her husband. This more than anything else reveals the equal dignity of the human person whether man or woman.

     In his intervention, Jesus raised the dignity of women to its natural level, and afterwards the issue of children arose. This is because in the culture and understanding of that time children like women lacked consideration. Jesus in the case of the children did not let the occasion pass him by. We are told that He was indignant (Jesus was angered over this unfair treatment). What did He do? He welcomed the children, took them in His arms and blessed them. Most probably, as some exegetes assert, those taking the children to Jesus are their parents. On the contrary, in our present time, Jesus is equally indignant over those parents that do not bring their children to Him. And from here arises a question for parents: where do you take your children to? To Jesus or elsewhere? If to Jesus their permanent blessings are assured. The presence of Jesus makes the difference in marriage and in the family.

     As we meditate on the sacrament of matrimony, let us prayerfully ask Jesus to help us rediscover the values of a Christian marriage and family: love, reciprocity, complementarity, understanding, forgiveness and foreverness etc. We therefore conclude with the following question or rather reasoning on marital love:

Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and a girl clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be any thing more beautiful than young love? Yes there is a more beautiful thing. It is an old man and an old woman finishing their life’s journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are wrinkled but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes there is a more beautiful thing than young love.  Old love. (Anonymous)

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)