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Gospel: Mark 10: 17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
“You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
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.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Corporal Jason Lee Dunham was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines Regiment, during the Iraq War.
On April 14, 2004, his convoy was responding to an attack that happened in a nearby town. Other Marines responded first, detaining several vehicles and suspects. When one of the suspects tried escaping, Corporal Dunham engaged the man in hand-to-hand combat.
During the fight, the suspect pulled the pin out of a grenade and launched it at a group of Marines. Dunham threw his helmet and his body on top of the grenade, shielding his fellow soldiers from the explosion.
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Eight days later, Corporal Dunham died from injuries sustained … at the tender age of 22.
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Today we honor all the men and women who, like Corporal Dunham, never returned home from combat. They offered themselves for the life of our nation: for our families, our children, our freedom, and our future.
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Stories like Corporal Dunham get to the essence of what Christianity is. As Jesus himself says, “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Jesus did it. Dunham did it. We should do it.
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While we cannot offer ourselves for the life of the world as Christ did, nor may we be drawn into combat as Corporal Dunham was, we are all called to offer ourselves for the good of others, often in ordinary ways.
How do I give myself away for the good of others?
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May Corporal Dunham and all who sacrificed themselves for us find rest in Christ, who first loved us and gave himself for us.
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Image credits: (1) Congressional Medal of Honor Society (2) VA News, VA.gov (3) ECWA USA