Author: admin

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Matthew 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that the word “love” is used.

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Jesus looks upon this rich young man…and “loves” him.

He must’ve delighted in his zeal for religion, and in his effort to be, “perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect.”

But what happens when Jesus “loves” him? 

He peers into his heart, and invites this man into deeper holiness. “You are lacking in one thing,” Jesus says. “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor…then come and follow me.”

The man walks away sad, “for he had many possessions.” Though he was pious, the Lord occupied second – not first – place in his heart.

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Like this rich young man, when Jesus looks upon us, he “loves” us. He sees our zeal for religion and all of the good works that we do. 

But he also sees those things that impede our spiritual growth. That’s what love does by nature; it seeks to remove things that block further intimacy.

So, what impedes my spiritual growth or keeps me from growing in intimacy with the Lord?

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Unlike the rich young man who walked away sad, may the Lord give us the grace to let go and follow him today.

Doing so makes us happier, holier people. 

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Image credits: (1) Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, Heinrich Hofmann (2) Daily Theology (3) Ibid., Heinrich Hofmann

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Gospel: Matthew 19: 3-12

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning
    the Creator made them male and female and said,
    For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
    and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 
They said to him, “Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?”
He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery.”
His disciples said to him,
“If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry.”
He answered, “Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel is tough. How do we understand it today?

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If your marriage is strong – if you’re living the ideal that our Lord sets before us – then give thanks to God… and to your spouse!

You’re an inspiration to many.

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If your marriage is on the rocks, know Jesus is with you. He wants your marriage to succeed just as much as you do.

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If you’ve endured the heartbreaking experience of divorce, then know that Jesus is still walking with you, he still loves you, and he still calls you to be his disciple.

We cannot avoid this unfortunate truth: sometimes relationships fail. It’s part of living in a fallen world.

But God never fails us. 

He is forever faithful, the Good Shepherd, who stands ready to place us on his shoulders when we fall and carry us forward. He’s a God who’s always looking for the next door to open.

The last thing the Lord would ever do is pick at our faults or rejoice in our failings. It’s simply not who he is. 

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As Christians, what the Lord asks of us is to extend the same mercy to others that he so often shows to us.

“For you shall be judged as you have judged,” Jesus says.

Instead of excluding those who’ve been deeply hurt already, perhaps today we can pray for the needs of many: couples who are firmly in love; couples who are struggling in their marriage; relationships that have ended; and those who hope to marry someday.

May the Lord guide us all along the path of healing and peace.

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Image credits: (1) KGW, How to Get Married During Covid-19 (2) Harvard Health (3) Brandon Cox

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Gospel: Matthew 18:21 – 19:1

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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If you have ever played a video game, then you know that there is always a series of levels. 

The first level is the easiest, and the final level is the most difficult. Sometimes it takes multiple tries before you succeed in beating that final level… but if you do, then you have mastered the game.

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If Christianity were likened to a video game, then today’s Gospel would be the final level – forgive without limits.

If you can do this, then you’ve mastered Christianity.

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Is there someone I need to forgive?

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Even if we haven’t mastered Christianity, may the Lord give us the grace to try again today.

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Image credits: (1) Quotefancy (2) Laurie Blaikie, WordPress (3) Harris House