Monday's gospel story of the young man with much offers a disquieting challenge to most in the world today. The story stands as an adjunct to the experiences of many people throughout the world today. A young man wants Jesus to tell him what he has to do to gain eternal life in the kingdom of God.
Seemingly without any hesitation, Jesus turns to several of the commandments that deal directly with how we treat other people. Like most in our world today, the young man responds as most would: "You know, I have done most of those things." Then Jesus, as is his want, puts the hammer right on the nail. "Sell (that is make some money ... the sign of an early economics degree!!) what you have and give it to the poor." Whoo!!! Imagine that command. And the young man went on his way because he was possessed by his possessions. He could not separate himself from them.
By many standards, we are not poor. Look around you. Look at the room where you are reading this blog. Think about the other rooms in your house, your apartment. And the attic or the basement, or both! How about the modern special attic or basement: the rented storage space??? Like the young man, many of us have been taken over by our possessions.
During my recent move to St. Joseph's parish, I was embarrassed when I realized all the "things" accumulated either through gifts from my family and friends or through my own "wants." I cannot but think of the youngsters sitting in the seats of grocery carts going down the aisles with Mom or Dad. "Mom, we need that box of Cheerios." Or, "Dad, I need that toy." How often are we just driven to have more.
Politician are promising needed change in all the speeches we have to endure these days. Yet, even before our election day, our wants, our lives have been curbed by our excesses especially as relates to the energy we cannot provide for ourselves. We have seen change; we are feeling change, a painful kind of change. Prices are up; sales are down.
Isn't it strange when you take time to think about it: oil has become the great teacher in our generation. Oil, especially foreign oil, has come into our homes and apartments and started to teach us about waste, about the better way of using what we have and not using what we don't need.
Today's gospel story serves us well. It reminds me and you that we have become the servant to our possessions and the need to have more. Perhaps this might be the most challenging pill we have to swallow: we have become possessed by our possessions and our need for more!
We often pray for wisdom. But are we clear? Wisdom for what??? A challenge for us today on our journey of faith and living is to pray regularly not that we might have more and more. We might begin to pray for the wisdom to know the best way to deal with what we possess and with what possessions possess us.
