What Must I Do?

“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?’” (Mark 10:17)

Today’s gospel is about the rich man who asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He tells Jesus that he has observed the commandments from his youth. Jesus tells 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.” (Mark 10:21) Just like the rich man, we all have something that we are enslaved to that keeps us from following Jesus completely. Jesus asked the rich man why he called him good. “No one is good but God alone.”  The rich man knew there was more to obtaining eternal life than following the commandments. This is why he approached Jesus. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah and that only through Him is eternal life possible. We must have this same belief. We must believe that it is only God who gives us the strength to be holy. When we try to do it on our own our work is in vain. We must humbly present ourselves to God, just as the rich man did, and ask him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” God will reveal to us what needs to be done. Jesus will look upon us with love, just as he did the rich man, and show us the way.

I was in Portland, Oregon this past week for a conference on End of Life Care. The last day I was there a woman got on the elevator wearing a t-shirt that read, “Friendly Atheist”.  She was part of a large group, Freedom from Religion Foundation, which was also attending a conference at the same hotel. They had almost 900 people attending the conference and almost everyone on the elevator was part of that group. One of the things that came to my mind was that I was glad that I wasn’t wearing my crucifix. What a coward I was. Was I afraid that someone would say something rude? Was I afraid they would question me about my faith? Whatever the reason, I failed Christ. I denied Him. Just like Peter did. When my mom died three years ago, at one point I was angry at God, I was angry that she was in excruciating pain and that we could not alleviate it. When I went to confession, the priest told me that God had put my feet to the fire and that I had failed. This wasn’t true. My anger was a normal reaction that almost anyone would have if their loved was suffering. I hadn’t failed that day but I certainly did on Saturday.  I like to think that I am a strong Catholic who is willing to die for my faith, but in that moment all I was is a coward.

“Therefore, if you wish God to give you a new heart, you must first of all amend your deeds, and then lament your faults and accuse yourself of your sins. Do not extenuate your defects, but judge yourself justly; let not your self-love blind you, but when conscience accuses you of wrong, do not forget it, but keep it before your eyes and manifest it to Jesus Christ, your Savior and Physician.”  ~ St. John of Avila