In today's Gospel reading, a rich young man "ran up and knelt before him [Jesus] and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.' He [rich young man] said to him, 'Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.' Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'There is still one thing lacking: go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions." (Mark 10: 17-22) (Luke 18:18-23) (Matthew 19 16-22).
Jesus loved this rich young man who was near perfect. The young man had already given 98% of himself to God. Why would that have been enough? But Jesus sees beyond what the young man sees. Jesus sees the young man as a great saint in the making. Jesus wants this young man to be a close follower perhaps as a priest of bishop. You may ask why the rich young man asked questions of Jesus in the first place since he was following the commandments and living a good life. But the rich young man wanted to be assured of his salvation and thus to inherit eternal life. There is that going on for sure; but the Holy Spirit in this rich young man was disturbing him so as to seek more...to know total God's will in his life. The Holy Spirit does disturb holy people when God has more for that person. What ever happened to that rich young man? Some traditions have it that he was really St. Luke who at first did not follow Christ but later on did. But Luke's account of this young man is plain without any new details. But so is Matthew's call at the tax collector's booth plain; and that account is told my Matthew himself. Matthew refers to him self as "a man called Matthew".
I would like to believe that this rich young man - eventhough he did not follow Christ immediately as did Matthew - did follow Jesus later.
But that rich young man is a much broader personality in that he is everyone of us asking Jesus the same question. And Jesus could easily be telling every one of us: "There is still one thing lacking." Maybe we are giving ourself to Jesus 99%; but "lacking in one thing." What could that one thing be? Here are a few hints:
1) A busy pastor who giving his whole self to God except his attachment to smoking which is a bad witness to taking care of one's health and body for God as demanded by the 5th commandment. There are many Catholics who love God and go to Mass every day but smoke. When lovingly reminded by close relatives or friends that smoking does cause cancer and has killed many of the rich and famous like John Wayne, these smokers rationalize and say, "we all have to die sometime." Thus this last 1% they do not wish to give to Jesus who is telling them personally in this Gospel: "There is still one thing lacking."
2) There is a devoted good nun who has given her whole life to Jesus: 99.5%. And what is this .5%? She does not wish to wear her habit which is a symbol of her wedding dress as a spouse of Jesus and her devotion as being a sign of the resurrection: where they neither marry nor are given marriage. Blessed John Paul II begged sisters to wear their habits in public. He even spoke to a nun who was not in her habit when he came off the plain urging her to wear her habit. A nun in full habit is a great sign of the love of God. Those who do wish to wear their habit have "one thing lacking."
3) A husband is giving 98% of himself to his marriage, but only spends about 3 minutes a day looking at porn. But those 3 minutes a day is removing or distancing him from his wife by miles. He absolutely has "one thing lacking".
4) People who have been hurt do not wish to give up their desire to hurt the person/s who hurt them. Giving this up would mean forgiving the person/s who hurt them. Unforgiveness is definitely needs to yield to forgiveness which is the "one thing lacking" in their lives.
5) Every year, there are areas where people cheat on their taxes. Honesty could be the "one thing lacking" in their life.
6) Those who drink too much and do not wish to go to AA or have no intentions to ever quit surely have "one thing lacking" in their life.
7) Couples who live together before marriage may love God but are not showing to either that they are willing to sacrafice in marriage or keep the 6th Commandment. Becoming so invovled sexually before marriage fixate the relationship and keeps the couple from knowing the true deeper side of their personalities. In marriage, they both might be very surprised to find things in their personalities that did not show up in courtship. IN marriage, maybe he will not be faithful...and maybe is addicted to porn. [Complaint of a young woman interviewed on TV]. The one thing lacking in their relationship is the ability to sacrifice for one another.
8) Of course there are those who always drive 10 to 15 miles over the speed limit as if to say that going from point A to point B gives them the right to get there 3 minutes earlier by exceeding the speed limit. These people do not give them the breaking time needed to avoid serious accidents. These are the same people who slow down to a roll at "STOP" signs but do not stop. These are the same who go through yellow lights when they could stop but are just going too fast or imagine that getting to their destination is more important then the safety of other drivers on the road. On the road also is the biggest test of charity or lack of charity. What is man or woman really is deep down inside is who they are at the wheel. Our "behind to wheel personality" is who we really are! The "one thing lacking" is most seen while behind the wheel. Jesus could easily tell them: "Tell me how you drive; and I will tell you who you are!" which is the cardinal commandment for motorist spirituality.
9) There are those who have been traveling too fast spiritually to frequent the Sacraments: they have not been to Holy Confession or Holy Communion for 20 years. Surely this avoiding of Sacraments is the "one thing lacking" in their life.
10) There are those who live or think like atheists or are atheists: have made a diconomy between Faith and Reason. But Einstine said: "Science without Religion is blind; and Religion without Science is lame." For this great physicists, Faith and Reason were compatible and one. Aristotle was the most proponent of Reason; but he believed in God and the eternal soul. Faith was reasonable for Aristotle. St Thomas Aquinas showed how Faith and Reason go hand in hand and compliment one another. His Summa Theologica draws upon Aristotle. God created both Reason and Faith; and these are married in the minds of those who truly love God. But those persons who do not love God; and love only Reason are trying to run on one leg. These who live as if God did not exists surely are the embodiment of "still on thing lacking"...because God can easily be seen in all His creation. The Universe is a tremendous design; and the laws are so conducive for life; and the 20 laws of the Universe are incredibly precise. If they were off just a minicule, there would be no life in the Universe. Thus, those who live or thinks like atheists have no excuse. Before the Big Bang, there was no thing and no where. But the Big Bang -- which resulted in everything and everywhere -- was caused by Someone! What and Who existed before Big Bang? God eternally existed before the Big Bang and caused the Big Bang to happen because "nothing cannot produce someting." Only Some One can produce something. Thus this Some One is the " "One thing lacking" in their lives: God Amighty. For those atheists who say: "Our need for God creates God", we answer them: "Does our hunger we feel in our belly create the existence of food?" Yet, it is true: we all do have a hunger for God. But that hunger does not create God; but only recognizes God as the sustainer of our souls' life and our need for the Infinite Beauty and Love of God.
11) There are Pseudo Christians and False Catholics who go beyond splitting up and divorcing Faith and Reason. These practice their religion in church and in name and leave their faith in church and become someone else in the Public Square. These are those who leave their conscience home when they go to work in the Public Square or enter the voting booth. These believe in the 10 commandments; but forget the 5th: "Thou shalt not kill!" by killing unborn babies in the womb routinely...and by giving to and endorse Planned Parenthood to receive Federal tax-payer funds of $250 million a year to kill babies. Only Red China is a bigger killer of babies in the world than Planned Parenthood. These also vote for and promulgate anti-religious mandates that require religious institutions to pay for and give out abortive drugs and contraception. These try to redefine what ia religious institution should be as to get an exception that is really no exception at all. These are those who redefine marriage to include same sex unions which is an abomination to God and the Holy Spirit who brings about the Sacrament of Matrimony only between a "one-man-one-woman" relationship. The "one thing lacking" for these people is to bring God into the Public Square where the Founding Fathers always brought Him to be! "In God we trust!" Every coin has that belief; and was meant to be brought into the Public Square to remind us that God is PRESENT in ALL we DO in this County. All we have -- our rights and our happiness -- is "endowed by the Creator"!
12) There are those who sincerely love Christ and follow Him. These go to Mass daily and receive Jesus. What could be the "still one thing lacking?"
Some of these hope to find Jesus plus "something" or "someone" as their salvation and ultimate happiness. They trust in the "something" or "someone" as much as or more than Jesus. Of course, when we all are about to come to appear before God for all eternity, we will not care about this "something" or "someone" as our ultimate happiness. The Galations wanted Jesus as well as the circumcision of the law. They wanted Jesus "plus".
But Jesus wants us to TRUST in Him completely for our happiness. Of course Jesus knows that most people have a vocation to marriage and does want us to fall in love and get married and have a family. That is not Jesus plus "someone". Jesus IS that "someone". He is in our spouse. Fidelity to that "someone" is fidelity to Him. But it is only when we trust more in a person than in Him ....or trust in our career more than Him...or trust in our acheivements to make us happy more than Him...or apart from Him..that makes Him sad. We all have a little room inside us that is created for God alone....if we try to fill that room with "someone" or "something", we will not be completely happy. Yes, God is in our work...in our marriages...in our love making..in our cooking...in our worship....in our achievements. It is just when we TRUST them too much instead of TRUSTING in Him do they take us away from Him. On our last moments on earth, we will trust ONLY in Him....and not in these somethings or someones. Why not practice this now....and tell Jesus: "O blood and water that gushed forth from the Heart of Christ, I trust in you." Yes, there is even in saintly souls, this "still one thing lacking:" a total trust in Jesus! He wants us to trust in Him and ask him for great graces...not be be narrow..but big hearted....and trust is great love for us...to place all our faults into His Heart to be burned up! Jesus we trust in You!
13) Our need for the practice of Prayer: intimate conversation with God could be that "still one thing lacking". For all of us in our own life, do we spend a little time at night before going to bed to review what God has given to us in this day? Do we thank God for all His love for us and see His love in little things: from butterflies to billowy clouds...breezes in our face...and the wind in the trees and all the beauty in the flowers around us....in the ability to see, walk, talk, hear and think. Amen.
Lord, please show us what is the "one thing lacking" in our lives so that we can give it to you with trust and love. Amen.
Peace and love, Pio.
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