YEAR B: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR B: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: DO NOT BE ENSLAVED BY POSSESSIONS

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

 

HOMILY:

(Mk.10:17-27) Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

In the day’s Gospel Jesus was approached by a man who was seeking eternal life. He was relatively a good man for he had claimed to have obeyed the commandments from his youth. But jesus saw something deeper. He saw what was lacking in the man. So, Jesus put the man to the test by asking him to sell all his possessions and follow Jesus. It turned out to be too much for the man for he had so many possessions. Thus, Jesus told the apostles the difficulty of being enslaved by possessions. In fact, it will be easier for the camel to enter the eye of the needle than for the one rich who loved their possessions to enter the Kingdom.

The man went away sad. Jesus was also sad for him. It was wise for the man to have sought eternal life. Unfortunately, he was not fully committed to acquire it. There was something more important to him – his riches. The quest for eternal life should not leave any stone unturned. We should be able to give up everything to attain it. Jesus only asked for his riches and a life following Him. Those were too small in exchange for life eternal.

Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector, a sinful man, comes to mind. For a long time Zacchaeus had deceived and abused his fellow Israelites by exacting exorbitant taxes. He collected more than what the Roman government had authoized him to collect. Yet, when Jesus visited him in his house, a sign of Jesus’ welcoming Zacchaeus back and an opportunity to acquire the Kingdom, he responded generously by telling Jesus that he would give half of what he had to the poor and the rest to serve as payment for those he had defrauded.

Zaccaheus saw in Jesus his fulfillment. The rich man, on the other hand, was blinded by it and did not appreciate who Jesus was. Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the lost of his own soul?” Indeed, the whole world is not enough.

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