28th Sunday of the Year, B – October 13, 2024.
Readings: Wisdom 7:7-11; Ps 89:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; Gospel – Mark 10:17-30.
The first reading written hundreds of years after the death of Solomon, around the Babylonian exile, personifies God who alone is to be worshiped and glorified. The second reading insists that since nothing is hidden from God, it is to him that we will give an account of our lives. In the gospel, Jesus speaks “plainly about the real obstacle that wealth presents.” It recounts how the rich young ruler went away sad because Jesus told him to give everything, he owned to the poor. We are charged to make available our gifts (wealth) and talents towards a just and equitable society. Jesus assures that those who leave everything for the sake of the gospel will receive a hundred times reward here and in the next.
Introduction
Friends in Christ, our liturgy today challenges us to embrace “being” and “living,” not merely “having.” While the former prepares us to love people and use things, the latter creates a tendency to use people and love things. It urges us to check our fixation on material possessions and make concerted efforts at redistributing the earth’s resources for a just and equitable society.
Background & Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Wisdom 7:7-11) written hundreds of years after the death of Solomon around the Babylonian exile, personifies God who alone is to be worshiped and glorified. Wisdom is personified as God who cannot be equated with riches, gold, silver, health, beauty, or light. The author compares possessing wisdom with a healthy relationship with God. Although the text demonstrates the superiority of Jewish wisdom over pagan wisdom, the author nonetheless addresses both Jews and Gentiles since he speaks to both the Jewish community and the world. It was written in the name and spirit of one of Israel’s wisest men – King Solomon.
The second reading (Heb. 4:12-13) insists that since nothing is hidden from God, it is to him that we will give an account of our lives. It presupposes that our secret emotions and thoughts, interior disposition, and basic orientation towards all that we have and are, especially fame and fortune, are crucial in our relationship with God.
In the gospel (Mark 10:17-30), Jesus speaks “plainly about the real obstacle that wealth presents.” It recounts how the rich young ruler went away sad because Jesus told him to go and sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor as a criterion for discipleship. Jesus would add that it is easier for a Carmel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. On the question of detachment, Jesus maintains that all those who left house, brothers, sisters, father, children, or land and faced persecution for his sake and for the sake of the gospel, will receive a hundred times here and in the next.
Pastoral Lessons
1. Seek wisdom: Since the reading underscores the importance of wisdom, we are charged to always seek divine wisdom above silver and gold because it personifies God who alone is to be worshiped and glorified.
2. Beware of fame and fortune: Since the second reading reminds us that nothing is hidden from God to whom we shall give an account of our lives, we (especially the rich) are charged to be wary about any kind of fame and fortune that turns a blind eye to charity.
3. Avoid greed: Based on Jesus’ teaching that where a person’s treasure is, there is his/her heart (Matthew 6:21), guard against all kinds of greed (Luke 12:15), the sad stories of Gehazi (Cf. 2 Kings 5:15-27) and Ananias and Sapphira’s greed (Cf. Acts 5:1-11) as well as the tendency to be vain and proud, we are challenged to avoid greed in all its forms.
4. Take to evangelical poverty: Jesus challenges priests and religious to scan their call to discipleship on the demands of the evangelical counsel of poverty seeing it as a call to renunciation of mundane interests to serve the Lord with an undivided heart bearing in mind that they have sacrificed their lives, security, and identity.
5. Redistribute wealth: In a society where about 9.2% of the global population, or about 700 million people are living in extreme poverty according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), our liturgy urges those governments to jettison spending trillions in armaments and nuclear warfare technologies and prioritise the redistribution of wealth for a just and equitable society.
Summary Lines
1. The first reading written hundreds of years after the death of Solomon around the Babylonian exile, personifies God who alone is to be worshiped and glorified.
2. The second reading insists that since nothing is hidden from God, it is to him that we will give an account of our lives.
3. In the gospel, Jesus speaks “plainly about the real obstacle that wealth presents.
4. It recounts how the rich young ruler went away sad because Jesus told him to go and sell everything he owned, give the money to the poor, and follow him.
5. Jesus maintains that all those who left house, brothers, sisters, father, children, or land and faced persecution for his sake and for the sake of the gospel, will receive a hundred times here and in the next.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the rich who are extremely determined to enter the kingdom will make it. Suffice it to note that the poor who are not extremely determined to enter heaven may go to hell. We are charged to make available our gifts and talents for the good of the earth. We pray, therefore, in this celebration of the Holy Mass for God to assist us with wisdom so as not to be entrapped by fame, fortune, and family but may make what we have and are a burnt offering unto the Lord. Always remember these words of Jesus: “A person’s life is not measured by the many things he owns” (Luke 12:15). Have a blessed week!
