Thought of the Day July 16, 2019 To be dispossessed
If
we reflect on the rich young man who went to Jesus
wanting
to gain eternal life of happiness, we can see how
it
was difficult for him to respond to Jesus’ invitation. He
knew
how to keep the commandments of the Law, but he
was
possessed by his possessions. Unlike Matthew or
Zacchaeus,
both wealthy tax collectors, who left all to
follow
Jesus, he could not walk away from the less for the
more.
It was hard for this particular person to accept
Jesus’
teaching when he said: “For how does it benefit a
man,
if he gains the whole world, yet truly suffers damage
to
his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?” (Matthew 16:26) What possesses us?
Would
you consider our relationships with others another
area
in which we can exercise this beatitude? Are our
relationships
indifferent and free or possessive and
controlling?
I
remember a lesson God taught me years ago and
continues
to remind me in the present. I had a close
seminarian
friend. We were classmates and roommates. I
presumed
that we would do something together on one of
our
rare days off. When I found out that he had made
other
plans, I was crushed and felt betrayed and rejected.
God
confronted me in my possessiveness and challenged
me
to continue to be a friend by freeing him to be himself
out
of love. Our friendship has lasted. To try to control a
friendship
is to lose it.
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