Do you have a friend, a sibling, a child, or even a parent who keeps you on your toes whenever you are out in public? When you are out with them in public, you keep praying for them not to open their mouth because you know that as soon as they open their mouth to say anything, they get themselves in trouble, and some other times, they also get others in trouble. I have some of such people in my life. I have some couples as friends. Sometimes, I visit them, and other times, we go out to restaurants to eat. Most of the time, the woman is always on her toes for fear of what the husband would say. Sometimes, the woman would give her husband the look that says, “Don’t say what you are about to say! Don’t get us in trouble! Father is here; other guests are here!” The woman would sit next to her husband, elbowing him, pinching him, or kicking him under the table to stop him from getting himself and others in trouble with what he says.
In today’s Gospel passage, “A man ran up, knelt down before [Jesus], and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Jesus told him about the commandments. The man replied, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” It seemed he was flexing his muscles before Jesus, bragging about his “righteousness.” Jesus was impressed; he then told the man, “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.” Upon hearing these words from Jesus, the man’s face fell, he became sad and left Jesus because he had many possessions.
Let us go over the story again. Today’s gospel passage does not tell us whether the man was young or old. But since it says he ran up to Jesus and knelt down before Jesus, it is safe to say he was a young man. The passage does not say anything about his marital status, but I would like to presume that he had a wife and that his wife was with him when he spoke to Jesus. I imagine his wife to be like the kind of wife I described above; she knew her husband could easily overspeak and get himself in trouble. So, when they arrived, the woman’s heart rate increased; she hoped her husband would not get himself in trouble. The man asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus listed the commandments. At that point, I imagine the woman giving her husband the look, pinching him, or elbowing him, and saying, “That is ok, don’t say anything further.” But the man, being a “Mr. Know It All,” must prove something. So, he asked Jesus, “I am all done with the commandments, what else do I need?” Jesus said, “Only one more thing; go sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, then you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man became sad and went away from Jesus because he had many possessions.
When he got home, his wife probably said, “That serves you right! I hope you learn a lesson this time. I do not know why you think you must say something to prove yourself. Now, you have gotten yourself in trouble, and you have gotten your entire family in trouble; we have to choose between eternal life and our property; if only you kept your mouth shut after Jesus listed the commandments, or if only you told him ‘I have been trying my best to keep the commandments, please pray for me do better,’ we would have been in a better position.” My dearly beloved in Christ, it is easy to fall into this man’s error; we may want to prove something to God. We think that we are standing today only by our power. When we see others who fall, we laugh at them because we believe it is all by our strength that we are keeping the commandments. Remember, there is nothing good that we do that originates from us; there is nothing good that we have that originates from us; the only thing we can boast of, the only thing we have that did not first come from God, are the sins we commit. So, if anything is good about us, we must channel the glory to God. Remember, it is not your responsibility to prove yourself; your responsibility is to improve yourself relying on the grace of God.
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