Christian Art | Jesus And The Rich Young Man
Matthew 19: 16-22 – Week 20 Ordinary Time, Monday (Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
16 ¶ And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The young man of today’s Gospel verses is very rich. He has followed the commandments, and yet he and Jesus both know that he is not yet perfect. In addition to what the young man already knows of the Ten Commandments, there is now the possibility of perfection, which is to follow Jesus, to release oneself from the bondsmanship of earthly possessions – to sell it all, give it all to the poor, and follow Jesus. It is a sad tale. The rich young man goes away unhappy. If this is the condition for finding perfection by following Jesus, he cannot do it.
Of course, we know that in comparison to many people who live in real poverty in our world, many others of us are rich – and most of us are comparatively very rich who live in what are termed first world countries. Still, within those wealthy countries, there will be those we think of as rich, and there will be those we think of as average, or not particularly rich, or middle-class, or poor.
Within these terms, Jesus’ message does not only apply to the rich. Perhaps most of us do not know people who are very rich. Rather, we see rich people on television or in magazines, or we may serve them in person, selling and providing goods and services. For many of us, riches may seem very remote.
But Jesus’ message applies to everyone. Jesus’ warning equally concerns those people who dedicate themselves to riches, to consumerist ends, even while they are not rich, indeed may be quite poor. The sadness of that rich young man who turns away from Jesus is repeated in every instance each day of a person who strives after riches and so fails in love, in relation to God and to his or her fellow human beings. The sadness may be compounded by the fact that person remains in material terms also quite poor. Was the rejection of God’s love really worth it?
Even within the terms of the Decalogue this great truth is acknowledged. We do not have to read too deeply. Love your neighbour as yourself. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Him only shall you serve. You shall have no other gods before me.
As Jesus tells us to follow him, as he says to us, ‘Take up your cross and follow me,’ so Jesus is asking us to complete the Decalogue, to obey the fullness of God’s Law, both in the letter of the Law and in the spirit. To withhold ourselves from Jesus because we have other attachments, not to follow Jesus with everything we have, would indeed be very sad, and a great falling away – from life, from love, from God.
Concluding Prayer
Lord God,
you have prepared for those who love you
what no eye has seen, no ear has heard.
Fill our hearts with your love,
so that loving you above all and in all,
we may attain your promises
which the heart of man has not conceived.
We make our prayer through our Lord.
Audio Bible KJV | Endnotes
Sell Everything You Have And Give The Money To The Poor
To take Jesus’ command to ‘sell everything you have and give the money to the poor’ literally would be a challenging and radical way of living out our Christian faith. However, it is a powerful reminder of the importance of generosity, selflessness, and radical discipleship in the Christian life.
If we take Jesus’ words literally, we are forced to confront our own relationship with wealth and material possessions. Then we ask ourselves, are we using our resources to serve others and advance the kingdom of God, or are we holding on to our wealth out of a sense of security or selfishness?
Jesus’ words help us to identify with the poor and marginalized in our communities and around the world. When we give sacrificially to those in need, we are not only meeting their physical needs, but also expressing solidarity and compassion with those who are often ignored or oppressed by society.
In addition, the more we can Jesus’ words literally can be a powerful witness to the world around us. By living simply and generously, we can demonstrate the transformative power of the gospel and invite others to join us in a life of radical discipleship and service to others.
To understand Jesus’ words literally – or anywhere close – is and would be not an easy or comfortable choice. This requires sacrifice, humility, and a willingness to step outside of our comfort zones. But as Christians, we are called to follow the example of Christ, who gave up everything for the sake of others, and to embrace the values of the kingdom of God, which prioritize love, justice, and compassion above all else.
Fear of losing our attachments, particularly to money and material possessions, can be a significant barrier to following Jesus’ command to ‘sell everything you have and give the money to the poor’. We may be addicted to the sense of security and comfort that our possessions provide, and the thought of letting go of those things can be daunting and even frightening.
Letting go of our attachments to material possessions and following Jesus’ command to give sacrificially to the poor is a risk, to be sure. We may have to make significant lifestyle changes, adjust our priorities, and face the possibility of financial hardship.
However, there is the thought of truth; that when we take that risk and step out in faith, we open ourselves up to the transformative power of God’s grace and love. We may find that the things we once thought were so important are actually holding us back from experiencing the fullness of life that God has in store for us.
In his encyclical Caritas In Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI writes: ‘The greatest challenge of our time… is to ensure that economic development is accompanied by the social and moral development of humanity, a development that takes account of the transcendent dimension of the human person. Man’s ultimate goal is not economic development but the development of the human person, which is impossible without openness to the Absolute.’ (§ 11)
Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, emphasizes the importance of living a life of simplicity and solidarity with the poor. He writes: ‘The Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness.’ (§ 88)