Treasure and possessions

Mark 10 : 17 - 30

....he went away sorrowful....

The 'success' gurus of this world would be horrified to hear that one who has so many possessions could be 'sorrowful'. The world assures us that the more we have, the happier and more fulfilled we would be. More is better......something we should all seek after.

The difference from the view of the spiritual life is that possessions in and of themselves do not truly satisfy. We are creatures with an insatiable longing. Perhaps the rich young man felt this longing, in spite of his hands full of possessions; and he even had some very good 'spiritual virtues' in hand. Yet he was not satisfied.....I believe more so when he met Jesus - the Rabbi who could capture the attention of crowds - the poor the wealthy, the learned alike....Jesus must have had a graced way of being with people, he 'drew crowds' - for he spoke in a way that answered the deep needs, the real needs of human persons.

The rich young man was beheld with love by Jesus. In God's eyes, every human person is created in love, and for love. Every one is invited to respond to this love by seeking an ordering of the possessions in their lives - when we see all as 'gift', as 'grace', nothing will be too small or too large to surrender, if God requires it. And we will not have to go away sorrowful.