In our first reading Amos expresses God’s disgust at the corruption among the leaders in Israel; detailing most especially their sins against the vulnerable, poor and weak. The call is given to repent while there is still time. Amos warns that seeking Yahweh in the conventional sense, keeping festival and offering sacrifices, was not enough. Israel had to do good, i.e., to live righteously. My sisters and brothers, all we have and all we are is entrusted to us by God for the doing of what is good and just.
On a side note, the city gates are mentioned because they were the
customary place for administering justice in ancient Israel.
In our second reading the author of Hebrews describes our new
status with Jesus (the son of God) as our intercessor. Now instead of fearing God’s judgment, we can
approach God confidently and seek his grace.
This is an ‘incarnation theology.”
In Vs 15 we see: Christ (the son of God) “who in every respect has been
tested as we are” will be sympathetic to our struggles.
In our gospel reading Mark relates for us some of Jesus
teaching about wealth and the power it has to tempt us away from God. Sometimes our personal accomplishments and
successes give us a false belief that we are fulfilled in and of ourselves. Or that we are entitled to whatever we want
and owe nothing to others, or even to God.
This passage is a reminder that we can only find the fullness of life in
God and we must keep proper perspective on the things of this world.
The man kneeling before Jesus, such a show of piety is
abnormal; people stood to pray. Jesus
seems to recognize that the man puts his trust in his own piety and wealth, in
his achievements, but this attitude stands in the way of his gaining oneness
with God – so Jesus challenges him with the invitation to walk away from it all. The man’s shock and departure show that Jesus
is correct. Wealth was seen as a sign of
God’s favor, but in the man’s case, it gets in the way of true
discipleship. The disciples of Jesus ask
the logical question about where they stand and wither financial success was a
sign of God’s favor. Jesus’ response is
clear and simple: we cannot save ourselves – only God can save us!
The rich man who approached Jesus is a simple illustration of
what Amos is driving towards. Personal
attachment to things and customs, or wrongly placed self worth are at the core
of today’s message.
This young man was clearly humble enough to kneel before Jesus;
he was also about observing the moral code of Judaism. Mark even adds the note that Jesus loved him. But when he was invited to give everything up
to become a disciple we found the sticking point; he was very attached to his successful
status. Many of us today fall into this
temptation without even being aware of it.
We measure ourselves in modern society by what we produce; wither it is
a hard product or a service. Our
professional competency, our reputation as a worker, defines who we are. These things become the cornerstone of how we
understand ourselves and the self respect that we hold in our hearts. Unfortunately, it is tempting to leap past
self respect and honest pride into the trap of believing that these are the
most important things in our lives.
Our more authentic self-definition is who we are in the eyes of
the one who created us. That is to say:
our dignity, worth, and respect are not based on the things we do or accomplish
(or the toys we accumulate). Rather it
comes from our being made by God, loved by God and having a place in the realm
of God. The things we accomplish
accumulate and the skills we build are the fruit we bear from God’s original
blessings to us. The truly lasting
(eternal value) of the fruit we produce is the goodness and justice we do for
God’s realm Jesus established here on Earth!
This brings our relationship with God to full circle and allows us to
receive the fullness of eternal life Jesus speaks of today!
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