by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace
Here we have presented for us so clearly the values of Jesus, the way that Jesus expects us to live when we change our lives, are profoundly converted. There’s a passage in Matthew’s Gospel — Mark’s Gospel also, but I find the one in Mark’s Gospel especially appealing — where there’s an incident that brings out so clearly what Jesus means by changing your lives and following him.
Mark tells us [that] just as Jesus was setting out on a journey again, a man ran up to him, knelt before him, and asked, “Good master, what must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Nobody’s good but God alone. But you know the commandments: Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not cheat; honor your father and mother,” and the man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him, and loved him, and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking: Go, sell what you have, give the money to the poor, then come and follow me.” On hearing these words, [the man’s] face fell and he went away sorrowful, for he was a man of great wealth.…