14 October 2018 / 28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B
•• Wisdom 7:7-11 • Psalm 90
•• Hebrews 4:12-13 •• •• + Mark
10:17-30 ••
•• Title: Laws.
Love
[__00_] In the Gospel this Sunday, there is a man who
is running. He is on the run. What does it mean to be on the run, or on the run
from the law? One example of this…I read
in an article recently.
[Bibliographic Source: Esquire Magazine Online, January 31,
2017, by SONIA WEISER ]
[__01_] Apparently … going on the lam – or going on
the run - is harder than it looks, and a CBS reality show of last year – HUNTED
– set out to prove exactly that starting last year in 2017. HUNTED was on the
air.
ESQUIRE (JANUARY 31, 2017) magazine online reported – the show
…. pits nine teams of two "fugitives" against an elite squad of
investigative professionals as they attempt to evade capture for 28 days. The
prize? $250,000 per team.
Even if CBS passed on your
application to join the fun, or a stint as a hardened criminal isn't on your
bucket list, you can still learn a little from the members of the show's
Command Center about how to fly under the radar.
You know, for the next time you're buying a gift for Secret
Santa or don't want your boss to find out about what you did on your "sick
day."
And, in the Gospel this Sunday, the
man of the Gospel is flying under the radar….
Relative to Jesus Christ, he wants credit for his compliance but he also
does not want to get too close.
Regarding “HUNTED”, 1st tip -- Don't Talk to Anyone. It doesn't matter whether you and your buddy
from work go out for drinks on the regular and play on the same intramural
co-ed after-work bowling team: You still shouldn't trust him or her to keep
your secrets ..same goes for your family and other friends…
One expert “fugitive
hunter” explained -- "The less people you include in your circle of trust,
the easier it is for you to not get caught. It's so easy to want to involve
other people."
[Bibliographic Source: Esquire Magazine Online, January 31,
2017, by SONIA WEISER ]
[__02_] This TV reality show does prove one thing.
It’s not a Christian thing. Some people
run when they are in trouble with the law or law enforcement… or in this case,
just pretending to be in trouble.
[__03_] There is a man running in the Gospel today.
He has his own AMAZING RACE – to see our Lord and Savior.
Paradoxically – ironically – he has
not BROKEN the law, but rather was running to show Jesus how compliant and
correct he has been all these years.
And, strangely – perhaps sadly to him
-- Jesus does not give him a gold star or EZ Pass tag for his vehicle to get
through all of Homeland Security into heaven.
Jesus is inviting him to do more than
keep the commandments.
[__04_] Nevertheless, I am not suggesting that
keeping God’s Word in the Commandments is not important. But, keeping the Commandments is the beginning
of a journey.
Pope John Paul II wrote about this
encounter and the man’s urgency and understanding:
“We do not know how clearly the
young man in the Gospel understood … Jesus' first reply: "If you wish to
enter into life, keep the commandments". But it is certain that the young
man's commitment to respect all the moral demands of the commandments
represents the absolutely essential ground in which the desire for perfection
can take root and mature.” (John
Paul II, Veritatis Splendour, n. 17, 6
August 1993)
[__05_] Jesus, however, is teaching us that our
discipleship is based not only on the LAW – on the statutory law - but
also on our LOVE – our true acts of compassion and charity and the decisions we
make to give ourselves generously.
And, you and I are also called to SELL
ALL THAT WE HAVE. That is a tall order – to sell “all that you you have.”
Of course… going back to CBS Reality
TV show “HUNTED”, we might say that the FUGITVES “sell all that that they
have..”…they give up everything to get away from the LAW …to have autonomy,a
and to gain an even more valuable prize.
Jesus, on the other hand, is not not
asking us to become a FUGITIVE by selling all that we have but to be his
follower…
[__06_] The Gospel encounter of Jesus and the young
man exemplifies the call of Jesus to consider that we are called to sacrifice,
to follow him.
But, this does not mean that we are
going to impoverished or isolated.
There are different ways in which we
sell all that we have.
[__07_] Consider that in the Sacrament of Matrimony –
in marriage – each of the husband and wife (fathers and mothers too) – are
called to give up something of their own autonomy and independence to have a
shared mind, a shared conscience, a common view.
They die to each other so that they
can rise to new life.
They do this not to escape from the
world – not to be on an escape route -- but to live in the world as one newly
united couple, as one new person.
[__08_]
This is challenging – it means “selling all that one has” …giving up one’s
time, energy to understand another person.
Yet, does not a husband do this or a
wife (and mother and father) do this..not as an imposition of the law, but as
invitation and exemplification of love?
Selling all that we have brings new
gifts, blessings.
[__09_] Yes, Jesus is asking us to follow the
commandments. They represent a foundation and boundary – an essential
foundation and boundary.
But, the Commandments – e.g.,
Thou Shalt Not Steal – does not describe
explicitly every single way in which we are called to protect the good name of
another person – whether online or in person.
And, to do so whether or not someone
is watching.
Nnot to harm someone’s reputation, let
alone his or her property…. And to recognize that we protect the good name and
reputation of those we love not because a law enforcer is watching us. We do so
because of the law written in our hearts and also because it is the law of love
of God and neighbor.
Jesus does not want us to run from the
law …but also does not want us to run simply around within the law to prove our
value.
He does not want us to keep running. Rather,
to walk with him. He wants us to follow him. As he says today, “Follow me.” [__fin_]
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