Alleluia Mt 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Read: Matthew 19:16-23
What was this rich young man thinking? Jesus, the Son of God, was standing right in front of him, inviting him to become a disciple. And the young man just walked away. How tragic!He seemed to be a good person. He kept all the commandments; he tried hard to please God. Somehow he sensed there was more so he asked what else he needed to do. But Jesus’ response was too much. He was blinded by his stuff to the point he couldn’t see that following Jesus was worth infinitely more than all he had.
If only he had decided to follow Jesus, this young man might have begun to see things differently. His heart would have changed, and when he struggled, he could have said, “Jesus, help me! I want to follow you, but it seems so difficult.” Then Jesus would have worked patiently with him, just as he worked with the other disciples, who were far from perfect. He would have become a very different man from the one he was before. He would have gained so much more than the stuff he would have lost.
Jesus doesn’t want any of us to walk away sad. Jesus wants us to know that we are not alone on the path of conversion. Not only do we have each other, but we have his Holy Spirit as our guide. The Holy Spirit has so much to teach us and so much grace to pour out on us. But it takes time and willingness to stay close to Jesus. It takes patience and determination to trust in his power to move us forward. It takes confidence, knowing that if God starts something good in us, he will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
None of us have completed the journey yet. Like the rich young man, we all have further to go. And like this young man, we can all hear Jesus calling out to us, “Follow me.” Imagine that he’s saying that to you right now. Look into his eyes—there’s no harshness there, only love. Jesus knows you are a work in progress, and he is encouraging you to keep going. He wants to lead you to peace, joy, and freedom. So follow him; don’t walk away.
“Jesus, I don’t want to walk away from you. Holy Spirit give me the wisdom to follow Christ.”