WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 10:17-30

Many times, I heard this question being asked: Are you saved? Such a question is an echo of the question put to Jesus by a wealthy man: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10:17) The question reveals a felt need of being assured of salvation. Following Paul’s teaching that we are justified by faith (Ro 3:28), many people give the standard answer: Believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord. However, apparently, Jesus gave a different answer: “You know the commandments”. Jesus implies that we must keep the commandments to “inherit eternal life”, that is, God will look at our behaviour to grant us salvation. We may not inherit eternal life (be saved) if we ignore and trample upon the commandments. Saint James said something similar when we wrote: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18).

In the conversation between Jesus and the rich man who was worried about his salvation, Jesus makes us understand that the keeping of the commandments must be accompanied by the right attitude, in which God alone becomes the centre and the reason for our living. Then, we must be ready to put aside anything that may take God’s place. Only God is God, and nothing else can have our complete trust, obedience and submission. In the end, the man “went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.” In the sermon on the mountain, Jesus taught: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3). If our hearts are so attached to riches that we become totally dependent on them, then God cannot find a door to come him and make his dwelling in us. That’s why it is so difficult for the rich to be saved: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Taking Jesus’ words to the letter, it is impossible for a rich man to be saved. However, God is powerful enough to knock down the walls of our hearts to establish there his throne. That’s why Jesus told the apostles: “For men, it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.”

To be saved, we need an open and docile heart, ready to listen to God’s word and be guided by his wisdom. In the first reading, we hear that wisdom is the greatest gift that comes from God.

“I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones;

compared with her, I held riches as nothing.

I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer,

for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand,

and beside her silver ranks as mud.

I loved her more than health or beauty,

preferred her to the light,

since her radiance never sleeps.

In her company all good things came to me,

at her hands riches not to be numbered.” (Wisdom 7:7-11)

Let’s ask the gift of wisdom and God will grant us his Spirit of wisdom and love. With him showing us the way, we will remain faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.