Trading fake pearls for genuine ones in heaven

Homily for Ordinary Time – 28th Sunday Year B 2015

Wisdom 7:7-11; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

Introduction

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" That’s what the man in the gospel asks Jesus.

Such questions about achieving results are quite common today in business, physical health and even in school.  For example my students at the Seminary will often ask me: “Teacher, (but they don’t say Good Teacher), what must I do to get an ‘A’ in your course?” Of course I tell them to study hard, to listen attentively in class and also to write me a check with many zeros.

Scripture and Theology

For the man in the gospel, it is not an "A" that he wants; he wants to get into heaven.  But it seems that he has not been listening; for Jesus has already been speaking about eternal life and how to get it.  I would like to group the many answers of Jesus into three categories: belief, sacraments, morality.

First, believing in Jesus is important for gaining admission to the Kingdom.

·        That is what Jesus says as he begins his ministry: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mk. 1:15, Mt. 3:2).

·        That is what John’s gospel says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).

·        That is what Jesus says to the repentant thief crucified with him: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

After believing, the second requirement for eternal life is the sacraments

·        In John 3:5, Jesus tells Nicodemus who already believes in him, that he also needs to receive baptism “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

·        And in John 6:54, Jesus he speaks about the need for receiving the Eucharist: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

Besides belief and the sacraments, the third condition for entering eternal life, is a moral life lived according to the example and teaching of Jesus.  In fact, it is on this third requirement that Jesus spends most of his time teaching.

·        To the disciples Jesus says that if anyone wants eternal life: “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23).

·        To those who want to be among the Blessed in heaven Jesus suggests various ways in what we call the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-12).

·        And in Matthew 25, it is to those who have cared for the hungry and thirsty, the sick and prisoner, the naked and the strangers, that the King on the day of Judgement will say: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

And so, if the man had been listening attentively, he would have got his answer: that getting into heaven requires belief, the sacraments and especially good works.  Apparently this man was actually doing quite well.  “Teacher, all of these [ten commandments] I have observed from my youth," he tells Jesus.

But for Jesus just observing the commandments is not enough; he wants more.  And so he tells the man: "You are lacking in one thing.  Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 

But why this extra requirement?  Is Jesus not moving the goal posts?  Why should the man dispose of his hard-earned wealth?

This action of selling off his possessions and giving the money to the poor opens the door to heaven for the man in two main ways.

First, divesting himself of what he has frees him from dependence on passing things and allows him to depend on God.  Having material things can sometimes stop us from allowing God to work in our lives.  Because we can satisfy all our material needs, we may fail to see our spiritual needs.  A good example of this unhealthy attachment to material things is the Ring in the movie Lord of the Rings.  The Ring is a great obsession and obstruction; all those who try to acquire it and retain it for themselves end up badly.  Similarly clinging to and depending only on our wealth can stop Christians from getting on the path that leads to heaven.  That's why Jesus asks the man to dispose of his wealth.

Second, Jesus asks him to give the proceeds to the poor, to write a check with many zeros, not to Jesus like me, but to the poor.  How does this action help him get to heaven?  In giving to the poor, it is like the man is giving them a loan.  But being poor, they will never be able to pay it back.  Fortunately, God, who hears the cry of the poor, has co-signed the loan.  And he will pay back both the principal and a generous interest in the form of eternal life.

Christian Life

Pope Francis has spoken a lot about caring for the poor.  Some of us are disturbed that he speaks so much about this.  But the Pope is doing nothing that Jesus himself did not do.  While Jesus also taught about the need for belief and prayer, most of his teaching was about how we treat each other; he wanted a life detached from worldly goods, that shares these goods with the needy.

I am reminded of story about five-year old Suzy and her pearls.  With her very own money that she saved all year long, she bought her very own plastic pearl necklace. She really loved those pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bath. The pearls weren’t real, being plastic and all, but it didn’t matter to her. She had bought them herself!

Suzy had a very loving father. One day he said, “Sweetheart, do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you,” she replied with a beaming smile. 

“Then give me your pearls,” he asked.

“Not my pearls! You can have my toy horse,” Suzy said.

“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you.” And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, Suzy’s father asked again, “Do you love me?”

“Daddy, you know I love you,” she said.

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Not my pearls. You can have my baby doll,” she offered.

“That’s okay. Daddy loves you.” And as always, he gave her a gentle kiss.

This happened over and over again, and Suzy wondered anxiously, “If he loves me, why does he want to take away something I love?”  Eventually one day, Suzy nervously and teary-eyed walked up to her father and held out her fake pearl necklace. “Here, Daddy. This is for you,” she said.

The father reached out with one hand to take the imitation pearl necklace and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to his daughter. He had had them all the time, but was waiting for her to give up the fake pearls she had, so he might give her the genuine thing.

Conclusion

When you and I ask Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  What imitation pearls might he ask us to give up so that he might give us the genuine item, eternal life?  Wealth, family, knowledge, power, health, beauty, football?