“And behold one came and said to him: ‘Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Who said to him: ‘Why askest thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him: ‘Which?’ And Jesus said; ‘Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honour thy father and thy mother: and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The young man saith to him: ‘All these have I kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible.’”
Jesus has, to this point, been doing much extolling of purity, both in bringing forward living for God alone and in the innocence of children, and so a young man comes forward in awe: “A certain man running up and kneeling before him” (Mark 10:17), asking what he can do to merit eternal life. Ah, what a confusion! For eternal life is not earned but given: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8), which then calls one into action: “And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: ‘Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first” (Matthew 20:8), and is then protected by avoiding sin and made beautiful through acts of love: “The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice. And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaias 33:5-6), for love is a gift that then grows like a rose bush or any other plant, blooming and becoming more beautiful as it is cared for and naturally grows. The young man could also see Jesus as a great teacher, and not as God, not fully understanding the mystery into which he was trying to place himself, but Jesus is happy to remedy the eager mind that does not possess the beauty of understanding: “Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge” (Proverbs 2:6), indicating that while saints are good, this is insofar as they participate in the true goodness, which is God’s love. Jesus is drawing the young man deeper into the mystery, to cling to the true good, which again, is God and His love. All the upright actions one can do are nothing in comparison with this perfect love: “All our justices as the rag of a menstruous woman” (Isaias 64:6), but Jesus invites you to try, and thus He mentions to keep the commandments, to seek actions, words, and thoughts of love rather than hate. Jesus sets out the most basic, simple commandments for the one that is little: “Whoever is a little one, let him come to me” (Proverbs 9:4). He saw that this man was zealous for the things of God, and so focused on the commandments of love of neighbor, and by loving others one climbs to the true love of God: “If any man say, ‘I love God,’ and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not?’ (1 John 4:20). These commandments do not lead to the fullness of the love story, but are what must be set aside to even begin writing it. These are also contained in the Law, whereas Jesus came to transcend the Law with the commandment of love: “Do we, then, destroy the law through faith? God forbid: but we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). Love ever seeks to be more one with the beloved, however, and the young man, not satisfied with this entry point, sought the perfection of love, with which Jesus was greatly pleased: “And Jesus looking on him, loved him” (Mark 10:21), and gives him the answer he sought: To sell all, not some: “Ananias, why hath Satan tempted thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the Holy Ghost, and by fraud keep part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3), and give to those in need: “He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord: and he will repay him” (Proverbs 19:17) from an abundance of love: “If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor… and have not love, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). To strip oneself of everything for love and run after the Beloved is a reckless, beautiful love: “We will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3), for in ridding yourself of temporal gifts to give, you focus on making the gift of yourself all the more splendid and beautiful, and this is to store up treasure in heaven. “If there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The love of our neighbour worketh no evil. Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:9-10), and so though the young man may have obeyed the law marvelously, he sat in a house full of good things and did not help those that were starving and filthy: “There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11); to sell all he had and give to the poor is a true test of the love of neighbor. Now, to have nothing is not an arbitrary stripping, for many that are poor are filled with vice, but rather when one rids themselves of all that is not God and seeks nothing but His love, this one will be drawn deep into the love story and clothed with the good things of the Lord: “I counsel to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments” (Apocalypse 3:18). To despise money in itself is nothing, but when all is left behind as a toy outgrown for the sake of clinging to Jesus and following His fragrance of love and imitating Him in all His ways, this is the beauty of poverty: “These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Apocalypse 14:4), and what it means to follow Him. The holy lily of grace, however, was planted in the thorny ground of this man’s heart: “He that received the seed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choketh up the word, and he becometh fruitless” (Matthew 13:22). The book of your love story, Theophila, is to be extraordinary: “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints: and they sung a new canticle” (Apocalypse 5:7-8), and to avoid mortal sin and “be a good person” is a bland love story. Thus, Jesus turns to His disciples and condemns those enslaved by riches, encouraging those that are poor for his sake to not be ashamed of their poverty, but see it as a gift, a weapon of salvation, a wall of security: “Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). It is not impossible to be rich and live the fulness of the love story, but it is certainly hard. It is said in the book of Isaiah that “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord” (Isaias 60:6), showing that when one that is wealthy uses their wealth to bring either material aid or other treasures forward to the service of God, and is wrapped in prayer, they can enter the narrow way that leads to the life of love. There was a gate in Jerusalem called the needle’s eye, which a camel could not enter but by shedding all burden, and so too by shedding all traces of sin and bowing in love before the Savior, one that is wealthy can enter this needle. However, these concessions are said with the realization that this is the harder path, with money and possessions being an incredible trap that occupies the mind, to which Wisdom replies: “Get wisdom, because it is better than gold: and purchase prudence, for it is more precious than silver” (Proverbs 16:16). The Apostles then ask who can be saved, for even among the poor are many that desire to be wealthy; grace alone can deliver from such a vice, for love is the greatest of all treasures: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field” (Matthew 13:44), thus should the one that is caught in the thorns of wealth pray often for the grace to navigate it in the arms of God.