Homilies

28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: THE ROAD TO ETERNAL LIFE

IN THE YEAR 2000, I worked in a parish in one of the dioceses in the New York state. After I celebrated the mass, a woman came to me and requested for a brief talk. She said something about the gospel of that day, which is the same gospel that we heard today. Then she told me, “Father, I think the Church should change the wording of the gospel. It is rather pro-poor and it suggests that it is impossible for us rich to enter heaven. The poor are poor because they are lazy, and we rich become such because we are hardworking.”

Indeed, the gospel needs some explanation, as well as a clarification on what Jesus has said regarding the rich and riches. The question of the rich man was a good one. It shows that this person has tried himself to be good and he hopes to have a good future with God by attaining eternal salvation. This is a question that most people of today don’t ask anymore. For some, what matters is life in this world and they no longer think of life in the other world. This gospel leads us to muse on the road toward eternal life.

First, we are told by Jesus that the road to eternal life is the observance of God’s commandments. These commandments can be summarized into two: love of God, and love of neighbors. It is expected of a Christian to grow in moral perfection and a life of virtue. The commandments of God lead us toward it. However, as we have seen in his conversation with the rich man, observance of commandments could not be enough. So, let us go now to the second point.

Second, Jesus wants his disciples to have a good and healthy attitude toward riches. The Fathers of the Church teaches us about the “universal destination of goods.” Accordingly, God is the source of all goods, and he gives these in order to be shared by all. Therefore, keeping these goods at the expense of the poor is morally evil. We are all children of God and we must be sharers of his gifts. We have always the responsiblity to help and to feed others. In fact, on a macro level, it is the responsibility of the affluent countries to share their blessings to the suffering and poor countries.

Third, Jesus was not actually against the rich per se. To say that the kingdom of God is only exclusive for the poor, and does not include the rich, could not be fair. The kingdom of God is open for everyone. The invitation of Jesus to enter his kingdom is for all. When Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God,” it is to be understood in the context of the response of the rich man who went away sad because he found it difficult to sell and share his possessions to the poor. Jesus was not against the rich himself. Rather, he was against the tendency of the rich to be selfish. In other words, he was against their selfish attitude. This kind of attitude would not lead him or her to eternal life.

One significantly good thing that happens in the past weeks in the country is the revival of the Filipino spirit of “bayanihan” and “damayan.” It is encouraging to see Filipinos , as well as some civic and Church organizations, who have organized relief operations in the wake of the destructive tropical storm which hit Manila. It shows the goodness of the Filipino. Although some of them were victims of the deluge, they still managed to help others by sharing what they have. Indeed, this is what a Christian community all about. We should always show concern and care for others who are in need. As Christians, we can never remain selfish; instead we must be generous and other-oriented.

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