Sunday: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Date: October 14, 2018. Year: B The readings: [Wis. 7:7-11; Heb. 4:12-13; Mk. 10:17-30] The message: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Prepared by: Catholic Doors Ministry. Total words: 1561 |
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"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" [Mk. 10:17] What was the man asking Jesus during today's Gospel Reading? Was he asking how to obtain eternal life, or how to enter the Kingdom of God, or how to be saved? When Jesus said, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!" [Mk. 10:17], our Lord was certainly referring to the Kingdom of God. When the disciples asked, "Then who can be saved?" [Mark 10:26], they were certainly referring to salvation.
In the Divine progressive Plan of Salvation, it is important for us to know the difference between obtaining the gift of eternal life versus the gift of salvation. Those who are in Hell have eternal life, but they do not have salvation. Surely, eternal life alone is not what the man was asking Jesus. Having improperly expressed himself as we frequently do, he asked the wrong question but got the right answer. For Jesus knows the hearts of all and He knew what the man was asking, how to inherit the Kingdom of God, such embracing salvation.
What does the Divine progressive Plan of Salvation involve? There are a number of steps in this Divine progressive Plan!
First of all, by the grace of the heavenly Father through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called towards the Lord Jesus. [Tit. 2:11] "There is salvation in no one else (but Jesus), for there is no other names under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." [Acts 4:12] We cannot be saved by living a good life. Nor can we be saved by praying to one or more of the saints. None of them have the power to save us. Nor will anyone be saved by bypassing Jesus and going straight to the Father. God the Father has commanded that we be drawn to His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, once we have accepted Jesus in our lives, we are called to be baptized so we may become members of the Body of Christ on earth. Before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, if we are of age, we are called to sincerely repent of our previous sins.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, God knowing and judging our thoughts and intentions of the heart, His Word that is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, pierces until it divides our soul from our spirit. [Heb. 4:12] So powerful is the Word of God, that during the Sacrament of Baptism, it separates the soul from the human spirit.
At that moment, in fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of God the Father, [Ezek. 11:19-20; 18:31, 36:26-7] we are born again of water and Spirit. [Jn. 3:3, 5] Our old spiritual nature dies, is buried with Christ and is replaced by a new creation. Then, we are raised with Christ in the newness of life. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12]
The new creation that is received bears the seed of God. [1 Jn. 3:9, 5:18] The new creation is everything! [Gal. 6:15] So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" [2 Cor. 5:17]
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, the new Christian receives the hope of salvation through Christ and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
If the Christian was to immediately die after having received the Sacrament of Baptism, being in a state of grace, his soul would immediately enter the Kingdom of God to enjoy the eternal beatific vision of God.
Over and above becoming a new creation during the Sacrament of Baptism, the newly baptized Christian became a Living Temple of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through this gift, the Christian came to know the laws of God and obey them. [Jer. 31:31, 33; Ezek. 11:19-20; 18:31, 36:26-7; 1 Cor. 3:16]
Thirdly, having become a new creation, after having received the Sacrament of Baptism, the Christian is called to live a newness of life in Christ. In other words, by the grace of God, baptized Christians are called to live their faith in Christ by shining in an abundance of fruits. They have to perform works that are worthy of being called Christians. For faith without works is dead. [Jas. 2:26] They are called to obey Jesus through the authority of His Church that He has instituted on earth, doing so in humility and servitude.
When we live our faith in Christ, we know the Commandments. We do not murder. We do not commit adultery. We do not steal. We do not bear false witness. We do not defraud. We honour our father and mother.
We also share our wealth with the poor. We feed the hungry, tend to the sick, visit the prisoners, forgive our neighbours, do not judge others, etc... We lives for Christ, with Christ and in Christ. We become as a shining light in the world. [Mt. 5:14, 16]
Fourthly, because we still have the worldly nature within us, we must continuously repent of our sins so we can maintain our righteousness in the eyes of God. How do we do that? It is through the Sacrament of Confession! Through the forgiveness of sins in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we as sinners regain the righteousness that we enjoyed when we received the Sacrament of Baptism. "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Jesus a liar, and His Word is not in us." [1 Jn. 1:8]
Fifth, being in a state of grace, we are called to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." [Jn. 6:49] Affirming this truth, He added, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." [Jn. 6:53-6]
The Holy Eucharist in which dwells the Divine Presence of the fullness of God in Jesus is the Bread of Life. To have life in us as sons and daughters of God, we must partake in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist on a regular basis. Jesus promised us, "... because I live, you will live." [Jn. 14:19] "For in him we live and move and have our being..." [Acts 17:28] Through the generous grace of our heavenly Father, we come to Jesus, a living stone, through rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let ourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [1 Pet. 2:4-5]
Having done all this, we reach the sixth and last step. We depart from our mortal physical bodies to be judged by God for our every thoughts, words and actions. For those of us who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confession and the Holy Eucharist, and have persevered in our living faith through good works that are manifestations of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we finally reach our blessed hope. We are blessed with the gift of salvation which qualifies us to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven as children of God.
My brother and sisters, there is no other way to obtain our salvation! Indeed it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God. For the riches of this world draw us away from our spiritual obligations towards God, towards others, and towards our own souls, away from the Sacrament of the Holy Catholic Church.
Today's First Reading spoke of the wealth that is found in wisdom. She is more valuable than health, beauty and even the light. Her unending radiance guides us towards the Lord Jesus who is the way, and the truth, and the life. [Jn. 14:6] Wisdom guides us towards the Church Sacraments that justify us and bless us with the gift of salvation. Without wisdom, we are spiritually blind. In spiritual blindness, we become as lost sheeps who walk aimlessly, waiting for the wolves to devour them.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, this week, let us ask ourselves, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" By this, I do not mean eternal life that leads one to Hell. We all know that easy way. I am referring to the eternal life that leads towards salvation and the Kingdom of God. Let us ask our heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus for the permanent indwelling gift of wisdom so we may never deter from our blessed hope. May the grace of God richly shine on each and everyone of you who will take the time to make this spiritual request.
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The readings...
[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]
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First Reading...
"I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to sceptres and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.
I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases. All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth." [Wis. 7:7-11]
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Second Reading...
"The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account." [Heb. 4:12-3]
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Gospel Reading...
"As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false fitness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'
He said to Jesus, 'Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth,' Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'
When the man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, 'How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!' And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'
They were greatly astounded and said to one another, 'Then who can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'For humans it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.'
Peter began to say to him, 'Look, we have left everything and followed you.' Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age - houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields - but with persecutions - and in the age to come, eternal life.'" [Mk. 10:17-30]
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