What do we want? Often we seem not to know. The people who had entered into the land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land given (as we heard from Joshua on Saturday) to them by the Lord. And yet, the land was not enough. Looking for more, they turned away from the only One who could satisfy them, and turned instead after other gods and their promises. The people does not seem to really know what they want. This hits home when going after other gods produces only misery among the people.
The rich young man who comes up to Jesus today seems to be likewise confused about his own heart’s desires. Does he want possessions? He seems to already have them, but is not satisfied. Does he want a life of moral rectitude? He seems to have obeyed the commandments, but not quite been satisfied with that either. He comes up to Jesus, who is the Incarnate Word, the Resurrection and the Life, the Supreme Good, and this young man asks, “What good must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16) Jesus tries to give clarity to his deep desires by telling him to get rid of the other stuff, and to follow Him, the Life who has come to walk in this young man’s midst. The young man goes away sad, distracted from Eternal Life that wants to gain him, and thinking only of the stuff that he has (but that has not met his heart’s longings). Brothers and sisters, today let us beg the Lord to help us to understand what we want, what we really want: Him, the One who wants us more than we can imagine.