Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Belonging to the Lord as we do, we are called to remember and to trust in the Lord to whom we belong. Present trials tempt us to forget the present Lord. Even the simple discomfort of losing a prized possession can afflict the heart with a sadness that forgets the Lord whose possession we are. And so, the Lord may very well seek to train us against such sadness. Rather than waiting for those prized possessions to be lost to thieves or rust or decay, what if we trusted the Lord enough to sell what we have, give it to the poor, and follow Him? Too often we fall into the temptation of sadness, precisely because we are clinging to something we think makes us happy, instead of clinging to the promise of Christ our life, in whom Christians “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy”. (1 Peter 1:9)
Now, of course, this call of Christ does not mean that parents should empty their bank accounts in charitable donations and so leave their own family in want of the necessities of life. Such a divesting of material goods would be appropriate for someone making a vow of poverty in a religious order, but inappropriate for a married homeowner. And yet, how many of us cling to and seek to increase the number of our streaming subscriptions, or memberships to self-help services, or purchases of caffeinated and over-sweetened substances? All to the detriment of body and of heart. As soon as Jesus even glances at some of our excesses, we can sense the rich young man’s sadness in us. Yet, what if I truly belonged to Christ? What if I could sacrifice what I would pay for a year of one such subscription, and give that money to buy food for the local food bank instead? What if with that extra time that would have been devoted to seeking my happiness in a screen, I spent time relishing an evening with the family that God gave me? Let us hear the words of Christ and trust in this promise of the one to whom we belong: “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” (Mark 10:27)