Golden Armor,
Millions of Dollars, or a Sandwich
Go, sell what you have, give to the poor; then come, follow me.
Giovanni (John) was born rich
and raised worldly. He even changed his name from John so he wouldn’t be confused
with a man of God. He wanted to be a soldier of fortune. His armor was adorned with
gold and a wonderful silk cloak. Jesus asked and St. Francis of Assisi gave it
all away and followed him.
Kathy was a rich young lady. In
1885, her father died leaving $15.5 million estate (It would be almost $400 million today) to his three
daughters. St. Katharine Drexel gave her fortune to the poor and followed Jesus.
The Rich Young Man - Jesus
loved him. And the love of God filled the young man. Maybe, the young man recognized
Jesus as the incarnate word and wisdom of God. Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
Jesus told him, Go, sell what you have, give to the poor;
then come, follow me.
His face fell and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
The rich young man may have
been able to give his wealth away. But, possessions are so much more than wealth.
The young man’s possessions were all that he was: his family, father, mother,
brothers, children, lands and home. These things the young man put before God.
These were the possessions he could not let go.
Maybe most of us don’t consider
ourselves rich.
Let me tell you this story I
overheard at Home Depot. I caught the
end of it.
Three men were discussing
sharing God’s word. One of the gentleman said I know we are to share God’s word
but it is up to those we share it with to accept it. My preacher says the Gospel is
like a sandwich. I can make the best sandwich and give it to you, but you don’t
have to eat it.
I thought about how true that
was. With God’s grace and through his gifts I have a pretty good sandwich. I live in freedom with food, water, shelter,
and resources. My sandwich is made with God’s
word, the commandments, and the Church. My sandwich is full stuffed with tithes,
fundraisers, and 5k runs for charity. The condiments on the sandwich are my family
and possessions. I have built this sandwich and Jesus asks me to give it away.
I am to give it to the poor like
the Christians around the world persecuted and killed because they follow
Christ. Or, maybe it is to be shared with most of the people in the world who make
less than a dollar a day. Maybe my sandwich should be used against the slavery of
human trafficking. Even in our land of
plenty, our community, people don’t have a safe place to sleep, something to
eat, or someone who cares.
Maybe we’re not rich, but we’re
sitting with the sandwich God has given us. Jesus asks us to give it away and
we leave sad. We can’t, we want to keep it for ourselves.
God knows what’s in our heart
and still loves us.
Jesus turned to his disciples, who
had given up all they had to follow him and called them “children.” They were children
who didn’t understand him. Children who argued about who was the greatest. But
at the same time, they were children who followed him with abandon, trust, innocence,
and enthusiasm.
It is hard for us to be like children; we are tied to what we have.
We recognize what Christ asks of us. We come to Him with joy and love, a smile
on our face and in our hearts; but, something is asked of us and our face
falls.
What have we put before God? What
is keeping us from following Jesus?
The young man went away sad,
but he could have come back. That’s what so great about God. He always loves us.
Jesus is there waiting for us to give away those things that keep us from him.
Wisdom says the silent word of
God speaks to hearts a word greater than riches. The word fills us with
your love, O Lord. In this love, we come to Jesus and fall to our knees.
Jesus asks us to abandoned
everything and follow him. We’re not St. Katherine Drexel or St. Francis of
Assisi abandoning great wealth. But, we all have something even if it's just a
sandwich made from the gifts God gives us.
The grace of God through our
Lord Jesus Christ is always with us. Nothing is concealed from him; Jesus knows
our heart and loves us still.
What have we put before God? What
is keeping us from following Jesus?
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