44: The rich young man / Perfection

The rich young man

“- Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"

- He answered him: "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

- He asked him: "Which ones?"

- And Jesus replied: " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
honour your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself.'"

- The young man said to him: "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"

- Jesus said to him: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Mt 19:16-22)

This passage from the Gospel is fundamental. We already addressed it in "Spirituality 23: Fortitude and sacred…" you may come back to it. And now, let us continue to deepen it.

Why this text is important for us Christians? It is important because it places us at the exact junction (or line, or threshold) between the “First Covenant”, and the “New Covenant”, between “being Jewish” and “being Christian”, “following Moses” and “following Jesus”. In doing so, it helps us see the exact difference between the two “economies”*. Otherwise, if we don’t see the difference, why are we Christians?

Note: “economy” is a theological expression that means the way God is dealing with us, the means He gives us. For instance we can say: “the Economy of God in the Old Testament”.

This great text helps us avoiding “being Christian” only by name. Indeed the great risk for us Christians is to become lazy, which means to become technically “Jewish”, not using Christ’s Salvation, and the Holy Spirit.

The difference between the two Covenants, the two Economies, is huge, and should be huge as well practically in our life.

This text of saint Matthew helps us as well learn the possible differences between “Christianity” (real alive Christianity) and any other religion. So hopefully one can live by this difference, taking advantage of it, and living it to the fullest. Otherwise, why being Christians? We might as well adhere to any other religion.

Some people might think that this text is offering us Christians two ways of “being Christian” and therefore creates two categories of Christians:

1- the normal plain people, who live by the Moses Commandments and

2- the people who hear the “call for Perfection” and follow Jesus from closer (consecrated people).

This means that the first lot are still following Jesus but not from close. In fact, for centuries, we made two classes of Christians: the ones who are called to perfection, to holiness, who follow Jesus from close and “the rest of the crowd”, who follow Jesus, but from a certain distance, people who will just have the chance, last minute, to jump into paradise when they’ll die. Saved only by an inch. As if God was calling some, and others no! As if some are born with more muscles, so they can reach Perfection, and others are doomed right from the start!

Of course this duality, this dual vision is wrong, and, thank God, the Holy Spirit, talked to us, through the Council Vatican II and reminded us that the Perfection that Jesus is bringing us, that Holiness, is for everybody. Everybody is invited to Holiness, it is not for an "elite"!

This text of saint Matthew is not the only text that addresses the difference between being Jewish and being Christian, or, if you prefer: between from one hand being “lazy Christian”, a Christian who doesn’t use all the goodness of Christianity and the Gift of God, and from the other hand being a real Christian.

The first one is not mystic, and the second is definitely mystic.

The Apostles, right from the beginning, felt the urge to clarify the difference, because they saw the richness that Jesus is bringing, and they saw that many seemed to follow Christ but didn’t get to experience these richnesses. Remember in the book of the Acts when saint Paul met people who were following Jesus, who heard of John the Baptist but didn’t receive the Holy Spirit. Here is the text:

“Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” (Acts 19:1-6)

So the Apostles felt the need to clarify that huge risk of living a Christian life only by name, and not having the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Mathew, for instance, built his Sermon on the Mount explaining how each Person of the Trinity enters in our life, influences it and changes it (the Son (chapter 5), the Father (chapter 6), the Holy Spirit (chapter 7), see this Blog). If you take the second part of chapter 5, you’ll see that it is structures in a way to show the clear difference between Moses Law and Jesus Law. “They said to you” (this refers to Moses) and “I say to you”, this is Jesus.

The difference between what each one says is simply huge: it is the difference between "what is possible to practice with our own strength" (Moses Law), and "what is impossible to do with our own strength" (Jesus Law). "Not to kill" is ok, it is possible not to kill. But not to think badly or speak badly about our brothers, this requires a total change of the engine (the soul, the heart). This is why Jesus came: to take away that old heart of stone, and put another one, a heart of flesh (see Ez 36:26). He can do that. And this will then allow Perfection to happen.

We can’t separate that Gospel of the rich young man, from that second part of chapter 5 of Matthew, with it’s 5 injunctions: “I say to you…”.

Saint Paul as well, in both his letters to the Romans and to the Galatians addresses the central issue of the difference between the “Law of Moses” and the “Law of Jesus”. He calls the latter one: Faith. And what is Faith for saint Paul? Opening your heart to receive what you don’t deserve: the love and the salvation of Jesus on the Cross. In other words: the Holy Spirit who can act in you and change you.

John as well, in his Gospel, offers a whole journey of transformation - through 6 signs + the Big one (the Cross) - that will allow us the reach the union with Jesus (experience his Resurrection, and receive his Holy Spirit).

So when Matthew (and the other parallel accounts in Mark and Luke) tells us about this encounter between Jesus and this young man, he is not just telling us a minor detail. He is addressing a central point that each Christian should study and understand.

Note: when Jesus replies to the young man, he doesn’t immediately jump into the “great things” (like the Perfection of the Law He is bringing, and leaving everything and following Him), He just starts from the beginning: “did you follow what Moses said?” In other words, in order to “start to follow Jesus” one has to be prepared, one has to be ready for it, and has to have fulfilled the requirements.

Hummm! It is not “either Moses or Jesus”. It is “Moses, then, greater than Moses: the Perfection of Moses: Jesus”.

Jesus is the one who makes, in Him, everything alive.