Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Look of Love and the Ask

From the Gospel for Sunday: Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

He wanted to follow Jesus. He thought that following the commandments was enough. Despite Jesus’s look of love, when the man asks Jesus what else he must do, he finds the ask too difficult and he leaves in sadness because he had many possessions.

We too are called to be disciples, followers of Jesus. We aspire to be faithful followers. The treasure we hold on to may be something other than material wealth. It might be our reputations, the privilege and power we have, our time, relationships with others, our anger and resentment towards others. What keeps us from seeking God first? Do we have possessions or preferences that get in the way? What might those be?

The short preaching/teaching below talks about some of our “possessions” that keep us from following Jesus, from being disciples, and might even keep us from access to God’s household when our journey on earth ends. Her preaching is filled with examples of how we can keep from going away sad. Listen here: