The commandments are not enough

The Gospel of this Sunday comes from Mark (10:17-30).  Kneeling before Jesus a man wants to know what is going to give him life, eternal life.  In a sort of examination of conscience, Jesus takes him through the commandments: you must not kill; you must not commit adultery; you must not steal; you must not bring false witness; you must not defraud; honour your father and mother.  Yes, yes, yes, we can imagine the young man answering to himself as he is dealt each commandment, one after the other: “I have kept them all.”  Jesus, it seems, could see the goodness in this person.  At the same time, he knew that following the living God and coming to the fullness of life can’t be found in what we are called not to do.  The commandments are only a starting point.  They tell us not to kill.  That is an excellent start.  But as Jesus will point out elsewhere, we can still harbour murderous thoughts in our hearts and minds.  They tell us not to steal or to covet what is not ours.  But we can still entertain acquisitive and envious desires in our hearts.  They tell us not to lie.  But we can still engage in gossip and slanderous talk against our neighbour.  Jesus sums up the limits of prohibitions only, by taking the man to the other extreme.  Go, he says, “sell everything that you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come; follow me.”

Following Jesus, it would appear is a creative and self-giving experience.  As a disciple, I am not called simply to stick to that which is prohibited (although that surely is a good start).  I am also called to respond with all that I am and all that I have.  For each of us that is going to look different.  Each of us has our own gifts and talents.  Each of us is given different opportunities and chances.  Each of us have different resources at our disposal.  The call of the Christian is to be creatively-loving in our human encounters and joyously detached in our giving, in word and deed.

It is amazing and inspiring to hear the kinds of things that people will do to show their generous love for their brothers and sisters.  The Gospel today is a prompt for us to be bold, brave and creative in the way that we follow Jesus, not just to check that we have kept and not transgressed the prohibitions.  This should bring us freedom.  According to the Gospel is will also bring us life.

By Fr Brendan

Published: 11 October 2024