WEBVTT 00:00:01.690 --> 00:00:04.490 In the name of the Father and of the Son and 00:00:04.490 --> 00:00:08.050 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. 00:00:08.230 --> 00:00:12.929 Glory forever. In today's gospel, this Sunday, 00:00:13.109 --> 00:00:19.129 there is a reading about a rich young man. He 00:00:19.129 --> 00:00:24.429 comes to find Jesus because he knows he's the 00:00:24.429 --> 00:00:28.190 one to get spiritual advice from, to get instruction. 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:33.960 With a question. A question to ask the Lord. 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:38.719 A question to ask Jesus. And it is a very good 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.399 question. And it's one that you and I should 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:47.340 also be asking. And it is this. Good teacher, 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:52.640 what good thing shall I do that I may inherit 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:59.600 eternal life? We all want. to inherit eternal 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:04.900 life. So what did he say? If you want to enter 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:11.439 into life, keep the commandments. And just to 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.680 be sure that he understood, this young man said, 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.689 which commandments? And Jesus replied, you shall 00:01:19.689 --> 00:01:22.569 not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:25.170 shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, 00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:28.390 honor your father and your mother, and you shall 00:01:28.390 --> 00:01:31.909 love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:36.549 live a life of virtue, striving to do what is 00:01:36.549 --> 00:01:41.189 right. So the rich young man replied, all these 00:01:41.189 --> 00:01:46.540 things I have kept from my youth. That's not 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:50.280 something I could say. He's done exceptionally 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.060 well at keeping these commandments from his very 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:57.019 youngest days. Most of us would not be able to 00:01:57.019 --> 00:02:01.579 say that. And yet, he knows there's something 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:05.260 still missing. Something is not quite right. 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:09.979 And so he says, all these things I have kept 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:15.099 from my youth. And he asks, what do I still lack? 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.620 Because he knows something is still missing. 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:23.219 He sought out Jesus because he knows that something 00:02:23.219 --> 00:02:28.240 is not right. Jesus said to him, If you want 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.020 to be perfect, go sell what you have and give 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:35.180 to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:39.639 and come follow me. But when the young man heard 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:43.120 that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:49.120 great possessions. Well, in our own country's 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:54.400 history, we have a rags -to -riches life of many 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:56.740 people that have come to live the American dream, 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.860 and they've become very wealthy in worldly wealth. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.639 One example of a person who became quite wealthy 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:09.639 was John D. Rockefeller, and he worked hard and 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:13.960 became a billionaire tycoon in the 1800s in our 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.879 country. And there's a famous story of a reporter 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:22.099 coming to him and asking him, how much money 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:28.860 is enough? How much money is enough? And he allegedly 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:34.680 replied, just a little more. And when we trust 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:37.740 in riches and we trust in the things of this 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:42.180 world, it will always be just a little more that 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:45.840 we need to feel safe. that we need to feel to 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:50.939 be secure. We should not trust in the things 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:54.740 of this world. Rockefeller at least understood 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.759 that, that if you trust in earthly wealth for 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.759 your security and well -being, they always will 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:05.060 come up a little short. And now for this rich 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:09.580 young ruler. Jesus told him to give it all away 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:15.159 and come and follow him. Why? Because Jesus saw 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:19.120 his heart, how his trust was in his riches, and 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:22.720 it blocked him from trusting God, from trusting 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:26.220 God completely. And the rich young man controlled 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:30.240 his own life. It was his life with his money. 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:37.259 And yet, to be wise, we need to know it is God's 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:40.759 money, and we need to follow God's commandments. 00:04:42.670 --> 00:04:45.589 to move on from the riches of this world as our 00:04:45.589 --> 00:04:49.129 foundation to the riches of heaven by having 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:54.610 Jesus as our leader. He said, come follow me. 00:04:55.490 --> 00:04:58.290 So it was not the riches that were wrong, but 00:04:58.290 --> 00:05:01.990 his heart trusting them more than God. That was 00:05:01.990 --> 00:05:06.629 wrong for this rich young man. And Jesus called 00:05:06.629 --> 00:05:09.370 him to give it all away. And what about you? 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:12.560 And what about me? And perhaps it's not riches 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.600 that trouble you. Perhaps there's something else 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.339 that you're prioritizing in your life higher 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:22.839 than doing God's will and following Christ. Perhaps 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:28.160 like the young ruler, you are ruling your life 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.720 and not letting Christ rule it. Instead of giving 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:35.360 it over to God, your creator, you are keeping 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.060 it for yourself. But no matter what the cause, 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:44.000 the answer, is the same. Get rid of whatever 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.899 is blocking you from putting God first, from 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:50.759 following our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:55.360 with all your heart. What should we do to inherit 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:59.920 eternal life? That is the question, and it is 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:03.120 to follow Christ. Listen to the holy apostle 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:07.319 John, who says in John 3 .16, For God so loved 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.079 the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:12.879 that whoever believes in him should not perish, 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:16.759 but have everlasting life. It is Jesus who did 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:19.980 the work that brings us to salvation. We may 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:23.680 be able to follow, hopefully, as well as this 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.879 rich young man, the commandments that God gives 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.410 us to do. but we don't earn our salvation. It 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:33.610 is given to us by Christ in the work that he 00:06:33.610 --> 00:06:37.290 did on the cross. We believe in Jesus, in the 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:40.269 Messiah, in the Savior of the world. We believe, 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:44.230 and that belief results in the actions of us 00:06:44.230 --> 00:06:46.790 striving to do his commandments and to follow 00:06:46.790 --> 00:06:50.930 him and to let him save us and to let him sanctify 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:56.870 us and to let us come to eternal life. All we 00:06:56.870 --> 00:07:01.569 need to do is put God first in our lives to have 00:07:01.569 --> 00:07:05.149 our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ directing 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:10.769 our paths on our way to heaven. St. Justin Popovich 00:07:10.769 --> 00:07:17.149 writes this, Never forget that to believe in 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:20.689 the resurrection of the Lord Jesus means to carry 00:07:20.689 --> 00:07:24.629 out a continuous fight with sins, with evil, 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:28.790 with death. If a man fights with sins and passions, 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:32.769 this demonstrates that he indeed believes in 00:07:32.769 --> 00:07:36.310 the risen Lord. If he fights with them, he fights 00:07:36.310 --> 00:07:40.870 for eternal life. If he does not fight, his faith 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:44.769 is in vain. If man's faith is not a fight for 00:07:44.769 --> 00:07:48.430 immortality and eternity, then tell me what is 00:07:48.430 --> 00:07:52.310 it? For the one who by faith in the risen Lord 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:56.769 fights with each of his sins, there will be affirmed 00:07:56.769 --> 00:08:01.009 in him gradually the feeling that Christ is indeed 00:08:01.009 --> 00:08:04.990 risen, has indeed vanquished the sting of sin, 00:08:05.149 --> 00:08:08.629 has indeed vanquished death on all the fronts 00:08:08.629 --> 00:08:12.410 of combat. But in order to be resurrected with 00:08:12.410 --> 00:08:17.209 the Lord Christ, man must first suffer with him 00:08:17.209 --> 00:08:23.730 and live his life as his own. And live Christ's 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:28.699 life. as his own. Just as it is easier for a 00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:32.379 camel to go through the eye of a needle than 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.500 for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:40.539 so our battle against sin can be difficult. But 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:44.379 let us find comfort and hope in the closing words 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:48.679 of Jesus in this Sunday's gospel reading. With 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:53.419 men this is impossible, but with God All things 00:08:53.419 --> 00:08:56.779 are possible. Glory to Jesus Christ.