Tuesday of 8th week, even year, Ordinary Time
Peter said ’We have left everything to follow you.’
Jesus had looked upon this man who had wanted to know how he could obtain eternal Life. Jesus manifested how much he loved him and the disciples were very impressed by this tender way he looked upon him - they were expecting this man to give back the same look of love to Jesus.
However, they saw on the contrary, this man went away ’all sad’. He took flight.The proposal Jesus had made him to sell al his possessions had frightened him.
Taken aback, the disciples said to Jesus : ’Who can enter into the kingdom?’ For men it is impossible but for God everything is possible.
So how do we follow this attractive call Jesus makes to us and the demands to lose everything! Peter declares to Jesus :’ See how we have left everything to follow you.’
We need to understand what Jesus wants to tell us, to what He is calling us.
Jesus calls us to a ’giving’ in order for us to be freed and in this way enter into a ’receiving of’ the Kingdom. In this movement we receive much more than we can give.
Jesus’ remark applies itself to what we are living, he has us truly reply to his call for us in speaking to us about poverty. Here we are before a promise, a call that this event announces, where Jesus, bearer of a beautiful promise of Life, draws us to Him.
“Jesus answered ’Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land- and persecutions too- now in the present time and in the world to come, eternal life.”
The two lists are more or less identical, but we only have one Father. If we get rid of everything, it is in order to then go towards a ’being for’, a ’being who surges ahead’ towards the Father. We too are moving towards Him, following Jesus.
The Holy Spirit puts a new life in our hearts, it is a divine Life. This whole new life is one that Mary lived in our midst.
The Only Love of the Heart of Jesus and of the Heart of Mary is an invitation for us to remain in the Holy spirit so as to live the mystery of divine life announced by the prophets.
Jesus wants us to have a relationship with him that is lived in truth and in the light of Love. You are already going to receive in this time the centuple which Jesus promised, so it is something given abundantly which is announced here.
He adds : ’With persecutions.’ The persecutions will come from the outside but also from the inside. How many resistances deep down in our guts before we allow ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit of Love.
“Many who are first will be last, and many that are first, last.”
We are going to bring about a change of perspective one which rests upon another foundation, one of being with and not one of having. That changes us in a radical manner, like anew birth. This new birth places us in a new family that is engendered by a Living Divine Word. From now on, what we have, we receive. And so we discover how we are turned towards a promise, that of being with Jesus in a movement towards the Father who calls us.
The Reality of Love received as a gift gives us a new identity that has us enter into a universal fraternity. We are no longer the same as with others ,we are part of another family irrigated by eternal Life. This is what brings us into a possible contradiction with others who stay where they are and don’t move an inch. This contradiction can lead to persecutions which we put up with in order so that the proclaimed Good News Jesus can make progress.
Jesus promises us happiness, not happiness as the world sees it, but happiness from Heaven already on earth.
We are moved by the Holy Spirit, and we want to allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s marvels.