The Impossible
Becomes the Possible
(See Mk 10:17-30)
Dear Sisters
and Brothers in Christ,
In this
Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord warns us against the danger of wealth, or more
precisely, against the greed for possessions.
We need
food, drink, houses, cars and the like to survive our life on earth. For a decent living we have to work hard, save
money and be well prepared for any happening.
We do know that all things created by the Lord God are good because they
serve as means for us to accomplish our calling of being human beings, the
image of the Creator, and children of God.
As human
beings, we are not something similar to animals that are set up according to
the natural law of instinct. We enjoy
rational intelligence and free will. We
are well aware of what we think, say and do.
We ponder on the reasons why we act or do not act, on the consequences
following our actions. We feel free to
make decisions and ready to take full responsibility for so doing. This is our dignity of which we are so proud.
In addition
to being human persons, we are God’s image for the Lord God wanted us to long
for Him alone as the fulfillment of our life on earth. This is the reason why we find nobody or
nothing but God satisfactory for the meaning of our existence.
Finally,
thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we are forgiven
our sins and lifted up to be the children of God. This is so great a dignity which we have
received for free from God’s merciful love realized in Jesus, His Beloved Son,
and through which we deserve a share in divine life.
Unfortunately,
sin has turned everything almost up-side-down.
People do not cling to the Lord God but to creatures. People even abandon the true God and worship
false idols made of material and by sinful men.
In order for
us to be saved from such alienation and destruction of our dignity we must be
resolute in fighting the temptation of greed for money. We listen to the Lord’s teaching that our
life is much more important than food and clothing, and eternal life surpasses
everything else in this world.
Easier said
than done. Saint Paul once taught us
about the sad reality that often we do not do the good which we want but we do
the evil which we do not want. For this
reason we badly need God’s power to overcome the power of sinful ambitions.
It is the
Word of God that serves as a light to our feet and a lamp to our path leading
to Christ Jesus Who is the Way the Truth and the Life.
Let us take
as the principle for our hope for the victory over the evil forces the powerful
promise of our lord Jesus Christ, “For human beings it is impossible, but not
for God. All things are possible for
God.”
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P.
