October 14, 2018 — Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
WIS 7:7-11; PS 90:12-17; HEB 4:12-13; MK 10:17-30 or MK 10:17-27
Part of the beauty of stewardship spirituality is its simplicity and practicality. It can be summed up in the simple phrase, “All I have is a gift from God and I must make a grateful return to Him for all He has given me.”
So simple, that even our youngest parishioners can grasp the concept. Simple, however, does not necessarily mean easy. Simple also does not mean shallow.
Today’s readings invite us to look into the depth of a stewardship way of life. And they reveal that it requires the commitment of our whole being to God. It is anything but easy or shallow. It points us to seek after higher things — the wisdom of God and Heaven itself.
Our Second Reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, shows us a way to obtain such wisdom —it is available to us right in the Scriptures, which are the living word of God. Every time we approach them in a spirit of prayer, they will speak to us. God’s wisdom is right there for us. All we need to do is commit some daily time to seek it.
Our Gospel Reading from Mark is one of the better-known passages in the Gospel – the story of the rich young man. In response to the man’s question on what he must do to obtain eternal life, Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. The man replies that he has always done this much. But he rightfully suspects there is more to being a disciple of Jesus than just following the external rules
We are called to be so much more than rule-followers; we are called to be Christ followers. A stewardship way of life frees us follow Christ with all of our being and so to find eternal life.
