lease read the Scripture passage before the homily.
When tour Mom calls you by your first, middle and last names you know you are in trouble. When the young man called Jesus, “Teacher”, we should know that this will not turn out well. In Matthew’s gospel, people who called Jesus, “Teacher” usually were not being friendly.
Perhaps the young man was thinking of the commandments and thinking that Jesus might have had a different approach. If so, he found out that he was mistaken. Jesus had not come to nullify the commandments, but to fulfill them.
If this was Jesus’ plan, then the young man had it made: he was already doing this. What more was there to Jesus’ plan? The young man needed one thing more, to follow Jesus. Jesus told him to give away all his wealth and follow Jesus.
God sent Jesus to the world to show us how to live a human life. God would have sent Jesus even if we had not sinned so that Jesus, the human, could show us how humans should live. Jesus gave up the wealth of being God in glory in heaven to be born of Mary and raised by Joseph, living, then, in the poverty of our human nature.
To follow Jesus meant keeping the commandments which involves living the poverty of God in human form, that is, by giving up everything and following Jesus.
The same is true for us. Whatever we think we own on earth, belongs to God and God gives it to us to use. We use it for God’s work, not our own advantage. The young man wanted to own and therefore went away sad.
Our challenge: what gifts do we have for use in God’s work?