28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Once, a European visited a Monk at his residence. It was a small hut. The visitor was surprised when he saw his room without any furniture. Out of curiosity he asked the Monk, “Where do you keep all your furniture?” The Monk smiled and said, “Where is yours?” The European replied, “Are you kidding? I am a traveler…I carry only what is necessary for my travel.” “I am a traveler too,” the Monk answered.
Whether we accept it or not, the truth about the life is that we are on a journey. As St. Paul rightly put it, “We do not have a permanent city here on earth. We are on a pilgrimage.” The gospel story emphasizes this point today. The rich young man said, “What should I do to inherit Eternal life? Or how should I prepare for the final journey?” He was aware of the eternal nature of life.
Last month I traveled to India. Two things were in my considerations while I was packing the luggage: Take things that are allowed to carry in a plane and take whatever is necessary to make my stay pleasant when I reach the destination. This is true with our life journey too. We need to make discernment. We need to sort out things according to priority. We need to push and pull things. Jesus explained this using the picture of ‘a Camel and Needle’s Eye’. Evidently a camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle. The eye of the needle in this context represents the narrow gate on the outer wall of Jerusalem. This gate is too narrow that a camel can barely pass through. If the camel is carrying a load, even if it bent down, it cannot pass through. The camel has to be unloaded.
The rich man wanted to enter the eternal life. As the camel needed to be unloaded, he was required to be unloaded too. Jesus instructed to him to fix two things to make his travel possible. They were: sell the property and share it with the poor. His attachment to wealth and his lack of care for poor were the obstacles on his way.
Every person is different. Different people have different kinds of attachments. What are the things I need to unload to enter the Eternal Life?
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Once, a European visited a Monk at his residence. It was a small hut. The visitor was surprised when he saw his room without any furniture. Out of curiosity he asked the Monk, “Where do you keep all your furniture?” The Monk smiled and said, “Where is yours?” The European replied, “Are you kidding? I am a traveler…I carry only what is necessary for my travel.” “I am a traveler too,” the Monk answered.
Whether we accept it or not, the truth about the life is that we are on a journey. As St. Paul rightly put it, “We do not have a permanent city here on earth. We are on a pilgrimage.” The gospel story emphasizes this point today. The rich young man said, “What should I do to inherit Eternal life? Or how should I prepare for the final journey?” He was aware of the eternal nature of life.
Last month I traveled to India. Two things were in my considerations while I was packing the luggage: Take things that are allowed to carry in a plane and take whatever is necessary to make my stay pleasant when I reach the destination. This is true with our life journey too. We need to make discernment. We need to sort out things according to priority. We need to push and pull things. Jesus explained this using the picture of ‘a Camel and Needle’s Eye’. Evidently a camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle. The eye of the needle in this context represents the narrow gate on the outer wall of Jerusalem. This gate is too narrow that a camel can barely pass through. If the camel is carrying a load, even if it bent down, it cannot pass through. The camel has to be unloaded.
The rich man wanted to enter the eternal life. As the camel needed to be unloaded, he was required to be unloaded too. Jesus instructed to him to fix two things to make his travel possible. They were: sell the property and share it with the poor. His attachment to wealth and his lack of care for poor were the obstacles on his way.
Every person is different. Different people have different kinds of attachments. What are the things I need to unload to enter the Eternal Life?
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