Читать книгу A God Who Questions - Leonard J. DeLorenzo - Страница 10

Chapter 2

Why do you call me good?

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

— Mark 10:17–22, NAB

The rich man asks an important question, and he asks it of the right person. He is looking for the life that is not fleeting, and he petitions this increasingly famous teacher for help. But how far is he willing to go to receive what he seeks? He calls Jesus “good,” but it appears that he has a preconceived notion of what the “good” is. In this encounter with Jesus, he is confronted with the stark and potentially liberating truth: Jesus himself establishes what the good is, in obedience to God the Father. He cannot be fit into our own categories; rather, we must fit into him.

Jesus follows his own question with a further response, a recitation of the commandments; but it is obvious that he does not recite all of the commandments. In particular, he offers the man the commandments of the second tablet, not the first. The second tablet concerns those commandments that, elsewhere, Jesus gathers in the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:31). What he doesn’t offer the man are the commandments concerning love of God. At least, he does not give him those commandments right away.

The rich man observes the commandments of love of neighbor; at least he does not harm anyone. This is no small feat. Yet, Jesus wants more not just from him, but for him. In one of the most beautiful and important phrases in all of Scripture, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” before telling him the one truly necessary thing — the very thing he is lacking. He must let go of what he clings to and give alms to the poor. The rich young man wanted to invest in what would yield eternal life. Jesus tells him to invest himself in those who can never pay him back: the poor. This is not a shrewd financial calculation; it is a commitment of himself. He must transfer his heart from the things he treasures in this world to the treasure of heaven. The rich man cannot control this investment; he has to trust.

As Gary Anderson clearly and compellingly explains in his book Charity,⁵ to give to the poor is an act of fidelity to God. It is equal to all the commandments. Why? Because in giving alms you forsake providing security for yourself and entrust yourself to the security God provides, which is divine charity. To give yourself away in this manner is a definitive way of saying: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you alone are God, that your name is holy, and that this world is your creation. You hold me, so I may give freely to the poor, whom you love. In giving to them, I give myself to you.”

In this, the love of God is hidden in the love of neighbor; it is by the love of God that the love of neighbor becomes complete.

We do not know what became of the rich man. What we do know is what he looks like right then: he is sad, as his mind moves to his many possessions. Actually, it might be best to say that his heart rests on his many possessions. These are his security, his foundation, his love.

We also know that his “face fell.” He stops looking at Jesus; he no longer gazes on his face. Walking away, he hides from the Lord, putting his many possessions between himself and the look of the one who loves him. Will this man ever stop hiding behind his treasures and seek the face of the one he once called “good”?⁶

In love, Jesus has told him the one truly necessary thing: eternal life is a matter of the heart. Let your heart rest in God alone, and then you will receive the treasure awaiting you in heaven. You, rich man, have to choose to allow yourself to love God, to abide in God’s life. That is what’s good.⁷

Prayer Good and gracious God,liberate my heart so I may love you.