Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 16th August
Message from Fr Paul for Monday, 16th August 2021
It was a great joy yesterday afternoon to return to Rotherwas Chapel for our annual celebration of Mass for the patronal feast of Our Lady of the Assumption. This medieval Catholic church is in the hands of English Heritage and is beautifully kept and well worth a visit. Last year, of course, we had to forego the pleasure of public Mass and just dig into our memories and remember past celebrations with the hope of being able to return this year, which we did. I was pleased to see that restrictions were still in place. We must remember that our bishops have asked us still to wear a face covering in church, not for the protection of ourselves, but of others. We prayed for our Herefordshire parishes, the recently bereaved and for peace in Afghanistan, that the Taliban will be true to their word in causing no bloodshed in the takeover of Kabul.
Today we continue our reading of Matthew, (Mt 19: 16-22), with the account of the rich young man. Although it’s an encounter between Jesus and a young man, earnest to know what he should do to possess eternal life, nevertheless it could be a parable. We’ll read the whole text. “There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.”
It’s clear that the man is looking for a word of life, recognising Jesus to be a wise teacher. Jesus replies that it is God alone who is good, rather than the things we do. God, being the source of all goodness, is the only one who can guide us to what we should do. Where better to go, then, than to the commandments of God? “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” This is exactly what Jesus is saying to us today. You will remember that in John he tells his disciples, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Strange that the young man should ask which of the commandments he should keep. Jesus replies, citing four of the commandments plus the Golden Rule from Leviticus 19:18. But the young man, unaware of his own imperfections, says that he already does all this. What else is there to be perfect. Well, he’s rich, so why not sell all he has and give that money to the poor? Then, not only will he have treasure in heaven for his charitable actions on earth, but he will be free to follow Jesus. Why did he even bother asking, when he must have known in his heart of hearts that Jesus would ask the impossible? But is it impossible? St Antony of Egypt took Jesus at his word and did it. St Francis of Assisi too, and many others. In fact, as Jesus says elsewhere, for God and with God, nothing is impossible. What do I find impossible?
