Everything Must Go

Matthew 19:16-26

Phrases that spoke to me today:
• sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven
• he went away sad, for he had many possessions
• for human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible

Applying the Word to My Life:
Francis had grown up in a wealthy merchant family, surrounded by fine clothes, money, and expectations about the life he was supposed to live. Then something in him changed. He started giving money away, spending time with lepers, praying more seriously, and becoming less interested in the future his father had planned for him.

Eventually his father demanded the family money back and wanted Francis to stop using what belonged to the household for a life that made no sense to him. Francis gave it back. Then he stripped off the clothes his father had provided and handed those back too. Standing there with almost nothing left, Francis made it clear that from then on he wanted to depend on God.

That scene is easy to romanticize because we know how Francis's life turned out. In the moment, though, it hurt. He was giving up money, security, status, family approval, and the future everyone around him assumed he should want. He was giving up things he wanted to keep.

The rich young man in today's reading wanted eternal life. He'd done a lot right. Then Jesus asked for the thing he didn't want to lose, and he walked away sad.

The cheap reading is that God hates money. Instead, Jesus is asking for whatever we're unwilling to place beneath Him. The real lesson is that we can't fully love Jesus until we let those things go.

For Francis, money and status were part of the cost. For someone else, it may be control, reputation, comfort, time, privacy, or the plan we've made for our lives. For me, one of those costs is simply going out to people.

I'm an introvert. Left to myself, I'd be perfectly happy staying home or spending time with a small group of people I already know well. Ministry asks me to do the opposite. I teach, speak, meet strangers, and give people time and attention when part of me would rather retreat. That costs me energy. Sometimes I'd rather stay home.

Love should hurt a little. If I'm putting someone else ahead of myself, I'm giving up something I wanted to keep. If that never costs me anything, never inconveniences me, never drains some energy, time, comfort, pride, or control that I wanted for myself, then I'm serving myself and calling it love.

The strange thing is that the sacrifice is also where the joy comes from. When I go, I get to see Christ in people I'd never have met if I'd stayed comfortable.

Francis was willing to pay the cost. The rich young man wasn't. Most of our choices will be quieter than either one, but they're still asking the same thing. Our job is to figure out what we're still holding onto before Jesus asks us to let go.

My Response for Today:
Today I'll choose one act of love that costs me something I want to keep.

ABOUT ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Name: St. Francis of Assisi
Lived: 1181 or 1182 – October 3, 1226, Assisi, Italy
Feast Day: October 4
Patron of: Italy, ecology, animals, merchants
Title: Founder of the Franciscan Order
Selected Writings: The Canticle of the Creatures — his own hymn of praise for creation, written near the end of his life
Read more: Franciscan Media · New Advent