15/10/2006 - XXVIII SUNDAY in ORDINARY
TIME - Year B
First Reading Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm 89/90
Second Reading Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel Mark10:17-30
In our parishes in the Trentine Diocese: Dedication to one's own Church
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour" (Ex 20:16).
All of us teach children not to tell lies. In fact, among our people, who live
a culture which springs from Christian roots, it is loathsome for a child to
lie, though his lies may be of little value: he cannot be trusted. Actually,
the lies of a child or youth might not be harmful, if not for the fact that
he becomes someone who can't be trusted. Someone who lies will not be trusted
by anyone and, therefore, deprives himself of the joy of a serene communion.
Each lie, then, is a sin because, beside one's own reputation, they ruin relationships,
all of their relationships: in their families and their community. Lies are
especially grave when they harm others. Spreading false accusations regarding
other people is slanderous and it is a grave lack of love; therefore, a grave
sin! "Therefore, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth
to our neighbours, for we are members of one another" (Eph. 4:25). "Do
not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with
its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator" (Col. 3:9-10).
Furthermore, this proverb still remains valid: "Lies have short legs"!
No one is capable of hiding his own lies, but he quickly loses the esteem and
the honour of being a child of God! Jesus' disciple knows that he received the
Holy Spirit and so does not want to do what God, Himself, would not do! The
Holy Spirit is, in fact, the "Spirit of truth", as Jesus, Himself,
tells us many times (John 14-16). The Christian who lies leads us to believe
that his God is a liar; to the contrary, God does not deceive, and He will not
deceive anyone!
The Book of Wisdom praises prudence and wisdom, the preferred gifts from God,
not only for material riches but, also, for health and beauty. These are gifts,
not acquisitions or product from our own work: they are gifts which we can only
receive from God and, therefore, must ask of Him! These gifts are truly grand;
in fact, when we put them at the base of our life and of our work, we ourselves
become a blessing of God for many, for those we meet and for the entire society.
All of our wishes must aspire to wisdom and prudence and we must ask God for
all of it! Prudence and wisdom are sustenance for all form of life: within the
family, for those who live alone, those who work with others and need wisdom
to give proper value to things and words to what they do and to their projects,
and who need prudence so that, when required, they can intervene with the right
words and actions. One who speaks and acts with prudence and wisdom, distributes
consolation and direction, serenity and incentive, assurance and trust in God!
Jesus appeared to all as a wise and prudent man. That is why that "one",
when Jesus was leaving for Jericho, ran towards Him and asked Him the most important
question of his life. Who can we ask what we must do so that we might have life,
if not a wise and prudent man? He will not give advice haphazardly, nor will
He try to seduce anyone to do as He wishes. That man who wanted to know what
he should do to have eternal life realized that, though he lacked for nothing
of the things of this world, everything was still missing. He was not happy.
He couldn't see the way to his most profound desires, nor was he happy with
his religious practices.
How does Jesus exercise His wisdom and His prudence?
First of all, he speaks of God to the man. He is the only One from whom life,
and eternal life, come. We must only turn to Him, ask His advice and receive
advice from Him. Because God's advice is, without a doubt, the best, we must
welcome it with a firm commitment of putting it to practice! We cannot go to
God for degrees. First of all, do you obey His Commandments, the ones He gave
to all men? If you don't do this, how can you ask Him for the fullness of life?
The big thing: that man already obeyed all of His commandments! Then, when you
have obeyed His commands, you can look for the One whom God, the Good God, sent
in His name, as His Son! You will, then, discover that you don't need to do
anything else; nothing, other than to love Him and to live in union with Him
and for Him. Do you really wish to love Him? Do not divide your love between
Him and any other reality, not even the most beautiful! Sell everything, Jesus
tells us. Do not look for your rights in this world, and that's why you divide
your goods among the poor, because they cannot repay you for anything! And the
gift of God, His Son, will take over your whole life! This is wisdom; this is
the most holy and lasting prudence, because it will bring you the fullness of
joy, now, and eternal bliss in the future. Furthermore, it will render your
life ever more useful for the entire world!