Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Reaching Heaven is not our achievement. It is God’s gift.
We can’t buy our way to Heaven. We can’t work our way there. We will never be perfect enough to go there on our own power. We are children of Adam and Eve, after all. We are human, with all of our flaws and shortcomings. We are tied to this earth, even as we have a yearning for something much better.
If we have any hope of eternal life, it will take the power of God to lift us up to the Kingdom promised to us.
God saves us, implying that we can’t save ourselves.
Isn’t that the point that Jesus was trying to make in today’s Gospel.
A man comes to Jesus and tells him, “I have kept all of the commandments.” And Jesus says to him, “Good for you. But there is one more thing. Go and give all of your possessions away.”
That is something that the man could not, or would not, do. He walked away with his head down low. How sad.
And what about us? Jesus always asks us for one more thing. And, we eventually realize that we can’t do it. We are sinners, after all. We all fall short of God’s expectations.
So, how do sinners become saints? Or, in the words of the disciples, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
And that brings me back to what I said at the beginning. Reaching Heaven is not our achievement. It is God’s gift.
Now, as I say this, some might think to themselves, “Then I don’t need to be good.” That’s simply not true. To strive for perfection is a sign that we want to be made perfect. Wanting to be good for God, is a sign of our faith in God, who gives us the law to love as we have been loved.
But finding eternal life will never depend on our goodness. It will always depend on God’s.
Here’s the good news: God is good. Faith in God, rather than faith in us, is essential. Perhaps that is a lesson that the man in the Gospel had not yet learned. I pray that we have.
Have a blessed week everyone.