Monday of Week 8 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Ecclesiasticus 17:20-28 | Psalm 31(32):1-2,5-7 | Mark 10:17-27
Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.’ (Mark 10:17-18)
Previously, every time I read this passage, I got the impression that Jesus was rebuking the man, “How dare you call me good! No one is good but God alone, you hear me? NO ONE!”
But then, of course, Jesus had never denied His own Godhood in scripture. He only forbade those who knew (including the demons He cast out) from telling others before the time had arrived to meet His Passion.
So now I read this passage in a different light:
Why do you call me “good”? Are you just being polite? Or do you see something in Me that inspires you? Perhaps your subconscious is telling you something that your waking mind can’t fathom; that I am indeed your God. Come, follow My way, help others while on your own journey, and you shall have eternal life.
And it reminded me of a young woman I saw on the bus to church yesterday morning, standing in the center section of the bus when the driver stopped for an inordinate amount of time. It took me a while to notice that he was struggling alongside a foreign maid to push a heavy-set old woman in a wheelchair up the rear entry ramp.
And then I noticed that the young woman had also stepped forward to help pull the wheelchair up from inside the bus, while precariously holding on to a large laptop case in one hand, and a backpack slung on her opposite shoulder. Clearly, it was difficult for her to render assistance without dropping one or both of her possessions, yet she grimly continued pulling on the wheelchair with her free hand, until it finally rolled up the ramp.
It took me that long to realize that I could’ve dumped my own heavy backpack on my seat and moved to help.
A few stops later, I saw her alight at a Christian church along the way.
I’d like to think that if I’d complimented her, she would’ve replied, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.’
And in the meantime, I’ll need to work on my reaction time to any “call to goodness”.
Lord, make me a means of Your goodness. Imbue me with the fire of the Holy Spirit, the eagerness to help others in their difficulties, without hesitation borne of personal comfort. Amen.