Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

October 15, 2000

How much is Enough Lord?

On the evening of January 17, 1961 President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address. In such addresses the American people look for wisdom and advice to carry them through the future and a new administration. Eisenhower was confident but concerned about the future of the nation and the world. He desired that this nation be willing to make sacrifices and to be thoughtful for the future of the earth’s people. He put it this way.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military—industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with out peaceful methods and goals. So that security and liberty may prosper together…

This sage advice and admonition of President Eisenhower he felt was necessary to guide the nation with the wisdom that would be necessary for the survival and thrival of the United States and the world at large. Wisdom is a much sought after and elusive goal for many. Wisdom is that gift from God that informs us what is real and unreal in life. It tells us what the purpose of life is and how to live it in a way that reflects the truest stuff of our humanity.

The young man comes to Jesus seeking such truth. Our Lord turns to him and challenges him to leave everything behind to follow him. Well, the man’s face drops—"you can’t be serious—but, but I follow the law with integrity. I am a good man, isn’t that enough"? And here we come to the point –No! Jesus tells us once again that what the Father wants is a total surrender. The Father desires a complete surrender to have a human being and human beings come to what is real. This surrender is to God’s Kingdom, which we see, visible in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a Kingdom of compassion; justice and peace grounded in the unlimited and gratuitous love of God. The key then is not to do the minimum that the law requires—not to hedge our bets so to speak but to offer our entire lives to the present and coming Kingdom of God.

The rich young man could not bring himself to do this. He was possessed by his possessions. That is the tricky thing isn’t it? We know we need to make a living but we are called to be generous. The rich man draws one to the point that it is often the things we commit ourselves to other than God that creates the problem—the camel has a better chance of getting through the eye of a needle than the rich entering heaven. However, Jesus did not exclude the possibility, indeed, with God all things are possible. The rich can accepts God’s wisdom for their own as gift and live the real life.

The rich can help to create an economic structure that does not reward greed but promotes justice and human dignity. The rich can forsake absolute power so that it may be shared and all people participate in shaping a more just and humane world. The rich can have a change of heart and drop the arms from their hands that allow them to hoard a disproportionate amount of the goods of the earth so that others may have enough to live in security.

Every person is called to this surrender that Jesus holds out to the rich man. We may not have lots of money to give but we have some time and talent that we can offer to the Lord for the purpose of helping others to experience the Kingdom of God in part through our commitment to compassion, justice and peace.

We have seen some of this in St. Joseph Church. The involvement in Homefront Day, the teachers that volunteer to teach in the religious formation program, the Food pantry, the actions for peace and justice of the Small Christian Communities, and so many other loving and compassionate acts, are examples of the response of so many of you to the Lord’s call.

Today we will soon be asked to take the Jubilee Justice pledge that will be taken throughout this Archdiocese. This pledge is about our responding to the Lord’s call in our time and place and in our life situation. Should every Catholic that takes this pledge make some contribution to its fulfillment the Archdiocese of Hartford would stand as beacon to the nation. As we take this pledge we ask the Lord to give us the strength and courage to follow through on our commitment. In this way we, like the camel, will pass through the needles eye. We will use our wisdom given to us by God to make our nation and world a place where all people can thrive. It won’t happen overnight. This is a long and arduous journey to which we commit. But let us remember the old Chinese saying.

A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step.

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Created October 13, 2000