“As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,

knelt down before him, and asked him,

‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Jesus answered him, ‘Why do you call me good? 

No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: You shall not kill;

you shall not commit adultery;

you shall not steal;

you shall not bear false witness;

you shall not defraud;

honor your father and your mother.’

He replied and said to him,

‘Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.’

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,

‘You are lacking in one thing.

Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor

and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’

At that statement his face fell,

and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’s answer to this question, when looked at carefully, is really, “…then come, follow me.” Notice that to keep the commandments, apparently, was not enough for Jesus persisted past the point of commandment following. In addition, the admonition to sell all of his possessions was only the precondition for following Jesus. Notice later in this Gospel reading that Peter, himself speaking on behalf of the disciples, will say, “We have given up everything and followed you.” In Mark’s Gospel, and consistent with Jesus’s eschatological (the coming of the end times) preaching in other Gospels, the coming of the Kingdom of God requires radical adherence. A choice must be made. Following Jesus is a total commitment. Whatever holds one back must be let go. For this rich man, it is his possessions. He cannot follow Jesus because of his attachment to his possessions. Even though he has followed all of the commandments, he cannot follow Jesus and goes away sad. 

The greatest example of radical commitment in my life was the day I started basic training. I had flown out to Colorado early and stayed with my dad. He drove me up to the Academy and stopped at a stop sign where I got out of the car with my small bag of belongings. I was directed to move quickly to where other new arrivals were lining up in formation. From the corner of my eye, I could see my dad drive away. The cadre began yelling at us and teaching us the proper way to stand at attention. Within a minute, everything in my life had changed. Within the next 24 hours, my small bag of belongings would be stored away and I would be issued an entire new wardrobe, get a new haircut, be weighed, probed, and medically evaluated, be inoculated against who knows what, be cut off from any direct communication with family or friends, and begin to learn a new lexicon. As far as externals, everything had changed. I remember going to sleep wondering, “What have I gotten myself into?” There was no going back. It was a new reality. 

The choice to follow Jesus is all encompassing. Although it is a journey and our first steps may be hesitant, our final walk of discipleship leads us to nothing less than the cross. We must lose our life to find it. Today, we are challenged to let go of whatever keeps us from following Jesus completely. “Come, follow me.” May we not go away sad, but follow with joy!