REFLECTIONS TODAY

The sad story of the man who went away sad because he could not let go of his many possessions is immediately followed by Jesus’ promise of reward for those who give up their possessions to follow him. Peter speaks of “everything” (v 28) which, given their financial and social standing, is not much. And in following Jesus, they are not totally cutting themselves from their family and friends. After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, when Peter and the other Apostles went to other lands to preach the Gospel, their wives tagged along.
St. Paul asks the Corinthians, “Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Cor 9:5). “Everything” is not measured by quantity but by the totality of the heart that is given along with the gift, like when a poor widow gives her two lepta in the treasury of the Temple (Lk 21:1-4).
What we give up for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel may not amount to much, but God is satisfied with it and is never outdone in generosity. He gives in superabundant measure expressed by the hundredfold reward (v 30). Jesus says, “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap” (Lk 6:38).
Gospel • Mark 10:28-31
Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024.” E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.