Sunday Reflections

Mark 10:17-30 recounts the story of the rich young man who approaches Jesus, asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminds him of the commandments, which the man claims to have kept since his youth. Yet, Jesus tells him that one thing remains: he must sell all he owns, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. The man leaves saddened, for he has great wealth. Jesus then turns to His disciples and speaks about the difficulty for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God, culminating in the famous statement that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven.

This passage invites deep reflection on attachment to material things and true discipleship. At its core, Jesus is addressing not wealth itself, but the heart’s attachment to worldly things such as fame, prestige, financial success and personal independence. The rich young man’s sorrowful departure reveals that despite his keen interest and outward obedience to God’s law, his wealth had become a barrier between him and God. Jesus does not condemn wealth but warns against the potential for riches to displace God’s central role in a person’s life. These distractions can become addictive and very difficult to let go and break free.

Perhaps the rich man had read Wisdom’s words from the first reading: ‘I prayed and understanding was given me, I entreated and the spirit of wisdom came to me.’ But perhaps too, he missed the part that explains that true wisdom costs absolutely everything, all our possessions.

Although the rich man wanted the kind of life Jesus offered, his wealth and possessions had such a grip on him, such control over him, that he was unable to accept Jesus’ challenge. Jesus invites the rich man to be a disciple and follow wisdom’s approach to life. The man went away sad because he wasn’t prepared to sell everything and give the money to the poor.

Mark tells us that Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. Perhaps he saw something really special in him, someone after his own heart. So Jesus asks more of him than simply keeping the commandments —he asks him to sell everything and give the money to the poor . In many ways, St. Francis of Assisi models the instruction that Jesus gives the rich man.

The dialogue also challenges modern believers to consider what attachments may stand between them and wholehearted discipleship. Wealth, comfort, status—these can all create barriers to fully embracing the life Jesus calls His followers to. In asking the young man to give away his possessions, Jesus is calling him to a radical trust in God’s provision and to align his heart with divine priorities: love for others, especially the poor, and a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom.

Furthermore, the disciples’ astonishment at Jesus’ teaching highlights a common misunderstanding of the time (and even now): that material wealth is a sign of God’s favor. Jesus overturns this idea, emphasizing that salvation is not something one can earn or possess through human effort or material success. It is a gift from God, and “all things are possible with God” (v. 27).

In reflecting on this passage, one might ask: What possessions, priorities, or attachments do I cling to that hinder me from following Christ more fully? Am I willing to trust God completely, even if it means letting go of what gives me earthly security? The call to follow Jesus is radical, and it demands a heart freed from the distractions of wealth and worldly success, focused instead on eternal life and the Kingdom of God.