Perfection
Jesus begins his answer to the young man with a powerful phrase: “If you would be perfect …” (Mt 19:21). It’s not enough to be a “good person.” Jesus calls us to perfection. Because he calls us to it (and he will not ask anything of us that we cannot do), we know that perfection is possible. And because of the primacy of grace, we know that Jesus also gives us an effective way to attain perfection. It is beyond anything that simply keeping the commandments can bring into our lives.
It is important to note here a passage that occurs in Mark’s account of this encounter of the rich young man with Jesus. Before Jesus’ comment about perfection, Mark writes, “And Jesus looking upon him loved him” (Mk 10:21). Matthew does not include this detail, but I think it is important to consider, because it shows that this is an intimate moment of encounter for the young man. It should be an intimate moment of encounter for us too. We should see ourselves as the one whom Jesus looks upon with love.
Jesus then tells the young man to “go, sell what you possess and give to the poor … and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21). If we want to become perfect, if we want to live well as disciples, we must be free from anything that possesses and controls us. For most of us, this won’t mean selling everything we own.1 What it means is keeping our possessions in their proper place. We must ask if there is anything that is keeping us from loving and relating to God fully. If there is, we must prayerfully ask the Lord how he desires for us to be rid of that thing.
Note that the Greek word that is translated into English as “what you possess” is hyparchonta. In ancient Greek language and culture, this word does not refer to material possessions. It refers instead to what has power over us, the things that cause us to be in the state we are. Interestingly, it is also the word for an army lieutenant.2 Jesus does not mean just material possessions, but anything that has control over the young man. For us, this makes the lesson very clear: We can only turn more fully toward Jesus if we free ourselves from the things that have power over us. These could be material goods, physical pleasure, food, or certain vices, especially pride. No matter what our attachments are, they have to go! That is the only way for us to be free to cling to Jesus and let him provide all that we need.
What is your hyparchonta? What things in your life, physical or not, possess and control you? For me, the most significant temptation is my drive for knowledge. This leads to pride, and it has often come at the expense of deeper relationships with people in my life, even my own family. For others, the attachment could be money, sex, or a degraded self-image. Like the young man in this Gospel passage, each of us must decide if we will make the decision to be free of what controls us.3
Where do we go from here?
We know the end of this Gospel story: The young man leaves in sorrow because he is not willing to detach from his many possessions. He wants to keep living life as he always has. He is not interested in conversion because he does not want to get rid of his attachments.
When Jesus gives us the invitation to follow him, how will we choose? Are we ready and willing to turn from our current direction and follow Jesus’ way? Hopefully, with his grace, we will respond rightly and take the first — or the next — step toward the abundant life that God has in store for us.
Pope Saint John Paul II, in his great teaching letter about the moral life, Veritatis Splendor (VS), focuses on this Gospel passage. Modern culture asks deep questions about good and evil, but focusing on rules and regulations cannot provide answers that satisfy our deepest longings. Instead, “People today need to turn to Christ once again in order to receive from him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil” (VS 8).
Our actions and choices are good only when they are directed toward our proper end, which is communion within God himself. The rich young man lived in a morally good way, but he lacked direction. Jesus wanted to provide him direction, and he wants to do the same for our lives, but we must commit to following him on the journey. The rich young man refused to make that commitment, and he went away sad.
The primacy of grace
It is only in turning toward Jesus that we can keep the commandments. Here is the principle that operates underneath everything else: the primacy of grace. We are not created with the natural ability to bring joy, peace, and communion into our own lives. These come only as gifts of God, and original sin makes it difficult for us to attain these realities. “This vocation to eternal life is supernatural,” and it “depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative.” It exceeds the power of any creature (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1998). Grace makes possible what is otherwise impossible!
Our desire to repent, turn toward God, and live in right relationship with him is already a work of grace. Only by God’s grace do we know our need to seek him. Saint Augustine writes in his treatise De natura et gratia (On Nature and Grace):
Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God: for without him we can do nothing.
God will fulfill our desire to know and follow him, because he is the only one who can fulfill it, and he wants to fulfill it.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all commandments. Jesus Christ is the culmination and focal point of the heavenly Father’s revelation to us. God wants a relationship with us that goes above and beyond simply keeping the commandments. We must keep the commandments, of course, but we must go beyond them if we want the abundant life that Jesus offers.
Jesus is the personification of grace, of God’s free initiative to save us, redeem us, and give us abundant life. It all happens through Jesus! To find that life, we must hold fast to Jesus himself, “partaking of his life and his destiny, sharing in his free and loving obedience to the Father” (VS 19). That’s another way of saying, “Come, follow me,” as Jesus said many times in the Gospels. This starts with the commandments, but it goes much further than that. If we accept his invitation, he will lead us, by his grace, into his own perfect happiness — into beatitude.
Thankfully, not all encounters with Jesus end as the encounter with the rich young man did. The young man rejected Jesus’ invitation, but we do not have to make that same choice. Instead, we can choose to reverse the young man’s “no” with our own “yes.” Throughout this book, we will reflect on several other Gospel episodes in which men and women responded with a “yes” to the call of Christ and chose to follow him more deeply.
I hope each of these stories will provide you with inspiration and encouragement to answer Jesus’ invitation as the rich young man could not. As you reflect on these Gospel encounters, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you more and more deeply into a life of ongoing conversion. Even if you have previously chosen the path of the rich young man, Jesus Christ always offers another opportunity. Choose, today, to follow Jesus on the path to perfect happiness and fulfillment.
Questions for Deeper Understanding and Reflection
1. In your own words, define and describe grace.
2. How do you view the importance of rules and commandments in the Christian life? How has your view impacted the way you live out your faith?
3. Are there particular commandments you struggle to keep in your effort to walk more