Ordinary 28 – B
Wisdom 7:7-11, Hebrew 4:12-13, Mark 10:17-30
Fr. Carl McCarthy
October 16, 2006

             His name was Fr. Gorman Sullivan. He was a Franciscan Priest, and he taught Sacramental Theology. One afternoon as class started, he began teaching with this mantra: “the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God. The kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God.” He continued, and the mantra grew louder: “the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God. The kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God.” He then began clapping his hands together and chanting all the louder: “the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God. The kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God.” He then stopped; a pervading silence fell over the room, and he said, “It is the kingdom of God that you are about.”
            I will never forget that message. I will never forget that charge. I can still hear his voice ringing in my ears and feel the sound of those words rattling in my heart. The kingdom of God is what we are about.  
            But is it really? Are we really about the kingdom of God? And if it is, are we giving the kingdom the time that it needs? Hear again this Sunday’s Gospel and decide for yourself.
            As Jesus was setting out, a young man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
            Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except my…
            Just then, the ringing of the young man’s cell phone interrupted Jesus.
            The young man took it from his pocket and said, “Hello? Hey Joe. Can’t talk right now. I am right in the middle of something pretty important. It’s a time management thing. Are you going to be at this number for a while? Good. I’ll call you back in a few?”
            Jesus waited patiently as the young man finished his phone call, and then continued, “You know the commandments: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal…”
            As Jesus was speaking, the young man pulled out his palm pilot and began clicking away. About halfway through the list that Jesus was giving, the young man looked up and said, “Yes, teacher, I have those things down. I have had those in my program since I was a kid. What else do I need to do to inherit eternal life?”
            Jesus continued the commandments, and, as he did, the young man’s beeper went off.  As he reached for his beeper, Jesus took the man’s hand and grasped the beeper. With great love, Jesus said, “you lack one thing: the time for me; clear your schedule of all of your self-important activities. When you have done that, then come back and give all of your time to me.  When you return I will help to order your days in the ways of justice and peace. Now, go and clear your schedule; then come and follow me.”
            The young man’s face fell. He glanced at his watch and closed the calendar program on his palm pilot. He had hoped to learn some effective plan to balance his life that day with the kingdom to come.  He gave Jesus a quick handshake and said, “Maybe we can do lunch sometime. I’ll give you a call on my way back through.” Then the young man hurried off, for he had many places to go and people to see.
            Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said, “How hard it is for the busy to enter into the kingdom of God.”
            “The kingdom, the kingdom, kingdom, of God” is what we are all about.  But do we give to the Kingdom the time it needs? Being a follower of Jesus requires more than our money; it’s about giving our money, our talent, and, more importantly, our time. Jesus asks that we give ourselves completely to him. It’s not easy; we live in a very time-regulated world.  The clock can easily become our god.  But being a follower of Jesus requires that we think about the way we live our lives and be willing to adjust our days to accommodate the things that are God’s.  Fr. Sullivan was right; it’s about the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God.

sdrose@bellsouth.net
10-22-2006