Rich Young Men and Women

Ateneo graduations remind me of the story of the rich young man who approached Jesus asking "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?".

At first Jesus' reply was for the young man to follow the commandments. But the young man said he was already doing so.

So Jesus looked at the young man with love and told him to sell everything he had and follow Jesus. The young man left, his heart full of sadness.


I remembered this, of course, because the Ateneo graduates a lot of rich young men and women. Not all of them are rich, of course, but quite a number are.

And so in this season of graduation, what would I want to say to these rich young men and women? I would speak to them of this story of the rich young man.


First, and this is something my wife pointed out to me, Jesus looked at the rich young man with love. Jesus loves rich young men and women as much as he (also) had a preferential option for the poor. In fact if we read the Gospels carefully, we see that Jesus hung out with the rich. Ex. the tax collectors (including Matthew), Zaccheus, Nichdemus.

I don't know if all the talk about serving the poor drowns out that foundational experience of God's personal love for everyone, including rich young men and women.


Second, not everyone is called to sell all their things, give the money to the poor and follow Jesus (if by following Jesus, we mean entering into religious life). In Matthew's version Jesus tells the young man, "If YOU wish to be perfect". In Mark's version, Jesus tells the young man, "YOU are lacking in one thing".

In both versions, the you is not a generic you but refers specifically to the rich young man. I do not think we can even think of the "rich young man" as a sociological category but a particular rich young man with his own name and history. Sort of like, "If you, Leland, wish to be perfect" or "You, Leland, are lacking in one thing".

In other words, the call is always personal. And by way of proof, let me point out (as my wife pointed out to me) that there was another man, possessed by demons whom Jesus cured and that man asked Jesus for permission to be a disciple and Jesus said no. Jesus encountered many people along the way but not everyone was called to leave everything and follow him.


And this is why I am wary of "generic" vocations. The assumption, for example, that the path to holiness is necessarily through the priesthood, through development work (those of you really familiar with development work would probably know how funny it sounds to associate development work with holiness), through teaching or any other "noble" vocation.


It is tougher for us today, of course, because unlike the rich young man, we cannot just interrupt Jesus' journey and ask him what our call is. I have personally found that Ignatian retreats does wonders for helping to clarify what might be asked from me today.


The other note I want to make about these personal calls is that they often have to do with personal growth and ridding ourselves of what Ignatius calls inordinate attachments, things which prevent us from fully responding to our personal call. (I just realized we hardly ever talk about inordinate attachments in the Loyola Schools). In the case of the rich young man, clearly, the attachment is to wealth.

For other people, it may be other things. For some, maybe a sense of social and financial security. For some, maybe a sense of being able to do great things. For some, it may be an inordinate attachment to ideas or emotions (not letting go of anger, for example) Lately, I've realized that even noble goals like alleviating poverty and nation-building can become inordinate attachments.

On that note, Jesus might as well have also said, how hard it is for those who seek social and financial security to enter the kingdom of heaven! How hard it is for those who are inordinately attached to noble goals like alleviating poverty and nation-building to enter the kingdom of heaven!


When it is re-told, the story of the rich young man usually ends there, and the reference to the camel and the eye of the needle pops up.

But that is not the end of the story! It might not even be the moral of the story. The punchline of the gospel comes when the disciples ask, then who can be saved? (a question whose sense of perplexity can only be appreciated if we don't limit ourselves to rich people)

And Jesus replies: For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible. That is the punchline. Or as the Jesuits say, everything is grace, everything is God's gift.


Overcoming inordinate attachments, recognizing our personal vocation, experiencing God's personal love. All these things seem impossible or unimaginable but the moral of the story is that everything is grace.


The rich young man was on the right track, interrupting Jesus' journey impetuously asking Jesus how to inherit eternal life. But he failed in two ways beyond failing to sell everything and follow Jesus.

First he failed to ask for the grace of strength to do what was asked of him.

Second, and more importantly, as he was absorbed with what Jesus said, he probably didn't notice that Jesus was looking at him with love.

Leland Dela Cruz

September 2010