We are now finishing the All Saints Day weekend here in the Philippines. This season reminds of us people's commitment to their families as they show respect and love for their loved ones. It also demonstrates people's continuing interest in the spiritual world and the life after death. Did you see the advertisement on television the other day? The Catholic Church was offering to pray on behalf of your departed loved ones? All you needed to do was to text the name (s) to the Church.

The Rich Young Man's Question
Would questions about after life top your list of curiosity? If you had the opportunity to meet Jesus and ask one question, what would that be? Heavy on the mind of the rich young man in our passage today was the question about how to go to heaven. But notice how he phrased the question:

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

It is interesting that he used the phrase 'inherit.' He wanted to know what he had to do in order to inherit eternal life.

Now let me ask you. How do you 'inherit' eternal life? Don't you receive it freely by grace through faith? If you come from works-based religion, you might say we earn it. But either way, you do not 'inherit' it. So this man's question was quite odd, to say the least.

I wonder whether this young man thought he could inherit eternal life much the same way he must have inherited his family fortune. Remember he was young and rich. These days, you don't become rich at a young age, unless you are into some kind of business like IT. In those days, it was most likely through family inheritance that you became rich. So, the young man was thinking the similar line of thought: What do I have to do to ensure that I receive (inherit) eternal life?

Jesus' Answer
Jesus gave the young man a routine answer, 'Check the commands you were supposed to keep.'

The young man came right back with the answer, 'I kept them all since I was a boy.'

But Jesus was not impressed. He said, 'You lack one thing.'

Then he went on to list the commands from the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. But there were two differences from the original. First, it was not complete. The first four commands that have to do with our relationship with God were missing (Have no other gods before me; do not make images of me; do not false swear by my name; and keep the Sabbath day holy). Second, the tenth commandment 'Do not covet .' was replaced by 'Do not defraud.'

Would it be possible that this man's family wealth was a result of defrauding others, even though the young man had nothing to do with it? Does the fact that the four commands were missing show his missing dimension in life: a personal relationship with the living God? We cannot be sure, but we do know that this is rather an unusual combination.

Jesus' response to the young man was very direct: 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven ...'

Jesus' answer was much more serious than what the man had hoped. The Bible says that the man's face 'fell' and he went away sad. The man knew exactly what was asked of him but unwilling or unable to meet the demands — all because the man's extreme wealth.

The Disciples' Question
The story picks up the tempo when Jesus' disciples gave their response to what they had just heard. (This is so typical of the way Jesus taught his disciples — always in natural response to something that happened during the day).

Jesus said TWICE that it was hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. In the mean time, the reaction of the disciples is at the center of it all. Peter said, 'Who then can be saved?'

It was a legitimate question. Peter comprehended what Jesus was asking from the rich young man. This man, according Peter, was religious enough. After all, he kept the commands, which had to do with his relationship with neighbor. No one would possibly malign against him. And yet, Peter knew that Jesus was asking much, much more from the young man. 'To sell everything and give to the poor and then follow him?' It amounted to denying everything that this young man has been (his identity) and also to give up everything that can give him security and safety (his protection).

Peter felt that Jesus' demand was just too much. Jesus steps in at this point (in vs. 27) and tells him that 'with God, it is possible.' In other words, if God moves such a person's heart, even the unthinkable is possible. 'You will find the rich giving up everything he possesses for the poor and follow me .'

Peter asked, 'Do we count also?' 'After all, we also left everything and followed you!' Peter left his boat, his father, his wife . when he dropped the net and followed Jesus. Before Jesus entered their life, these twelve men were all busy going about in their own daily routine. Then the glorious call of Jesus came into their lives — follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus ENCOURAGES his disciples with the following reply.

1. They will receive a hundred times in this life whatever they gave up, accompanied by persecution
2. They will also receive eternal life in the age to come
3. The order in which this happens will be all reversed (the first will be last and the last first).

This 'hundred times' is no accident. It echoes the teaching of the Parable of the Sower where the seed fell into the good soil and yielded 30, 60 and 100 fold. The disciples left their home and family members. And yet how is it possible that they will receive a hundred times their family members?

For every physical brother one gives up, the LORD promises 100 spiritual brothers! According to one commentator, 'There he finds a multiplication of relationships, often closer and more spiritually meaningful than blood ties.

For every home one gives up, there will be one hundred homes they can go to. Of course, Jesus is referring to a new life in the greater body of Christ. There will be persecution, but it will be an exciting venture. Someone once said, "God takes nothing away from a man without restoring it to him in a new and glorious form."

Once a couple who are both medical doctors were giving up their comfortable life-style and were going as missionaries to a remote part in Africa. Someone asked them, 'How is it ever possible for you to give up all you have and go to such a place? Is it not too difficult?' Their answer was a simple one:

'Just do it, and then you will learn that it was not that hard to do. You will not walk, much less crawl because you will find new set of wings God gives you. You will be able to FLY!'

Jesus makes it all possible. No sacrifice is too great for us to bear. Jesus replaces our burdens and anxieties with power and joy. 'Dropping the net and following Jesus' is really a daily call for all of us; it is not something that we do once when we choose to follow Jesus.

'The Last Shall Be The First'
Jesus told his disciples, 'Many who are first will be last, and the last first.' What did this phrase mean to the followers of Jesus? This can be taken as both promise and warning.

First, it is a promise to the disciples who left everything to follow Jesus. Their efforts will be remembered and rewarded. The last shall be first. The rich and powerful, however, will experience a shock as their table will no doubt be overturned.

Second, it is a warning to the disciples not to rely on their 'I left all behind' as the insurance that they have now made it, for there is more to come. Discipleship, after all, is a call to suffering and service, until we are called to be home.

Those who thought they had it all made may find themselves at the end of the line when the saints go marching in, while those who are humbly doing their job for the Kingdom of God may be surprised to come to the front when the roll call is made.

Three Kinds of People
There are three types of people when it comes to following Jesus and doing what he asks of us.

The first group, I will call, are PROACTIVE people. They are people of vision and dream. They know what Jesus wants from them and they actively pursue it. Along the way, they are also willing to pay the price. They are interested in bringing the future to the present.

The second group, I will call, are REACTIVE people. They live in the past and they want the past to be the present. They are reacting to some kind of hurt or disappointment in the past. So, instead of doing what Jesus wants them to do, they are busy responding to the things that have happened in the past.

The third group, I will call, are PASSIVE people. They do not find either the past nor the future interesting. There is really nothing that matters to them or concerns them. I am afraid that many young people easily fall into this trap. So for them life is a string of boredom.

Which category best describes your present spirituality? The rich young man was only interested in protecting his wealth and was not interested in what Jesus had to offer. He wanted his past (inheritance) to be his present. Jesus' disciples, on the other hand, were eager and ready to do what Jesus wanted them to do. They dropped the net and followed Jesus, for they were dreaming of the future and wanted it to bring their future to the present. Of course, we know that momentarily they made many mistakes. But Jesus ended up building his church upon their testimony.

Are you willing to follow Jesus and experience his plan for your life? It is never too late.