Something or Everything?

Monday, August 17, 2026

Ez 24: 24: 15-23; Mt 19: 16-22

Today’s Gospel invites us to practice a wholehearted love for God. 

The young man who wants to follow Jesus comes across to us as an ideal candidate for discipleship. He was diligent in observing all the commandments of God. Though he had led a good life so far, he wanted to ask if there was anything that he could do further to gain eternal life. However, even with all his goodness, after meeting Jesus, he went away sad. Why?

First, we need to remember that the young man willingly followed the commandments of God because they were a list of minimum requirements. In other words, he observed all those commandments as they fell within his comfort zone. But when Jesus raised the bar of discipleship, it became hard for the rich young man to entertain the idea.

Here we see how the rich young man stands exposed by Jesus. Thus, when he asked Jesus, ‘Which ones?’ or ‘What do I still lack?’ he was clearly thinking of taking up more charitable works. However, when Jesus talked of radical detachment, he could not accept it. This is where he got exposed by Jesus because God was not first for him but his wealth. 

Here, Jesus wants us to discover the difference between ‘something and everything.’ When the young man asked Jesus, ‘Which ones?’ he expected Jesus to say, ‘You should do something more.’ However, what Jesus demanded was to let go of everything. Though the rich man appeared to be ready to follow Jesus, the Lord revealed that he was not internally free to do so.

This is where Jesus wants us to note the difference between divided and wholehearted discipleship. What Jesus requires is not that we give something as long as we are comfortable with it. Jesus demands of us everything we can. In this sense, the disciples of Jesus are those who are capable of radical love. Discipleship begins where minimum requirements end. 

Let us pray that we may be able to love Jesus with our whole and undivided heart.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar