The Story of the Rich Young Man
What it teaches us about God's love
Today’s Mass reading was the well-known story of the rich young man who walks up to Jesus and asks Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’”
He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
(Mark 10:17–22)
Instead of doing a homily on the “sell all and follow me” part of the reading, Father D. focused on the “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” part.
He (rightfully) stated that loving someone doesn’t mean “affirming” them in their errors; it means telling them the truth—which is what Jesus did when he stated what the young man was lacking.
Huh, I thought, but I would like to know why.
Why does the Gospel reading emphasize so strongly that Jesus looked at and loved the rich young man after hearing that he observed all the commandments? Was it because He was so touched by his obedience? But if Jesus is, by definition, the most loving person in the world, why would Gospel writer Mark make such a big deal out of Him loving this man in this specific instance?