Our Church has often been wounded by divisions. That’s because all of us in the Church are human beings. The first division may have been caused by James and John, but division has continued to happen throughout church history. In the first century division came in the form of doctrinal issues concerning the Trinity and Jesus’ nature. In the eleventh Century the Eastern Church was separated from the Church in the West and still is. In the fifteen Century Protestants and Catholics were separated. Jesus foresaw all this and it grieved Him. But he created a unique kind of authority in the Church which would serve as a rock that while it may not prevent all divisions would keep the church from completely falling apart and die. That rock is the special kind of authority that we know as the Papacy first given to Peter and which is possessed today by Pope Francis. All of us should be aware that at this moment Cardinals from many different countries are meeting in Rome at the Synod on Families that was called by Pope Francis. Family is a crucial issue in the church and in the state because the strength of those two institutions depends on its families. There are also many very important issues that are connected with family. We can be sure that Pope Francis will do what is best for the church now. My point today is that for our part we have to prepare our minds and hearts to be faithful to his leadership, to be one with him in all his decisions whether it meets our expectations or not. We pray that the unity of our Church will be strengthen as a result of the Synod on the Family and that it will in no way lead anyone to separate themselves from our family table.
I would be glad to have the rich young man in today’s Gospel account as a parishioner of St Joseph’s. What we know about him he kept the commandments. He was a good rule keeper. He knelt before the Lord and asked the right question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Hopefully that is our question to the Lord in prayer as well. “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and then come, follow me.” Wow! Talk about being asked to get outside your comfort zone. This challenges us to ask our relationship with God. What is the real treasure of your life? I need to ask myself: what possessions do I cling to? What is my tipping point in terms of prayer? What is my limit? How much time am I willing to share to be of service to others? What percentage of income do I tithe? What is my comfort zone in this regard? Does the use of our time, energy and resources indicate what are the important relationships of our lives? The Gospel lesson is clear. Our relationship with God must be our greatest, our prime relationship, the one which gives meaning to all our other relationships. Jesus is asking each one of us to give priority to God in our lives and to get rid of all that we love more than him, everything which prevents us from saying yes to his wonderful invitation: and then: come follow me.