Good Teacher, what must I do….

My Fellow Pilgrims,

 Wonder if you have been god today, and if so, why?!

As you know we are romping through the Fruits of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control, and today we walk the path of Goodness.

It is interesting when Jesus was asked a question that begins ‘ “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus replies “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” It is as if Jesus himself does not want to be referred to as Good, but acknowledges that Goodness comes from the father.

In the story, Jesus goes on to tell the Rich Young Ruler to obey the commandments, and when he says he has done so, Jesus urges him to sell his possessions  and give the proceeds to the poor, and to follow him.
The man went away very sad because he was so wealthy.

For me this story speaks volumes. There were those who thought that to do well in life, to be rich, successful, have many children and be popular was a sign of God’s Blessing. To be poor, barren, disabled or diseased was a sign of God’s wrath. Those people were being punished by God so they obviously deserved it.

This is the ultimate lie the ego tells us. God is on our side, and he wants what we want.
The young ruler asks about eternal life – for himself ‘What must I do?’ he isn’t asking, as a ruler, how best he can serve his people.

The point of the story is that even those who have much, and believe they are blessed by God may not be being very good. They may be merely feeding their ego.
Jesus’ response to the original question is that only God is good.
Now, as you know the Fruits of the Spirit are not a list of the things we must strive for, but the consequences of allowing God so deeply into our lives that we naturally do his will. And for us to be Good, to be God like (it comes from the same root) once again we are called to let go of the ego, to allow the Holy Spirit into the whole of our lives, and to endeavour to discern and practice the will of God.

Not as easy as it sounds, and again the story comes to our aid.
the rich young ruler went away sad when he was encouraged to sell up and follow Jesus because his heart was where his treasure is. But the story does not finish there.  Jesus goes on to how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven, and his hearers said then who can be saved, to which Jesus replies “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

On our own we can’t be full of virtue and get everything right. We fall short time and again, and quite often we are led astray by that ego inside that convinces us that we know best.
Jesus is aware of this. All through his ministry and teaching he sheds the voice of ego, but he never leaves us alone. He replaces the ego with ‘The Comforter’ – the Holy Spirit, and that is the true presence that will bring us not only joy, but all of the Fruits of the Spirit.

To live our best lives, our fullest lives, we just need to let the Holy Spirit in.

Bless you,

Have a good Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist tomorrow, and we will speak soon.

As Ever,

Fr Marcus