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[Finding Hope in God’s Kingdom] Day 35 – A Stumbling Block to Finding Hope
- 2025/04/13
- 再生時間： 14 分
- ポッドキャスト
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サマリー
あらすじ・解説
During the previous day’s retreat, we explored the following questions: “Where do we invest our energy and life? What exactly are we asking of God?” Today, we continue this topic.I hope you still remember that we previously talked about the Gospel story of the rich young man (cf. Matthew 19:16–26). After that story, there’s a short episode that is also worth reflecting on. The rich young man, unwilling to part with his possessions, failed to respond to Jesus' call and went away grieving.Jesus then said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:23–27)Peter then spoke up and said to Jesus: “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27) (cf. Mark 10:28)Jesus answered: “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29–30)Here we see that even Peter, the chief of the apostles, couldn’t help but ask Jesus what the reward would be for following Him. Jesus wasn’t the least bit offended or displeased by the question. He didn’t rebuke Peter but instead responded seriously. His answer shows that if someone is willing to generously give up everything for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel, not only will they gain eternal life, but they will also receive a hundredfold reward even in this life! Of course, not everyone is called to give up everything to follow Jesus. But Jesus’ response teaches us that if we’re willing to let go of material things and worldly pleasures for His sake, God will never treat us unfairly in this life, in fact, He will reward us abundantly. In short, if we are generous with God, He will be even more generous with us. He is never outdone in generosity!You might have noticed that Jesus even included “persecutions” as part of the reward! You may be thinking: No way!This isn’t because Jesus purposely wants to make life hard for us. It’s because He knows that anyone who truly follows Him will face some level of rejection, resistance, opposition, exclusion, or even hatred and persecution from the world. This is actually unreasonable treatment, but because the followers love the Lord so deeply that they are willing to endure all kinds of persecution for His sake. This is why St. Paul the apostle firmly said in his second letter to Timothy, chapter 3, verse 12, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” This ties into what we discussed earlier, how suffering on our earthly pilgrimage is something that benefits us spiritually.Let us remind ourselves once again that the foundation of the virtue of hope is trust in Christ’s promises. Our level of trust in God is reflected in how willing we are to let go of our dependence on worldly things, and how much we are willing to surrender our “possessions” in order to choose God. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)If our hearts are not with God, then we are not living in the Kingdom of God. As Jesus warned His disciples, the more we trust in riches, and the more we accumulate and cling to, the harder it is to enter God’s Kingdom (cf. Mark 10:24).When we don’t yearn for or live in God’s Kingdom, we cannot find true hope. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines hope as follows: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1817)No wonder the rich young man, unable to let go, ended up losing his hope, went away grieving. (cf. Mark 10:22)ReflectionDo you have things in your life that you struggle to let go of, things that hinder you from responding to God’s call or seizing the opportunities He gives you? How would you like to begin changing that?Where do you want your reward and your treasure to be? What are you really seeking?Have you ever felt lost or even felt that your life has lost its meaning because you didn’t choose God or the path to His Kingdom? In prayer, ask God to show you the path He desires for you to take.Today’s PrayerLord Jesus Christ, thank You for once again drawing me into that moment of Your encounter with the rich young man, and ...