James and John approach the Teacher.  And the Teacher knows the best way to give the disciple a better understanding of their own heart is to ask them to reveal their desire (s).

As soon as Jesus hears their 'desire', He knows they don't quite understand Him yet. They want it all and all Jesus has to offer is a cup of sorrow that becomes a saving cup. His invitation to a life lived in genuine loving service to others, of suffering for the sake of justice, and of losing in order to find, make it clear that death and resurrection are a package deal.

Spiritual and Social climbers tend to upset other spiritual and social climbers!  The fantasy of being first has a tendency to make someone else feel they are the last. When life becomes a competition, someone looks higher than someone else.  Those on top push around those beneath them. This is not the way of the new humanity which Jesus is bringing to birth.

Disciples touch their true greatness when their presence is gentle, healing, liberating, compassionate, loving and life giving - and through these activities others are set free from what hurts, debases,  imprisons and kills them.

The Buddha taught that for those who are overcome by ego, suffering spreads like wild grass.  Those who overcome ego open a doorway to a larger, eternal world.  As they go, their steps leave no trace.

The Golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"' holds good but looks easier than it is.  The invitation of the prophets - This is what God asks of you, that you act justly, that you love tenderly that you walk humbly  -  is even more of a challenge.  But there is only one way to find out if what Jesus is saying is true and that's to dive in and try the water.  This week, when as a parish community, we try to embrace a more vibrant commitment to justice, peace and social responsibility, this Teaching supports us to take the next step together and not leave it for others.

The running man is eager.  The kneeling man is respectful.  The questioning man is sincere. He calls Jesus 'Good Teacher'.  Jesus gently reminds him that, if he has an eye to eternal life, he will have to focus on the goodness of God. 

But the seekers mind is distracted.  He still thinks of his  life in terms of behaviour and reward.  Jesus reminds him of the Charter for Justice, listing the foundational good works.  The seeker doesn't need reminding.  He knows them and has kept them since his 'youth'.  Here's the clue.  Now we know we are in the company of someone who never really grew up. His religious life is only eagerness, energy and ego.  Of all the ways to look at someone, gazing is probably best.  So Jesus doesn't glare at him.

Then, suddenly,  the Teacher suggests something new - treasure in heaven. What! Indeed, let me say it again, the seeker must value first his relationship with God, and the pathway to this is to give away his wealth to the poor.  What! When he hears this he is shocked and bereaved.  The disciples who have been watching this encounter are also shocked and bereaved. 

So what about us? The drive to own and possess people and things is deep in all of us.  At least our possessions offer the illusion of safety. But the need to stay safe has turned many to ruthless injustice and unimaginable cruelty.  Instead the Teacher invites us to blend our sense of time and eternity.  We must never allow what we own to own us, or to identify so fully with what we think we have that our hearts are closed to God and to those who suffer.

In the 19th century, a tourist from the States visited the famous polish rabbi Hafez Hayyim.  He was astonished to see that the rabbis dwelling was a simple room filled with books.  The only furniture was a table and a bench.

"Rabbi, where is your furniture?" asked the tourist.
"Where is yours?" Replied Hafez.
"Mine? But I'm only a visitor here."
"So am I," said the rabbi.

In the Gospel of St John, the first words Jesus speaks are a question.  "What are you looking for?"  For St John, and therefore for us, these words are very important.  What might our answer be?   The question invites us to go to the deepest recesses of our hearts where The Beloved Son of God is waiting for us.  Perhaps they will always be His first words to us when we meet Him in prayer.

But in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus first word is 'Metanoia'.  This is usually translated very badly into the word, 'Repent'.  The word 'repent' sends us on a useless journey, agonising over our sins and failures, where we might miss His invitation completely.  Because .........

Metanoia is about putting on a new mind.  Metanoia is about finding our higher selves.  We understand that this is something that we cannot do without support.  The new mind that is powered by Love, needs to be filled with Love in order to see and act clearly.

I have been a priest for thirty-something years and I really enjoy weddings. Perhaps because it is here that we see the human person at their best.  Love has touched them in an astonishingly new way.  All the love which has been poured into them so far has been preparing them for this. The moment(s) when their awareness of their loneliness dissolves, and they emerge into a new consciousness.  Through the eyes of their beloved they begin to sense their connection to everything.

In the Catholic Service, this 'Rite of Passage' is framed in a form of words, and enclosed in circles of Gold.  The person glimpses that Love comes from the expected, and the most unexpected, places, and reaches for the words, 'for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health ......  To love and to cherish till death do us part'. They break open their hearts for each other, and for heaven, while promising not to break each other's hearts.

This is why Jesus doesn't really engage with questions of divorce.  When is it ok? What are good reasons for it? What about financial arrangements?  For Jesus, the language of divorce is a language of lost communion.  The One who has come to restore Communion wants it otherwise.