WORD 2day

19th August, 2013

While we were in the period of initial formation as aspirants to priesthood, there used to be periodic assessment of behaviour and it used to be communicated to us in person by a one in charge of our formation. I remember a phrase that was often used - 'you have a lot of good will; but good will alone is not good enough!' It seems funny to look back and take note of that remark, but looking at our life and the way we live, very often that statement applies well to most of us. Like the young man in the Gospel today, who had so much of good will to inherit the Reign of God, found out from Jesus that, that alone was not going to be good enough! The Lord has great hopes on us, but we fail repeatedly to live up to that. The first reading presents to us a pattern of failures of Israel, not just an act of sin but a habit of sin, a regular falling short of their call. But the Lord never gave up on them, God offers them opportunities after opportunities to return to their glorious calling - to be God's chosen people! God never gives up on us, God has great hopes on us and invites us to "Go... give up all that tends to replace God... and return and follow the Lord!"