As we come to know the person of Jesus through the revelation of Sacred Scripture, especially the Word of God revealed in the Gospels, we come to understand that Jesus sees things differently than other persons see them.  Jesus sees not only the surface appearance of things but he sees things in depth.  Jesus sees the world with the eyes of his Father, God.  The prophet Samuel reveals the depth of the vision of God to us:  “But the Lord said to Samuel:  “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” (1Sam 16,7) Nothing is hidden from God.  What is hidden in mystery to us is plainly seen by God.  The poet George Herbert declares:  “God sees hearts as we see faces.”  Jesus is able to see things clearly, face to face, heart to heart, just as the Father sees them.  In his encounters with human persons, Jesus very quickly gets to the “heart of the matter.”

    When a rich, young man runs up to Jesus and asks him about inheriting eternal life, Jesus immediately moves the conversation into the depths and tests the heart of this bold, young man.   He establishes the parameters of his response to this inquiry when he quickly points out that, “No one is good but God alone.” (Mk 10,18)  The rich, young man is living a good life but will this entitle him to the gift of eternal life?  Being rich and privileged can easily lull persons into believing that they are entitled to receive whatever they set their will on.  In a sense, they are “buying a stairway to heaven.”  The illusion is that no doors are closed to those who are rich and powerful in life.  Jesus has a different perspective on the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus points to the Law and the Commandments and the young man confesses that he has observed the Commandments from his youth.  Will a formal observance of the Commandments earn a person a place in God’s Kingdom?  Jesus looks deeper into the heart of this young man and finds that there is something missing there.  On the surface, in all appearances, the young man has kept an external observance of the Commandments taught to him but he has yet to come to an internal conformity to those Commandments.  The young man is lacking in true character.

    In looking into his heart, Jesus does not look at this young man with judgment and condemnation but rather he looks at him in love.  “Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mk 10,21)  Jesus knows that this young man is capable of greater things but he has not yet discovered his true self and what is really most valuable in life.  The true test of a person’s character lies in what they value most.  This young man still valued his possessions more than he valued the love of God.  The possessions that he had were all a gift and grace of God.  They truly did not belong to him alone but were meant to be shared.  There is no greater treasure than the grace of God.  In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus cautions us:  “But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Mt 6,19ff)  Jesus knows where our hearts are and where they need to be.  What this young man was lacking in his heart was mercy.  Jesus invites this young man into his heart of mercy for truly as St. Paul reminds us:  “It is Christ in you, the hope for glory.” (Col 1,27)  Our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven does not depend merely upon our willing it or our external works as Paul says:  “So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy.” (Rom 9,16)  Jesus as the Eternal Word of God is able to discern the thoughts of the heart, a person’s true character:  “Brothers and sisters:  Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword…able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.  No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” (Heb 4,12f)

    Jesus, looking around at the hearts of all of his disciples, says to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!…For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.  All things are possible for God.”  Ignatius of Loyola is attributed as saying, “Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon you.”  It is easy to get caught up in a false, new pelagianism as Pope Francis pointed out in his exhortation, Gaudium et Exultate:  “Still, some Christians insist on taking another path, that of justification by their own efforts, the worship of the human will and their own abilities.  The result is a self-centered and elitist complacency, bereft of true love.” (GE,57)  How hard it is to break away from our self-reliance and place our trust in God!  Like the young man we can get caught up in the trap of our own sense of self-sufficiency and self-will and sadly walk away from Jesus with an empty heart.  Do what Jesus asks of you, even if it costs you everything, and you will have the hundredfold reward in heaven!