The rich young man who asked Jesus “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” was probably a good person by the standards of his day. He claimed to have kept all the commandments from his youth. But he was looking for the very minimum that he could get by with. In today’s jargon he was a “minimalist.” The young man had many possessions. When Jesus told him to sell what he had and give to the poor, he probably thought Jesus was being extreme and walked away sad. Jesus did not rush after him to offer him an easier way. Jesus actually told him the minimum that he, and we, must do to gain eternal life.
When we recognize and accept that all we have, all we are, all we ever will be comes from God and belongs to God, at the very minimum we must acknowledge that we have nothing of our own to sell, but much of what belongs to God to enjoy and share with others. As Catholics we do that by giving of our talents, abilities and gifts, including time and resources, to and through our parish community.
