28th Sunday Ordinary Time Cycle B                                                        
Wisdom 7:7-11, Hebrews 4:12-13,
Gospel of Mark 10:17-
30                                                                                                                        
So if we’re going to sell all that we have, how do we do it? Do we place an ad in the
newspaper? Seriously now; Jesus doesn’t give any advice to the main character in
this Gospel on how to get rid of all his possessions! So do we create a web page and
then place an advertisement in the newspaper regarding the web page of items for
sale? Or maybe I can have a yard sale where I can sell my Civil War books valued at
many thousands of dollars, and sell them for a few hundred bucks. We know those
who go to yard sales don’t pay more than three dollars for any item. I know that
because I’m one of them. Or maybe I can get a 30 second spot on television during the
World Series when undoubtedly the RED SOX are playing some National League
opponent. And in 30 seconds I can get thousands of people to come by and I can sell
all that I have. Now, how realistic does all this
sound?                                                                        
Yet, that’s what Jesus proposes the man does in the Gospel! Is Jesus asking this
person to so something impossible? Go, take out an ad, create a web page, have a
yard sale, buy a 30 second spot, and get rid of everything you own. And it doesn’t stop
there! After everything is gone, and you’ve paid off all your credit card bills, and
settled all your IOU’s, and the only things left in your home are you and that ugly
cuckoo clock you couldn’t even give away, throw the clock in the nearest dumpster,
and then go and follow Jesus.                                                                                                 
You know what that’s called? It’s called bare-bones following. It’s called bare-bones
spirituality. And we could all use a portion of bare bones following in our relationship
with Jesus Christ. Where no material, created, or physical thing comes between God
and us. Not quite the televangelist form of worship now, is it?                        
As we all know, this is much easier preached than it is accomplished. I’m sure most
everyone here – and out there – are in the same spot as I am regarding bare bones
following; meaning we haven’t arrived at a satisfactory point where we can say about
our lives, “Lord, I give it all to you.” It seems like we’re forever working on this type of
spirituality, doesn’t it? Where nothing – no-thing in the created order– gets planted
between us and God.                                                                                
I give a couple examples of where Jesus is trying to take us in this Gospel. The 1st
one is St. Francis, who renounced his inheritance, even his clothes, and goes naked
in the square. He gave away everything, except his humanity, and embraced Christ.
And also St Elizabeth of Hungary, the Queen of Hungary who saw no lasting reward in
her position and riches, thus giving them away. Just a couple examples of people
whose love for poverty –yes, a love for poverty, which we have a hard time imagining,
removed any struggle in their bare bones following of
Christ.                                               
So what about the man in this Gospel story who comes up to Jesus? He’s obviously a
wonderful guy. He’s like Big Papi; everybody loves him, except for Yankees fans. He
kneels down in front of Jesus in the form of worship. He asks Jesus a genuine, good-
hearted question. We come to find out he’s kept all the commandments. What he
wants is eternal life. What he wants is the fulfillment of time in his life. So Jesus comes
back to him with ultimate simplicity for the ultimate condition. “You want eternal life?
Sell everything you have and give it away.” Ultimate simplicity for the ultimate
condition.                                                                                                
But in the midst of this story, we find out the one flaw this man has.               
It’s nearly impossible to live a life of ultimate simplicity when one’s spirituality, or
lifestyle, is along the lines of lobster and filet 7 days a week. (Unfortunately, I know
some priests who embrace this lifestyle). What’s missing in this man’s life is a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich. The poor man’s sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly
spirituality. Jesus says to the man, “Where’s the peanut butter and jelly spirituality in
your life? Where’s the embracing and the love of
poverty?”                                                         
The more peanut butter and jelly spirituality we embrace in our lives, the less we
struggle with the goods of creation. And the less we struggle with the goods of the
earth, the freer our hearts become to take on the image of
Christ.                                               
We know most everyone one of us is not going to sell everything we own. We do our
best to follow Christ with all that we own, do we not? But the question for us is,
“Where in our lives is our peanut butter and jelly spirituality? Where in our lives do
we embrace poverty? Where do we embrace the ultimate simplicity for the ultimate
condition? Do we have at least a portion of St. Francis and St Elizabeth in our
lives?”               
If you’re not there yet, I join your company. But let’s keep working on a deeper level of
bare bones following. Of peanut butter and jelly spirituality. For that, we don’t need a
newspaper ad, or a web site, or a yard sale, or a 30 second spot during the course of
the Red Sox winning the World Series. Rather, be in tune with the Spirit of God, Who
leads us into the land of poverty. Don’t be afraid to have a side that is poor. It will
make us rich.