Wisdom 7:7-11 / Hebrews 4:12-13 / Mark 10:17-30
Whenever we talk about the reality, we would usually think about what we are able to perceive with our senses.
So, the most obvious reality would be what is physical and material, and essentially that would be what we are able to see, hear, touch, smell and taste.
And when it comes to persons, we would usually apply the same means to come to an assessment of a person.
So, for persons, there would be psychological tests, aptitude tests, IQ tests or exams, and other scientific as well as medical tests.
No doubt, these tests show results, and these results can indicate the physical and mental state of a person. But that is only one dimension of the reality of a person.
Because faith tells us that there is another dimension and that is the spiritual and mystical dimension.
Data and facts show the physical states of the reality.
But faith opens us to the spiritual dimension of the reality, so that we will be able to comprehend the whole reality.
In the gospel, we heard of a man who ran up to Jesus, knelt before Him and put this question before Him: Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
That man is certainly sincere and he had the faith to know that that is an eternal life and he desired for it.
Jesus could see his sincerity and He looked steadily at him and loved him.
Jesus also saw something in that man and so He addressed that matter when He told him: Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come and follow me.
But that man's face fell at those words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
It seems like for that man, there are two realities, the physical and material reality, and the spiritual reality.
But when Jesus connected the two realities into one, the man could not comprehend or accept it.
Yes, it takes faith and wisdom to know that that is only one reality and it has a physical as well as a spiritual dimension.
When we can comprehend that and accept that, then we will know how to connect one dimension to the other.
When the physical and spiritual dimensions of life are connected, then life would be how it should be lived, and that is being connected with God and with one another.
There is this story of “The Paper House that could produce money” and it has something to teach us.
After the exams, a Primary 5 class organized an outing. Each classmate paid $5 and a total of $200 was collected from a class of 40 students.
The money was collected and kept by the class monitor, who was pleasant and well-mannered girl.
But that day she cried. Because she had put the money under her desk, but when she returned after the PE lesson, the money was gone.
She felt responsible for the loss and she couldn't be able to replace it, and she cried her heart out.
The co-teacher was furious and she said, “Someone from this class must have stolen the money. I am going to conduct a search on each of you.”
Just as she was about to start, the form teacher said, “Wait a minute, let me ask a special paper house for help. It will help us to find back the money.”
The form teacher took out a piece of paper and started to fold it into a house, complete with a window.
She said, “Now, each one of you will be given one minute alone in the classroom with this paper house. Touch the paper house and ask it to help us find back the money.”
The students then stepped out of the classroom and each was given a minute to spend with that paper house.
At the end of this, all the students got back in the classroom. The form teacher put her hand into the paper house and took out a stack of money.
The full sum of $200 was recovered. The class cheered. In a corner, sat a little boy with a grateful heart. The boy was grateful to the little paper house. The paper house had saved him from the mark of shame and guilt.
So, on the one hand there was a theft, and the culprit must be caught and punished. That is the truth. That is the reality.
But on the other hand, the one who stole the money could have done it in a moment of folly, but he must be given the opportunity to learn the lesson in a gentle way. That is love. That is also the reality.
When truth and love are connected, then there will be compassion and forgiveness, there will be kindness and gentleness.
When there is truth and love, God will be there, and what is impossible for man is not impossible for God.