What does it mean for us to surrender our lives to God?
Mark 10:17-22
Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.' And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.' Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, 'There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
The young man thought he could do something to secure his place in heaven, something within his means and comfort level. He wants the kingdom of heaven but he wants to achieve it on his own strength. But Jesus is asking him to rely on God, to stop 'doing' and start 'being'. It is not what he needs to do, but where he needs to be: following Jesus. Like the young man, we have our 'riches': a job; a steady income; a car; savings plans; career plans; clothes; gadgets; etc. These give us our security, and then we think about serving God.
Fr Ron Rolheiser tells us that we are missing the point: "What God wants from us is not a million acts of virtue, but a million acts of surrender, culminating in one massive surrender of soul, mind, and body... And that is the key, salvation can only be given us. It can never be taken, earned, or possessed by right... What tips God’s hands is helplessness, surrender in grace... I suspect that all of us understand part of this: No amount of material or physical wealth will give us heaven. However, what Jesus is saying, and what is harder for us to grasp, is that no amount of virtue, either, will give us heaven. Heaven is given us not for anything we possess but when we surrender everything we possess."
("The Way of Surrender", 31 July 1997)
Reflection:
- In what areas of my life do I depend on my own strength? Why?
- Am I able to drop what I have at an instant and follow God, if he calls? Am I able to hear his voice?
Romans 12:2
Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
It is my heart that needs to be changed first. Surrendering to God is not a one-off event; it is a daily conversion exercise. It is changing my behaviour, gradually, not always successfully, sometimes regressing or off-track, but surely looking towards Jesus.
Thomas Merton wrote, "We are not converted only once in our lives but many times, and this endless series of large and small conversions, inner revolutions, leads to our transformation in Christ."
Reflection:
- When are the times when I am inclined to follow the world?
Matthew 26:39
And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed. 'My Father,' he said, 'if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.'
Jesus acknowledges his fears before his Father. He does not try to suppress nor deny these, but prays for the strength to do his Father's will. His heart is with his Father first and foremost. We also need to first come to terms with ourselves and our sinfulness. We cannot surrender to God what we do not have. Neither will we find fulfillment through merely 'using our gifts and talents'.
Surrender to God does not equate to doing nothing. On Wednesday, we read about the selection of Matthias (Acts 1:21-26) where Peter laid out some criteria for selection of Judas' replacement, and names were nominated. What is important for us to note is that the community then went into prayer and then cast lots for the selection, leaving the final decision to God. We still need to take an active role in our spiritual life, but only because we desire to grow closer to God. At the end, we still need to be obedient to God, to find our freedom (Pope Francis, 11 April 2013).
Reflection:
- How do I pray in the face of difficulty? What is it that I ask God for?
Have a blessed week ahead!
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