Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Tone 3; The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary; Kievan-Caves Icon of the Mother of God (1073), and Zaranytsia
1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 19:16-26; Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28
Feast of the Mother of God. Mother of God. Holy day of obligation
Read Matthew 19:16-26
“When the young man heard this, he went away sad.”
It seems as if Jesus and the young, rich man do not have a very fruitful conversation. Jesus tells the young man to sell everything he has and then follow Him. The young man cannot do it. He walks away and neither gives up his riches nor does he follow Jesus.
And yet… Perhaps not all is lost. The young man went away sad. Sometimes sadness may be a good thing. A good sadness would be a sadness of repentance. But also another kind of good sadness would be a realization that one does not have the strength to do what is right.
If the young man is sad because he is aware how attached he is to his riches, then that could be just the beginning of a fruitful, spiritual journey.