Letting Go

The week before Pentecost, we heard daily that "I must go away before the Spirit of Truth can come." Now, one step into Ordinary Time, and we hear, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!" Mk 12:25.

Why does following Jesus have to contain so many letting goes? Isn't it enough for us to come with a good heart and willing spirit, to set ourselves with determination toward the good things, to give with a generous and sincere heart?

I would venture to suggest that the letting go is a formula for a going out of ourselves. It is human nature to do what we do because it gives us a certain satisfaction. Jesus would like us to follow him simply because it is good and the right thing to do. Joy follows. But it cannot be the reason for our choices. Jesus must be.

When Jesus is not the reason for our choices, we fall by the wayside when such choices cause distrubances, suffering, pain. When we choose to follow Jesus, and our choice is not rewarded in the sense of fulfillment, we must pull from somewhere deeper to continue. That deeper place can only be found after we empty ourselves from the human satisfactions we live by.