Transcript

Speaker 1: If you wish to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.

Speaker 2: Welcome back to Scripture for your inner outcasts. It's August 17th, 2026, Monday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time. Today's guest presenter is doctor Jerry Crete. He's a clinical psychologist with his own practice, Transfiguration Counseling, based in Atlanta.

Speaker 1: Hey there it is so good to be with you. Let's step into the gospel reading today. This is the rich young man. It's interesting because, you know, this young man runs up to Jesus. A few other gospel accounts. It says that he ran or knelt. There's an eagerness, right? He's really hungry. He's excited. He says, teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life? And it's so interesting how Jesus meets with him in this. He says he doesn't shame him for his ambition or his earnestness. He says, keep the commandments. And then Jesus lists them, don't kill. Don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, all that. And the young man says, well, all of these I have observed, what do I still lack? And so this is such an interesting question to me. What do I still lack? Isn't that one of the most poignant questions a human art can ask? Here is someone who's done everything right. By every external measure, he has succeeded. And yet there's still an ache. There is still an exile inside of him, whispering, this isn't enough. Something is still missing. Well, I think so many of us have a managerial part, just like this young man. A part that has worked so hard to follow all of the rules. He meets all the expectations. He checks the boxes, yet he still feels this hollow, nagging sense of what do I still lack? That part of him has done everything it was told without that would bring peace.

Speaker 1: And peace still hasn't really arrived. That's a pretty exhausting place to live. And Jesus tells us. And the other gospel says with a look of love, you know, that's actually what it says in Mark. Jesus looked at him and loved him, which is so interesting. And he says, the hardest thing, if you wish to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. And this is the heartbreaking part. It says, when the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. He didn't go away angry or defiant. He went away sad. Ah. I think this sadness deserves some compassion. I think the young man had an exile inside of him, a part that had attached his whole sense of safety, identity and worth to what he possesses. And maybe these possessions represent years of hard work. Maybe they represent his family's legacy or security against frightening and, you know, an uncertain world, kind of a proof that he matters. Jesus in love is inviting him to let a protector step aside. The part that says, you need all of this to be safe, to be someone to be enough so that a truer, freer part of him can finally follow. But that invitation is just too much.

Speaker 1: It's too soon, and he can't do it. Jesus noticed this. He doesn't chase him. He doesn't shame him. He doesn't lower the bar either. To make it easier. He lets him walk away sad. Now he's still loved. The door is still open. I think a lot of you know, many of us know this, this sadness, right? We know what that feels like. The sadness of standing at a threshold where we can feel somewhere deep down that there is a truer freedom being offered. But the cost feels like more than we can bear to pay today. Maybe it's not literal possessions, you know. For you, maybe it's an identity we've, you know, we've built or a role that you play or a way of being in control. Maybe it's a relationship, you know, isn't life giving, but feels safer than the unknown. And when the invitation to let it go comes even from this God of love, even with the look of genuine love on the face of the person asking, we still walk away sad because our attached parts aren't ready yet. So I want to, you know you to hear something important here. Walking away sad doesn't mean you're disqualified from love. It doesn't mean the invitation closes forever. It means right now a part of you needs more time, more trust, maybe more evidence that it will be safe to let go.

Speaker 2: Have you ever watched a movie and thought this says a lot about my parts? This is an exploration of parts. Well, doctor Jerry writes movie reviews about current movies and analyzes them from an if's perspective. His most recent movie review is on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and you can find it linked in the description of today's show.

Speaker 1: As Mary, our mother. Untier of knots. Pray for us, Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist pray for us.