What Must I Do? When was the last time eagerness welled up in us causing us to “run” toward something? Certainly when labor begins for a couple having their first child, they may literally “run” to the hospital eager to welcome this new life into the world. We tend to be most eager and run toward something when what we seek is significant for us. In our Gospel today, a man runs up to Jesus; it doesn’t say he sauntered or walked or simply approached. He ran. This gives us a sense that there is urgency. And his question reveals that urgency, “what must I do to inherit eternal life”? His demeanor changes when Jesus, looking at him with live for keeping the commandments, challenges him to one thing further- give up everything and follow Jesus to enter the kingdom of God. His eagerness turns to sadness. He had many possessions. Unfortunately those possessions possessed him. Following Jesus demands that we choose not to be possessed by things, but by Jesus himself. To be possessed by Jesus we must giver up our greatest possession: our very selves. Then Jesus looks upon us with great love. Dispossessing ourselves of things – distractions, worries, self-centeredness, busyness, helps our hearts set rightly on eternal life.