Today's reading includes three examples of stewardship: the rich young man, Zacchaeus, and Mary of Bethany. The rich young man had kept most of the the commandments pretty well throughout his life, but one thing stood between him and Jesus: his wealth. This is why Jesus told him to give it to the poor and then follow him. Sadly, the young man wouldn't do this.
In contrast to him are two very good examples of stewardship. Zacchaeus' faith in Jesus led him to repent of his greed and his cheating people out of their money. His faith was demonstrated in his actions of restoring to those he cheated four times what he had taken and giving half his possessions to the poor, and Jesus commended him.
Mary revealed her faith by anointing him for burial ahead of his upcoming crucifixion using perfume that was worth more than a year's wages. Whether or not she fully understood what she had done before Jesus commended her, she has gone down in the history of Christianity as the person who gave Jesus' body the anointing he deserved but which he wouldn't adequately receive due to his rushed burial.
Zacchaeus and Mary not only understood that possessions were used well when used to praise God, but they also trusted God's promise to provide for their needs (Matthew 6:33) as they made such large gifts.
The commentaries say that in the case of the rich young man, Jesus told him to give all he had to the poor because this was what was standing in the way of the man’s faith in Jesus. Is Jesus saying you need to give all you have to the poor to be his follower? No. However it dawned on me that Christians do, by the power of the Holy Spirit, strive to give all they have to the cause of Jesus—firstfruits to him and the remainder managed in a God-pleasing way to care for family, others, and yourself.
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