TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010 - TWENTIETH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

  EZEKIEL 28:1-10 

    The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, “A god am I! I Occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!”
    And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel, there is no secret that is beyond you. By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have put gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great wisdom applied to your trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches, therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god, Therefore I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea. Will you then say, “I am a god!” when you face your murderers? No, you are man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners, for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD. 

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MATTHEW 19:23-30
         
       Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven.  Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
       When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"
       Jesus looked at them and said, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
       Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you.  What will there be for us?"
       Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
                                      
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Today's Gospel reading continues yesterday's theme of the problem with making wealth your priority in life.  After the rich young man walks away in sadness, Jesus tells the disciples that it will be hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven, as difficult as a camel going through the eye of a needle.  This is an important image Jesus is using.  In the wall surrounding Jerusalem, there is a passage way that was known in the time of Christ as the 'eye of the needle' because of its shape.  The entrance way was so small that for a camel to get through it all the baggage and possessions on its back had to be removed.  The camel was then forced to go on its knees and crawl through the entrance that way.

Jesus isn't saying that possessions are bad or that wealth, by itself, is evil.  He is telling us that we must be willing to leave it behind if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  He is telling us that we must be detached from all our possessions and wealth.  The rich young man's problem was not his wealth but his attachment to it.  His very identity was caught up in his possessions.  Jesus is telling us that we must be willing to leave it all behind if necessary to follow him. More than that, he is telling us that we must be detached from our possessions while we are using them.  Our wealth and our possessions must be seen not as ours to cling to but gifts from God to be shared.  If we are blessed with a good job and plenty of money to cover our necessities, we should strive to live more simply so that more of our wealth will be available to assist those in need, and to assist the work of the Church.

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Lord Jesus, help me to use the gifts you have given me to assist those in the mission to build your Kingdom.  May I never cling so close to my possessions that I am not able to let go of them to follow you more closely and share with those I meet. 

Deacon Ed