Tuesday, 20 August 2024. Readings: Ezekiel 28:1-10, Deuteronomy 32:26-28,30,35-36, Matthew 19:23-30
“Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
In today’s Gospel passage, the disciples are astonished to hear Jesus say it is hard for the rich to enter Heaven. Is God against riches? Wasn’t Abraham the richest man on earth in his time? After Job’s trials, didn’t God restore his riches twice as much as he had before? Even Solomon, when God told him to ask for anything, and he asked only for wisdom, didn’t God add riches as well? Isn’t it the case that “the blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it”? (Prov. 10:22). Why would it be hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God?
1. Pride: Wealth makes us consider ourselves better than others. Addressing the prince of Tyre in today’s First reading, God says: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, …(yet you are but a man, and no god)… by your wisdom and your understanding, you have gotten wealth for yourself,’… therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘…I will bring strangers upon you, the most terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendour’” (Ezekiel 28:2-7). Wealth makes us think of ourselves as gods; since there is only one God in Heaven, we cannot compete with God.
2. Idolatry: To be idolatrous is to love created things more than God. As Jesus teaches us, the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, Cf. Deut. 6:5, 10:12, 13:3, Joshua 22:5, 1 Kings 8:23). Let us honestly ask ourselves: Is my desire for God greater than my desire for material riches and luxuries? Haven’t I made a god of my possessions? In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says: “Everyone who has left their houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29). Entering Heaven will be hard for anyone who worships their wealth.
3. Selfishness: The third reason Heaven is hard for the rich is selfishness, refusal to help those in need, yet wasting their resources. God is love. Heaven is a place where people love each other and think of the interests of others. If I cannot practice this love here on earth, it will be hard to learn in Heaven. In Matthew 25, Jesus describes Judgment Day: “Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me”” (Matthew 25:34-36)
Today, we remember St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He was born near Dijon, in France 1090, of a noble family. Bernard was a man of great holiness and wisdom, and although he was often in very poor health, he was active in many of the great public debates of the time. He strongly opposed the luxurious lives of some of the clergy and fought against the persecution of the Jews. He was also a prolific writer of an inspiring rather than a technical kind. The Church is always suffering from corruption and always being renewed. If St Bernard, so often ill, could take a leading part in this renewal, what excuse do we have?
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, give us the grace of humility and generosity. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saint Bernard, Abbot, Doctor. Bible Study: Ezekiel 28:1-10, Deuteronomy 32:26-28,30,35-36, Matthew 19:23-30).
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu