In Jesus all things are possible. Grace is stronger than sin. But we need to be much more than half-hearted. God's Kingdom of love is all or nothing. Let us pray with all our hearts that we may be drawn by God's love (the power of the Holy Spirit) to desire and seek "the things that are above," where our lives are hidden in God through Christ Jesus.

Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 28:1-10

Deuteronomy 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab

M atthew 19:23-30  And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (24) Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (25) When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" (26) But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (27) Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" (28) Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (29) And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. (30) But many that are first will be last, and the last first.

Meditation by  Bert Thelen, S.J.

T oday's readings call us almost irresistibly to look carefully at the relation between faith in God and worldly success.  The Prophet Ezekiel holds up the fabulously rich and prosperous Island City of Tyre as an example of an arrogant community for whom wealth has become a god. It is idolatry personified!

After reading this prophecy of the utter destruction of those who serve money rather than the living God, it should not surprise us to hear Jesus say that riches are an almost insurmountable obstacle to attaining eternal life. If we have it all here and now, there is nothing left for us hereafter.

We become what we seek, what we serve, what we worship.  So a bloody and disastrous end to all our futile efforts to make ourselves immune from human frailty and mortality by amassing treasures on this earth is inevitable. Is earthly security and prosperity and good fortune really worth the sacrifice of our true self?

I think my prayer today should be a careful examination of my attitude toward and use of worldly goods.  Am I serving God or money?  (Or, rather, am I winning the battle to do this?)  Am I in pursuit of heavenly treasures or earthly comforts?  Am I willing to leave everything behind for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel?  Am I willing to be  last now in order to be first to enter eternal life?  Do I fully trust the promises of God?

In Jesus all things are possible. Grace is stronger than sin.  But we need to be much more than half-hearted.  God's Kingdom of love is all or nothing. Let us pray with all our hearts that we may be drawn by God's love (the power of the Holy Spirit) to desire and seek "the things that are above," where our lives are hidden in God through Christ Jesus.  For, in the clear and strong words of Jesus, "What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of the eternal self?"

Supplementary Reading

Taking Out the Trash

In the first year of his reign...He opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. And He said, '...sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the Holy place. ...So, there was great joy...for since the time of Solomon...there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.' -2 Chronicles 29:3,5, 30:26 

In each of our short lives, we see and experience such a limited piece of history. Two days ago, I was reading the book of 2nd Chronicles in the Bible, chapters 29-32. Thousands of years span the gap between Adam and Eve and the actual life of Jesus Christ. This span includes Noah, the Flood, Joseph and his coat of many colors, Egyptian slavery, Moses, David and Goliath, etc. – many, many stories that most of us have heard from Old Testament Jewish history. For the most part, we assume that all of this Jewish history is structured around their daily devotion, dedication, and faith in God.

My recent reading was of one of King David's descendents, Hezekiah, who became king of Israel in approximately 600 B.C. All of the stories in Chronicles cover, briefly, the succession of the kings from Solomon, David's son.

Most of the time, each king is introduced as "...and king (name) did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." But, Hezekiah was different - "...he did what was right in the sight of the Lord..." (2nd Chronicles 29:2). He reestablished all of the Jewish temple traditions, including Passover, which had been ignored by the Jews for thousands of years. King Hezekiah actually cleans out the Temple (it had become a storeroom) and reinstitutes Jewish traditional worship. God blesses and honors King Hezekiah and those who follow his Godly example even though the Assyrians will soon take over Jerusalem capturing the entire Jewish nation.

Hezekiah knew the powerful Assyrian army was at the gate. He knew that tomorrow had no assurances. But, more importantly, he knew that his life, and the lives of his people, dedicated to God's service and glory, provided assurances that no earthly realm or kingdom can EVER provide, contain, or guarantee.

Lord, I seek to dedicate my life, and the lives of those I love, to You. I often allow my life to become cluttered with rubbish that takes my attention off You. Show me, today, an area that I can clean up. Amen.

Are there areas in your spiritual soul that you need to rededicate to God, today? Your body, including your mind, is a temple to God – are there storerooms in yours that are currently heaped with "trash"? - Jim Coleman

GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.

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