Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Today’s Gospel reading is a hard one for many. In today’s reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle. Indeed it would be impossible indeed for a camel, large as camels are, to go through the tiny eye of a needle. Some have interpreted this in light of the location, “Eye of the Needle,” which indeed camels are unable to pass through because it is too narrow. Other scholars point out that in Greek the word for camel and rope are spelled the exact same way, the only difference being the placement of the accent mark, absent from all the early manuscripts. Thus, the saying would read, a rope going through the eye of a needle. Regardless of what is intended, all three are difficult if not impossible. It is not the money itself that makes it difficult for someone who is rich from entering heaven, but wealth certainly is an obstacle. The reason why is fairly simple. The wealthier we are, the less we tend to focus on eternity, the more we tend to focus on ourselves, on gaining more wealth, on the earthly and temporal. If you read the immediate context for Jesus’ statement in today’s reading, you find that a rich man did in fact approach Jesus and desired to follow Him, but Jesus was too demanding for this rich man. This man’s wealth became the obstacle to his following Jesus.

Understanding Jesus’ statement and how stark and bleak the situation is, the disciples ask Him who can be saved then? Jesus’ response is very clear: on one’s own no one can be saved. It is impossible to save oneself. We might call this the bad news. No one can save themselves. Jesus does not leave them with the bad news however, rather He provides them with the good news too, the Gospel. Jesus explains that what is impossible for us is possible for God. Even though none of us could be saved on our own, we are not on our own. God is on our side. It is God who will save us. What for us seems impossible, is possible for God.

Let us take some time to pray today about what obstacles stand in our way hindering our relationship with God. Then let’s pray about what we can do so that these things are no longer obstacles. Perhaps there are things we need to cut out of our life. Perhaps there are areas we need to change but we need to seek out help in order to change them. Perhaps we simply need to take a new perspective on things. Above all, don’t despair. No matter how difficult the situation, no matter what obstacles we face, God is there to help us. What for us seems impossible, is not impossible for God. Let’s turn to God and seek out the help we need so that we can live the abundant life in Christ that God desires us to experience.

Jeff Morrow