Saint Stephen Of Hungary

Ezekiel 28:1-10 
Matthew 19:23-30

There are times when I open the Scriptures and read the passages of the day, we become quite agitated. The Mass reading for today is one of those times. They are quite challenging. The first reading talks about arrogance and pride. It describes people who are well off thinking that their wealth and good fortune comes from having superior wisdom and intelligence. Soon, they think themselves superior than God!

Among the many teachings, we wish Jesus would retract, surely is today’s Gospel. It would be on the top list. In a culture that idolizes wealth, fame, and material possessions and teaches us to measure the meaning and success of our lives in light of them, to hear Jesus proclaim that it would be “easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye” than for a rich man or woman to set foot in the kingdom of God strikes us as both ridiculously and provocatively.

With lots of cash, many seem not to be worried. They forget the saying; more money more problem. With money in our pockets, many feel like life seems less risky. We can go where we want, and do what we want. The danger is that this type of material security, highly desirable in normal circumstances, can give us a false sense of spiritual security. We can make the serious mistake of thinking that the calm self-confidence engendered by the clink, or even better the rustle, of money in our pockets is the sign of a clear conscience, a tranquil soul. This would be a very serious piece of spiritual self-deception.

The other danger is that the things which money buys can easily take the edge off our hunger and thirst for the spiritual, the supernatural, and the practice of Christian virtues. The tiny eye of the slender needle which our flabby, materialistic and gadget-obsessed camel struggles to get through would be the uncompromisingly narrow gate to salvation which will not be negotiated on any terms but it’s own.

Ultimately, we have to put all our spiritual eggs into the one small but perfectly formed basket of salvation. So rich and poor alike, we must all ask ourselves frequently these questions:
What has won our heart, God or something else? What do we love more than anything else and most fear losing?
Have I created a maze for myself knowing fully well that I have been set free by Christ himself? Is the hope of heaven the most important driving force in the helter-skelter, roller-coaster, snakes-and-ladders adventure of daily life? Do I care more about the practice of the Christian faith than anything else in all the world? Are the teachings and worship of the Church more delightful to me than anything which my new hologram projector can entice me with?

Humility and Self-denial can help us break with lust of materialism. We shall find it hard sometimes, we may often fail. But with God, nothing is impossible.
Once we begin believing that only God is God, will we begin living as God’s loving children and realize our connectedness with the whole of creation and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to use money wisely, in ways that will further our spiritual progress, not hinder it. Then we shall have a better chance, albeit puffing and panting a little, of straining ourselves through the eye of that slender needle, the gateway to the kingdom.

For God all things are possible.

Fr. Joe
Credit:
This article is written by Rev Fr. Joseph Osho OSJ. Please visit his personal blog @ https://www.blogger.com/profile/10377666931103644634
For juicier articles.