Word to the Wise
Tuesday, August 17, 2021 - Tuesday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Judg 6:11-24a and Matt 19:23-30]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." [Matthew]
August 17 - St. Hyacinth of Poland, O.P.
Peter's question to Jesus follows on Jesus' comments in the wake of his encounter with the rich young man in yesterday's gospel passage. Jesus remarked how difficult it is for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. This astounded the disciples because, like most in their time, they believed great wealth was a sign of God's favor. Jesus turns that notion on its head. But then additional questions arise. Does Jesus mean this rather radical dispossession to apply to everyone, i.e. leaving "everything" and following him in an itinerant and poor ministry in the villages of Galilee and elsewhere?
The broader perspective of this teaching is eschatological. One might read the parable of the final judgment in Ch. 25:31-45 first before reading Jesus; comments about wealth as an obstacle. Yes, there will be some who decide to follow Jesus more "closely" by a radical dispossession of goods in order to preach the gospel more fully, but that will not be possible for many who have responsibilities that are part of everyday Christian life. We are all called to evaluate the role of material wealth in our lives and how it helps or hinders our faith. Jesus implies that the presumption of "hindering" is a good one to start from. Is there any material good that is more important to us than our faith in terms of living out the daily demands of the gospel? The rich young man was saddened by Jesus' challenge because he was attached to his possessions. Do we own our stuff or does our stuff own us? That question can shape the way we respond to Jesus' challenge! AMEN