Tuesday,
August 20, 2019
20th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading:
Jdg 6: 11-24
Gospel:
Matthew 19:23-30
Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you: it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, believe me: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
On hearing this the disciples were astonished and said, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and answered, “For humans it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter spoke up and said, “You see we have given up everything to follow you: what will be our lot?”
Jesus answered, “You who have followed me, listen to my words: on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on his throne in glory, you, too, will sit on twelve thrones to rule the twelve tribes of Israel. As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for my Name’s sake, they will receive a hundredfold and be given eternal life. Many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The disciples were tasked to echo Jesus’ message about the nature of the kingdom of heaven. By way of parables Jesus had reiterated how narrow heaven’s gates are to accommodate those who fatten themselves up in worldly indulgence. As such preachers of a narrow-gated kingdom, the disciples had to be detached themselves if they were to be credible preachers. But even as Jesus was challenging them to detachment Peter had the nerves to inquire about what he could get from Jesus in return for following him. We squirm at what Peter did knowing that what he had given up were tattered fishing nets, dilapidated fishing boats and a nagging mother in law! There was no detachment to speak of. Peter may have even been a wager expecting a windfall from an insignificant bet.
There is a Peter in each of us that sticks its ugly head out even when we transact spiritual matters. When it comes to repentance, for example, many people repent for fear of the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. Only a few repent on the ground that God is good deserving all human love. Those who repent out of fear for the loss of heaven are still selfish and materialistic in a sense. Real repentance happens only when we stop thinking of what we can get in return.
If earthly attachment can spoil the decisions of spiritual leaders like Peter, imagine its clout over ordinary mortals like us. Let us heed Jesus’ call to detachment lest we fatten ourselves through indulgence in illegitimate pleasures and get stuck up at the narrow gates of heaven. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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