August 18, 2014 Monday, 20th Week
in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ezk 24:15-23
Gospel: Mt 19:16–22
A young man approached him and asked, “Master, what good work must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only one is Good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” The young man said, “Which commandments?” Jesus replied, “Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”The young man said to him, “I have kept all these commandments, what is still lacking?” Jesus answered, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you possess and give the money to the poor and you will become the owner of a treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.”On hearing this answer, the young man went away sad for he was a man of great wealth.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
In his ‘Thoughts on Various Subjects’, Alexander Pope wrote: “We may see the small value God has for riches by the people he gives them to.” He was, of course, referring to material riches. Such reference is a great consolation to the poor, for if indeed God looks highly upon accumulation of riches, he could have bestowed them lavishly upon those he called “blessed”.
The New Testament contains so many passages pointing to Jesus’ higher priorities, and accumulation of earthly riches is not among them. “My bread”, he said, “is to do the will of my Father in heaven.” He was non-compromising with the young man in today’s Gospel reading. Either he let go of his material riches and possess heaven, or cling to riches and lose heaven. This caught him between the devil and the deep blue sea. Will he give up material riches he had been concretely enjoying in favor of heaven the existence of which he wasn’t even sure about?
We probably pity the young man in today’s Gospel for making the wrong choice. Surely we’d do better if made to choose between heaven and earthly possessions. Well, that’s baloney. As Logan Pearsall Smith wrote in his Afterthoughts, “To suppose as we all suppose that we could be rich and not behave as the rich behave, is like supposing that we could drink all day and keep absolutely sober.”
The Gospel message does not belittle those who seek material well being; even Jesus encouraged using earthly possessions to win friends. But it is not God’s priority because of the risks involved when too much focus is given to it. If it were God’s priority, he would have lavished it upon people in good measure, pressed down and flowing over. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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