Bible
Study: Judges 6:11-24. / Matthew 19:23-30.
After the
young man left the presence of Jesus in sadness, as we read in yesterday’s
Gospel passage, Jesus himself was disappointed in him because he trusted more
in his wealth than in God to secure his life.
Just like
Gideon of whom we read about in our first reading today, God was calling this
young man and the call of God comes in different ways. While Gideon’s call was
rather dramatic, the call of the rich young man came by placing within him a
strong desire to engage Jesus in a conversation.
This young
man would have went his way without ever seeking audience with Jesus but
something was pulling him to ask Jesus about eternal salvation and the moment
he did that, Jesus granted him an open ticket: “Go, sell all you have, give the
money to the poor, then come follow me.” He would have been the thirteenth
disciple but he turned down the call.
I may be
wrong about what I am about to say now but I strongly feel it is true. All through
my days in the seminary, one question that never left my mind was: “How come God
does not call the children of the rich?” I once surveyed as many people as I could
and discovered that over ninety per cent of people who enter seminary were from
average or poor families. None of us had parents who were multi-billionaires so
to say and I also noticed that most of the wealthiest seminarians who could
afford the greatest luxuries in life did not make it through due to one problem
or another.
Even when at
times I encourage parents to allow their children go to the seminary or enter religious
life, I notice that the very wealthy ones tend to respond by saying: “God
forbid” while the less wealthy ones are more than happy to see it as a
confirmation of divine call.
Virtually
all the Saints who were from very wealthy families had to abandon their wealth
in other to pursue religious life. Some of them even got disowned by their parents
who saw them as out of their minds.
Gideon in
our first reading today says of himself: “Behold my clan is the weakest in
Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” He could not understand why God was
referring to him as a mighty man of valour. Gideon’s attitude was one of little
trust in himself or his possessions, he did not consider himself secured by
what he had, his meekness endeared him to God.
It is not
the case that God does not call the wealthy. God continues to call people every
day. The problem is that those who trust in their riches, those who see
themselves as having it all, those who place their security in riches find it
harder to hear the call of God. Hence Jesus said: “How hard it is for the rich
to enter the kingdom of God.”
Note that,
Jesus is not saying, rich people will not go to heaven. Wealth and riches are
relative terms. I may see myself as poor because I can’t afford to buy a new
shirt, but my neighbour may see me as rich because even my worn-out shirt is
better than his own. It is one thing to be wealthy but not see yourself as
wealthy, such a person does not look for security in what he has because he
does not believe he has everything.
Jesus is
talking here about people who know they have the best of everything life has to
offer and believe that what they have is capable of granting them salvation,
such that they can boldly say they do not need God and you find such persons in
very developed societies such as in America for instance. The question they ask
when you try to talk to them is: “What do I need God for?” You will agree with
me that should the Nigerian economy improve, the number of people going to church
now may drastically reduce and if for instance, one were to offer a 6-digit
salary figure to every pastor, very many of these mushroom churches springing
up here and there today will close down.
You may be
wealthy but as long as you do not allow your wealth to replace your need for
God, as far as you are willing to let go of what you have so as to give time
and resources to the work of spreading God’s kingdom, your wealth is not an
obstacle. Peter was rich before meeting Jesus but hear what he said in today’s
Gospel passage: “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there
be for us?”
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, grant me the grace to place my trust in you more than in my possession
so that what I have may not be an obstacle to my eternal salvation. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. Please
pray for me as I mark my 3rd year anniversary as a priest today.
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