When Jesus tells His disciples “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God,” to whom is He referring? St. Luke tells us of several women who provided for Jesus and His ministry out of their means (Luke 8:3), so we know that He is not condemning people who had an abundance of material goods.
As illustrated in today’s Gospel it is an attachment to wealth that presents an obstacle to eternal life. This is the consistent teaching throughout scripture. It is love of money that is the root of all evil (1Timothy 6:10.) The Psalms tells us “Though wealth increase, do not set your heart upon it (Psalms 62:11.) And it is not enough to simply disdain riches. Jesus tells the young man to sell what he has but also then to go further and give to the poor, to give “for my sake and the sake of the Gospel.”
People may be wealthy without clinging to their goods, just as someone can be poor and refuse to give up what little they have. God can demand a great deal from us, sometimes He can demand everything.
Many of us are going through tough times these days. We are now aware of just how hard it is to trust in God and His salvific plan. Remember that He loves us and wants what is best for us. Can we accept His plan even if it is not the one we would have liked?
Pax Vobiscum
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time