Breaking the Word

20^th Week in Ord. Time, Tuesday – 16^th August 2022 — Gospel:   Mt 19,23-30

Obstacle for Salvation

In comparing the wealthy’s chances of entering heaven to a camel passing through the needle’s eye, Jesus shows their incompatibility to enter and the challenges faced by them. The “eye of a needle” refers to the gate in Jerusalem. It was a large hole within the city wall that permitted people to enter after the gates were shut. They were made so that a person could enter and find protection, but they were not big enough for animals such as horses, mules, or camels. In those days, camels were considered the largest animal people would ever know. Just as the eye of the needle is made for a person to slip through, the kingdom of heaven is for those whose hearts are free from the enslavement of worldly things. Jesus does not mean that one who owns earthly treasures cannot enter heaven; rather, earthly treasures can be an obstacle for those who use them for their personal gain, usurping serving others, and giving glory to God in the use of created things.  He is establishing the truth that Paul will state in Rom 3,23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The solution to this problem is that it is possible with God.

19^th Week in Ord. Time, Saturday – 13^th August 2022 — Gospel: Mt 19,13-15

Inclusive Kingdom

Jesus preached a kingdom which was so different from the traditional understanding of power and might. The disciples’ desire to dismiss the children from the scope of Jesus’ concern to welcome them is obvious in this context. Jesus’ approach emphasizes that the kingdom of God belongs to them. During Jesus’ time, the children below the age of twelve had no place in the meeting place of the Jewish elders. Jesus sets a new precedent by associating with them and by asserting the need to be childlike to enter this kingdom. He delighted in the presence of the children and demonstrated that God’s love has ample room for everyone. No doubt the disciples wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy children but Jesus believed that they exemplify the central values of the kingdom. The values about this kingdom that Jesus taught were known to his disciples yet they failed to grasp the full significance. The disciples need to be open to the demands of the new kingdom proclaimed by Jesus that have different sets of requirements and values.