Reading 1
Ez 24:15-23
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?”
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of Israel:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.
Gospel
Mt 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Meditation: Matthew 19:16-22
“Come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)
Whether we are rich or not, Jesus’ words to this young man apply to us as well. For ultimately, it’s not a question of how much or how little we have. Rather, it’s about priorities. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21). What we value gives some idea of our relationship to God: Do I have my possessions, or do my possessions have me?
The issue becomes much clearer when we see that material possessions are just a small portion of our gifts. No matter how wealthy we may be, if we are walking with the Lord we have all of the “riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). We have the love of Jesus, the power of his Holy Spirit, and the promise of everlasting life. These aren’t things we can buy or sell. They are gifts that we can choose to use for his glory—or to waste by keeping them all to ourselves!
Of course, our gifts really do not belong to us anyway. They all come from God, and we are just stewards who have been given a temporary lease on them. That makes it all the more important for us to use them wisely and to produce lasting fruit for his kingdom. It doesn’t take much: One small act of generosity can change an entire destiny. As in the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-9), it’s not whether we produce thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold, but that we start planting the seeds.
God really wants to keep our lives simple. When he says “sell all you have,” he is not asking us to take him literally. What he really wants is our hearts. The more pliable we become, the more open to his grace we become, the easier we will find it to be loving and generous. We won’t have to think so much about what to do for others, because we will be too busy doing it! All we have to do is say, “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.” He will take care of the rest.
“Jesus, you are the source of every blessing in my life. Nothing I have belongs to me, so I let go of all I have been holding onto. Use it all for your kingdom!”
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