Threadin the Needle

First Reading: Ezekiel 28:1-10
Responsorial Psalm: Deuteronomy 32
Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30

Have you ever tried to thread a needle? I still remember the traumatic experiences from home economics class in middle school. If you ever want to watch something hilarious, take a look at a bunch of teenage boys trying to sew. I can tell you that it still takes me a long time to thread a needle. The difficulty of getting that little thread through that little hole; the frustration is just beyond words.

Today in the gospel we are given a good analogy of how difficult it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom. Jesus tells us that "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." My first thoughts are "A camel! Are you serious? I can't even get a thread through the hole!" We are warned here and in the first reading of the dangers that wealth and money can bring. Now if you do have money and make a good living, does this automatically rule you out of getting to heaven? Probably not, I believe that what it comes down to is whether you are a good steward of your money. If you are simply storing up wealth all for yourself, then it is very possible for you to become what we understand in the first reading as "haughty of heart." And in the first reading today it appears as though wealth can cause a vicious cycle. Ezekiel tells warns the prince of Tyre "...you have heaped up your riches ; your heart has grown haughty from your riches..." So if we are not careful and we do not learn to be good stewards of our money,we may begin to make money the most important thing in our lives. It is not wealth or anything else that should be first in our lives, it is Christ and His Kingdom that we should seek first.

Let us not let our hearts grow haughty from our wealth, let us give to God first and remember to be good stewards with our money.

Father above, we thank you for the gift of another day. We pray that we will put our trust in you alone, for with you all things are possible. Amen.