Ezekiel 28:1-10 / Matthew 19:23-30
If we had all our savings drawn out in cash, would our pockets be able to contain it all?
Or, let’s say that our cash are to be filled in bags, how many bags would that be, and would we be able to carry it around?
When we think about it, then the rather absurd image that Jesus gave in the gospel may give us something to think about.
Jesus says that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Already, for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle is impossible.
It would neither be possible for a man to pass through the eye of a needle.
But if we were to imagine a rich man carrying all his wealth in whatever bags he could carry, he wouldn’t be able to enter any door.
In the first reading, the ruler of Tyre falls because his financial success and sharp intellect lead him to think that he was invincible, and he even thinks he is a god.
It was his pride in his piles of gold and silver that dragged him down to the pit and to die a violent death surrounded by the seas.
So while wealth and riches are not evil by themselves, the attachment to them can lead pride and clutter the heart.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to enter by the narrow gate.
It would only be possible to do so when we only carry the love of God and the love for others in our hearts.