Most of us have heard the phrase, “What’s in it for me?” This is the common thread that runs through both of the readings for Mass today. The prince of Tyre in today’s first reading for Mass looked at the world with the mindset of, “what’s in it for me?” He applied his advanced intelligence, to advance his own self interests. It sounds like he thought he was better than everyone else because of his high intellect. People were like puppets to him, that he used to make more money from. God told the prince of Tyre that he was going to be put to death, “Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god.”
To use one’s intellect without union with the heart, is a dangerous affair. It is an easy trap to fall into. Sometimes it is easier to think, than to be in touch with our feelings. That may work with mathematical equations, but not with God or other people. The opposite can also be true though. It is dangerous to act solely on feelings and emotions, without thinking about it. People sometimes make impulsive decisions that way, that they later regret.
Jesus’s disciples had it about right in today’s gospel. They used their intellect to think for themselves and to ask Jesus questions, but they also loved him, and wanted to serve him more than anyone, or anything else in the world. Even then, they showed a bit of human weakness when they said, “What will there be for us?”
If you noticed though, Jesus didn’t chide them for saying this. He simply explained what was in store for them, if they continued to follow him. What the future held for the smart, rich prince in the first reading today, was to become a bloody corpse flung into the depths of the sea, because he spent his life pursuing only his own self interests. But, the disciples that followed Jesus without any earthly compensation, would receive an eternal reward much greater than what they would have obtained during the course of their lives.
That takes faith. It takes a lot of faith to set aside the things that you know are good, for the short term, in order to receive something greater that you hope for, in the long term:
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 1:1)
How strong is your faith? Is it strong enough for you to be willing to be viewed as ‘less successful’ than other people? Are you willing to appear to be poorer, less affluent, not as well dressed, or not as smart as everyone else? Or do you think you are smarter than everyone else because you figured out a way to become more successful than others? This is a hidden form of pride.
We all have tendencies to want to be accepted by others and and we want other people to think well of us. But, in the end, these other people will not be there when we stand before the Lord Jesus for our judgement. It will only be ourselves and Jesus. Nothing of our earthly lives will follow us into eternal life, except our love for Jesus, and how much we loved other people. That is why Jesus said, “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” Love does not hoard things for itself, but wants what is best for another person too.
It might be worth thinking about today, if your life is going in the right direction? Are you spending your time, effort, and attention on the right things? Jesus? The people in your life? Or the unrelenting pursuit of more money?
Daily Mass Readings:
Ezekiel 28: 1-10 / Psalm Dt 32 / Matthew 19: 23-30
