‘But who do you say that I am?’

We begin this week with several Gospels on the themes of poverty and the last coming first. In Monday’s Gospel (Matthew 19:16-22), Our Lord encounters the young man who asks about good deeds and gets more than he bargained for in return: two strong admonitions. First, only God is truly good; and second, if you want to follow Jesus, divest yourself. In Tuesday’s Gospel (Matthew 19:23-30), Jesus unpacks his response to that wealthy young man.

“Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”