Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

 Year A

Ezekiel 24:15-23

Deuteronomy 32: 18-19. 20. 21

Matthew 19: 16-22

Storing Treasures in Heaven

Yesterday the stress was on the Universality of Salvation from God which is base on Faith. Today we are asked to do something which will make us perfect or holy.  

The link between the two readings is what is cherished by the characters.  While Ezekiel's wife is his delight, the young man's wealth is what he cherishes.  Although the wife may stand for humans who retard your progress to perfection and the wealth for other creatures who retard your progress to perfection, the problem is about where our hearts are because of what we cherish. 

Matthew 6:21 

For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too.

The point is, whatever retard our progress to Perfection is either equal with us like humans, or less to us like other creatures or properties. Creation story makes it clear that we who are in the likeness of God are stewards of all that God created, including ourselves.  So everything created is not beyond us and we can do something about their efforts to retard our progress to Perfection. 

In the gospel, Jesus told the young man that, God alone is good, thus pointing to the young man what he meant when he called him good. Jesus is God, but the test is for the young man to prove his faith in the man he equate the character of God to. Is like Jesus is asking the man, do you believe I am God?

This is the question Jesus asks all of us. If we believe that he is God, then while humans and other creatures will retard our progress to Perfection, its only he who can make us perfect. In fact it is God alone who is Holy and those who become Holy only share in his. Also, that which profane God's sanctuary is our actions against God. 

Ezekiel Outline them beautifully; the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the joy of your hearts. Although that which prevents our progress is either equal to our strength or less to us, the first evil that comes out is pride. Then what follows is desires of the eyes and finally it becomes what our Hearts accept. 

So to overcome this, the is the need to sacrifice. This sacrifices simply means storing up for yourself treasures in heaven. Whenever the person or the things you cherish most lose the status you gave them or it, it is a victory of sacrifice. Giving someone or something up to gain perfection, is a sacrifice. In this way what you will cherish  most will be God, the Holy One.Thus, this sacrifices stores up for you treasure in heaven. 

Accepting that is only the Good God who can spare us, shows in the sacrifices that we are fragile, and is only God who can help us. All of us have been chosen and we are called to sacrifice in order to  store up treasures in heaven. Holiness is this treasure, God is our treasure. 

By

Sylvester Amakye-Quayson