Our Choices Define Us

𝐀𝐔𝐆. 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐉𝐠𝐬 𝟔:𝟏𝟏-𝟐𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟖𝟓:𝟗, 𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟒 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟗:𝟐𝟑-𝟑𝟎

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆.” (𝒗.26) 

          Life is all about the choices we make and making a choice has become our preoccupation from the moment we open our eyes at the break of dawn to the setting of the sun. We choose if we are going to lift and stretch ourselves up, go through our usual routines in the morning and off to what we are supposed to do for the day. Especially these days amidst the toxic political environment we are in when our choices not only define us but have a bearing on our eternal salvation.

         We can remain curled up in bed and for all I care say to ourselves “I won’t work today.” We can choose to be jovial, warm and accommodating towards everyone we meet outside our gates, on the street, on the bus, workplace, everywhere. We can also choose to sneer, be obnoxious and arrogant towards others.

         The point I am trying to make is we become what we choose to be. We can be loving and kind and, in an instant, we can be the exact opposite - unkind, indifferent, ungenial and unbenignant to our fellowmen. What we project springs from the kind of choices that we make.

         This was the case of the rich young man in this Scripture passage. A few verses back, this rich young man was asking Jesus what he can do to possess eternal life? But when Jesus said go sell your possessions and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, the rich young man went away in sorrow.

         The disciples were amazed because if a rich man can’t be saved, then who can be saved? At that time, they were still under the OT Jewish idea that riches meant the blessing of God on your life. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟒 says that the rich have a hard time being saved because they trust in their riches.

         And as we come to this passage for today that we read in 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟗:𝟐𝟑-𝟑𝟎, we see Jesus telling his disciples 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. But before those who may be rich get discouraged, what Jesus was saying is not to be taken as a sweeping statement that the rich have no place in heaven.

         The possessions that may bar us from entering the Kingdom of Heaven may not actually even be the material wealth that rich people possess because such possessions at times are also being used for the good of the Church and the Community. This means that mere possession of material wealth is not sinful. What becomes sin is in the way these materials blessings are being employed by those who own them.

         In the world we now live in, wealth almost always gives us the false independence that we don’t need anything other than the wealth we can depend on to pursue a comfortable life. Take the case of the current “𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥” issue that has become daily fare among Filipinos. What we see being projected is the life of luxury of the major characters involved in the scam and the question we need to ask ourselves is can any of these material possessions bring us to life eternally in heaven? 

         Possession of material wealth at times also leads us to forget the source of our possessions as we rely largely on the exercise of our personal talents that we thought we were born with and sustained by our education and training rather than on the gifts that God has generously entrusted to us.

         There are also times when we develop the propensity to hold back in sharing what we have with those in need that as we begin to accumulate more, the more we become stingy to the point that we even rationalize that people are poor because they chose to be poor and we are wealthy because we worked our butts off to be what we are now.

         As we get richer, we tend to withhold helping others even if our resources are more than what we need and will use in our lifetime. Worst, we may part with a fraction of the blessings we have received but we want it to be known in every corner of the Church and or the Community.

         In other words, if some of us who may be rich will ignore the need for an intimate relationship with God, there is a tendency that the rich will acquire these negative attitudes which Jesus refers to as “𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” that would make it hard for them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

         And this is where the problem lies because many times those who come to Jesus look at the rewards they can get in terms of material possessions and Peter mirrored what many of us also expect when Peter asked: “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖?”        

         But instead of rebuking Peter, Jesus patiently explained to him and the other disciples that those who will share in his suffering will also most assuredly share in his glory. And as Jesus assured His disciples that they will get their rewards in His Kingdom, He nevertheless cautioned them, and He is also telling us now that we should not make ourselves "𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭" because the first shall be last in the spiritual scheme of things.  

         What Jesus was emphasizing is that anyone who wishes to follow him, who denies himself, and who will take up his own cross will receive not material possessions but will be given the right to enter into a divine fellowship with him.

         As such, we need to detach and dispossess ourselves from all the worldly possessions that weigh us down as represented by these 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬 – 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐲, 𝐠𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡, 𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡. These seven sins give birth to 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺, 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.

         In contrast, Jesus is asking us to acquire and fill ourselves with the riches of his Kingdom that spring from 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. And this is the message in this Gospel.

         It is a must for those who want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven to crucify their sinful nature for it is only in doing so that we can also be resurrected with Him in glory. We will certainly find the road to the Kingdom of God strewn with challenges and pitfalls but there is nothing impossible with God for as long as we hang on to Him for He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘈𝘶𝘨. 20, 2025)