Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 18 Aug 2026
XX Week in Ordinary Time
Eze 28:1-10. Mt 19:23-30
Rejected Offer
The young man who had come halfway was not able to walk the remaining way. He went away on his own path. After this, the conversation continues between Jesus and His disciples.
Two ideas are placed before us in today’s Gospel: first, it is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven; second, those who follow Jesus will receive their reward.
Jesus says, “It will be hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of heaven.” When we hear the word “rich,” many times we immediately think of other people. We think of those who live in big houses, those who have large savings in the bank, and those who possess lands and properties. We point to them in our mind and feel happy that they cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven. But this is wrong.
Two understandings are necessary. First, “wealth” is a relative word. When we say, “He is tall,” the question is, “taller than whom?” Only through comparison does the word receive its meaning. Words connected with size, colour, and value are often relative words. In this sense, no one is rich and no one is poor. Or, everyone is rich and everyone is poor. If I call a person with two big houses rich, then a poor person with good health is also rich.
Second, the Bible’s understanding of wealth is not one-sided. The same Bible that warns against wealth also compares the Kingdom of heaven to treasure and pearl. Therefore, wealth itself must be understood carefully.
But the Bible is clear that wealth can become a great obstacle to discipleship. This is the background in which we must understand today’s Gospel. Why does wealth become an obstacle? Wealth gives a person a sense of self-sufficiency. Health, possessions, knowledge, and every kind of wealth can lead to self-sufficiency. This self-sufficiency can turn us away from God. Today’s first reading gives the same warning.
In the first reading, through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord God rebukes the king of Tyre: “Your heart has become proud because of your wealth.” Wealth becomes dangerous when it leads a person to self-sufficiency and moves him away from dependence on God.
The second idea in the Gospel is reward. Jesus asks His followers to leave riches. Yet He also says that those who follow Him will receive a hundredfold. This sounds like a puzzle. If I leave one acre of land, will I receive a hundred acres? If one renounces wealth, why is wealth promised again?
Peter asks Jesus, “We have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus answers that they will share in His reign and will receive a hundredfold of what they have lost.
Yet the offer of Jesus is rejected even today. The offer of Jesus does not attract many people today. Why? Because the offer of Jesus belongs to the world to come. The rich often do not trust the world to come. For a person who already experiences heaven in this world, what difference does it make whether heaven exists in the next world or not? The rich want an immediate offer.
Thus, in both ideas, wealth is presented as an obstacle to discipleship.
Where my heart is, there is my treasure. If my heart is fixed on God, that is heaven. If my heart is fixed on anything else, I must learn to lose it.
Today Jesus invites us to examine our wealth. It may be money. It may be health. It may be knowledge. It may be position. It may be influence. It may be even our self-confidence. If it leads us to God, it becomes a blessing. If it makes us self-sufficient and proud, it becomes an obstacle.
Let us not reject the offer of Jesus.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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