20 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”” Matthew 19:26
Paul closes his first letter to Timothy with a word for the rich members of the Church at Ephesus. Ephesus was a wealthy port, and the Church there was not made up only of slaves and labourers; there were merchants and householders too. Paul does not tell them that their wealth makes them bad Christians. He tells them where to put their hope: “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” The phrase is beautiful: God is the one who richly provides, and he provides “for our enjoyment”. Creation is a gift, not a trap. The danger lies elsewhere: in pride, and in hoping in what cannot last. So Paul gives the rich a programme: “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.” The life that really is life: Paul knows that there is a life that only looks like life, busy and comfortable and empty, and another life that will not end. In this Easter season we know its name. It is the life of the Risen Christ, already planted in us at Baptism.
Then Paul turns to Timothy himself: “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” The word he uses is a banker's word: a deposit, something placed in safe keeping to be returned whole. What has been deposited with Timothy is the faith of the apostles, the Gospel of the crucified and risen Lord. He is not its owner, at liberty to change it; he is its guardian, bound to hand it on intact. Paul warns him against “the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge”: there were already teachers who claimed a higher, secret knowledge than the plain faith of the Church. The bishops of the Church, successors of Timothy, still have this task, and every parent and catechist shares it. Our forefathers in Kerala called the faith they received from St Thomas the Way of Thomas, Thomma Margam; for centuries they guarded it with little more than the liturgy, the family prayer and the memory of the elders. A deposit is kept not by burying it but by living it and passing it on.
The Gospel picks up just after a rich young man has walked away from Jesus with a sad face. Jesus watches him go and says to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The picture is deliberately impossible: the largest animal the hearers knew, the smallest opening. The disciples are astounded: “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus looks at them, Matthew notes that look, and says the words that hold the whole Gospel: “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” No one, rich or poor, saves himself. Salvation is God's work, and God can do what we cannot: he can release a heart tied to its possessions, as he can raise a dead man from a sealed tomb. Easter is the proof. Peter, practical as ever, asks what those who have left everything will receive, and Jesus promises a hundredfold, eternal life, and a share in “the renewal of all things”. That renewal began on Easter morning. The last will be first: the Church has always seen this in the poor who are rich in faith, and in those who have given up home and family to follow Christ as priests, religious and missionaries.
Theme: “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Hope not in uncertain riches, the deposit of faith guarded and handed on, and the God who does the impossible.
“Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” Psalm 62:10
“As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17
Apply: Give something away today before you buy anything for yourself.
“Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14
“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;” 1 Timothy 6:20
Apply: Teach a child one prayer or one line of the Creed this week.
“For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Isaiah 65:17
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”” Matthew 19:26
Apply: Bring to God one situation you have given up on, and leave it with him.
The God who raised his Son from the tomb can release a heart tied to its possessions.
Let us hope in him, give generously and guard the faith we have received.
Take-home resolution: This week, give before you buy, hand on one piece of the faith to a child, and ask God for the impossible.
Dear friends, today Paul speaks to the rich, and Jesus speaks about camels and needles. Both are speaking about where we put our hope.
Paul does not say that riches are evil. He says: do not be proud, and do not set your hopes “on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Then he gives a plan: do good, be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share, and so take hold of “the life that really is life.” That life is the life of the Risen Christ.
Paul also tells Timothy: “guard what has been entrusted to you.” The faith is a deposit placed in our hands. We do not own it or change it; we keep it by living it and handing it on whole to our children.
In the Gospel Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom. The disciples ask, “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus looks at them and says: “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
No one saves himself. God can release a heart tied to its possessions, just as he raised his Son from the tomb. And he promises a hundredfold to those who leave things for his sake, and a share in the renewal of all things.
So today let us move our hope from what we own to the God who gives. Let us give something away before we buy something for ourselves. For God, all things are possible. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, Jesus said a camel could go through the hole of a needle more easily than a rich person could get into heaven. That is impossible! But Jesus said: for God, everything is possible.
God can make our hearts kind and generous. Today, share something you like with someone else!
Lord Jesus Christ, you looked with love on the rich young man and on your astonished disciples, and you told us that for God all things are possible. Release our hearts from hope in uncertain riches. Make us rich in good works, generous and ready to share, so that we may take hold of the life that really is life. Help our bishops, priests, parents and catechists to guard the faith entrusted to them and to hand it on whole. Renew all things, beginning with us. Glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Alleluia!