SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

What will there be for us? 

Peter had never been rich, so Jesus’ warning about how difficult it would be for a wealthy person to enter God’s kingdom clearly didn’t apply to him or to the other disciples. Still, they had given up homes, families, and jobs to follow Jesus. What kind of payback could they expect?

Perhaps you’ve never put that question to Jesus as boldly as Peter did. But on some level, we are all tempted to think that because we have made sacrifices to follow the Lord, we deserve some sort of reward. But then life happens. Maybe we lose our job, or a close friend dies or moves away, or an injury makes it impossible for us to continue a favorite activity. We might wonder, Don’t I deserve good things in life? After all, Lord, I’m trying to follow you.

Jesus does promise Peter a reward, but he will have to wait until the next life to receive it (Matthew 19:28-30). That heavenly reward is God’s promise to us too. But in the meantime, we may need to look at our hearts more closely. Have any assumptions, expectations, or disappointments piled up that, like the camel in today’s Gospel, are making it difficult for us to enter God’s kingdom (19:24)?

Maybe we’ve come to feel entitled to whatever privileges may come our way instead of receiving them as gracious gifts. Or we may expect our lives to be free of crosses or burdens and begin to resent them when they appear. Or we look back on our lives and think that things should have worked out better than they did.

If that’s how you feel sometimes, go to the Lord and ask him to change your heart. He can help you see that all the blessings in your life are his gifts to you and that even the crosses can help you draw closer to him. He can also open your eyes to the grace he is pouring out on you right here and right now. Like Peter, that is the grace that will one day bring you face-to-face with your heavenly Father—a reward that is infinitely better than any earthly one!

“Jesus, purify my heart. I put my hope in your grace and mercy.”

Ezekiel 28:1-10
(Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:26-28, 30, 35-36
Matthew 19:23-30