All Things Are Possible for God: Reflections on the readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The Book of Wisdom for a long time was attributed to King Solomon who, as you may recall, asked God for wisdom rather than long life, wealth, etc. However, current estimates are that, while incorporating much wisdom gathered throughout Jewish history, it was actually written about 50 years before Christ (NABRE). Wisdom is timeless and existed when God created the world and has been identified with the “Word” of God. Think of the beautiful beginning of John’s gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

“In direct relation to God, Wisdom is personified, and her nature, attributes, and operation are no less than Divine. She is with God from eternity, the partner of His throne, and the sharer of His thoughts ...” (Catholic Answers, catholic.com). It is one of the books that was removed from the canon of Scripture by the Protestants although many Protestant Bibles include it in a section termed “Apocrypha.”

In the reading we see that Wisdom is eternal and is prized more highly than material wealth and even power (scepter and throne). Prudence is the virtue that helps us make right choices. The Catechism defines it as “... the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it.” (CCC 1806) In this reading, praying for prudence enabled the subject to choose rightly for wisdom over the three typical causes of sin: greed, lust, and power (pride). Fr. Gabriel Amorth, former chief exorcist of Rome puts it this way, “The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust.”

The responsorial psalm also asks for wisdom. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” The heart is the seat of our actions. God sees into our hearts and that is why it is impossible to deceive him (although we are pretty good at deceiving ourselves). The letter of James tells us God is willing to send us wisdom if we ask for it: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.” (James 1:5)

When we are filled with God’s love, even our afflictions can be welcomed and even bring joy. Joy is not necessarily pleasure but is a product of love and hope. “Joy isn’t found in the material objects surrounding us, but in the inner recesses of the soul. One can possess joy in a prison cell as well as a palace.” St. Therese of Liseux

God’s love and kindness can overcome even the evil experienced in the past. As St. Ignatius said, “Your love and Your grace are enough for me.” Or, as St. Augustine put it, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Thus, when God fills us with His love, we can sing for joy.

In the second reading we are told that “the word of God is living and effective.” In the first reading we learn about wisdom that “good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.” As I mentioned at the outset, Bible experts associate Wisdom with the Word of God. Jesus tells us that no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). “Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son” (John 5:22). The second reading alludes to this important fact with the statement, that the word of God is “able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” God sees into our hearts.

It may not seem obvious but these words in the second reading lead right into the gospel selection. The young man (Matthew’s gospel identifies him as a young man, Luke calls him a rich official) appeals to Jesus calling him “good teacher” and asks what he needs to do to gain eternal life. Jesus, in a subtle way identifies His divinity by noting “No one is good but God alone” without denying His goodness. Then Jesus delineates the Commandments, thus indicating their importance to all around Him (and us, too). It seems at this point that the young man has his eyes on the supernatural life when he tells Jesus “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." But Jesus looks into the man’s heart and sees that he is still attached to the world and challenges him. With love He says, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The man went away sad because he had many possessions, in other words he was very worldly. As St. James said, “Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) Thus his worldliness prevented him from being a friend of Jesus and following Him.

As in other conversations where Jesus spoke boldly and shockingly to the crowds (think of the Bread of Life Discourse in John chapter 6), Jesus did not soften his message (unlike many of the homilies and reading selections we hear today). Instead He tells His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And He says it not only once, but twice. It is not the wealth per se that is the problem, but attachment to it. This distresses His followers who dropped everything and left their own lives, families, and livelihood when Jesus called them. "Then who can be saved?" they asked. Jesus gives them the basic understanding of the world, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." This echoes the words of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation, “for nothing will be impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37).

Peter presses Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus responds that those who gave up family and possessions for His sake and the sake of the gospel will receive eternal life with its great riches. This is also another way of presenting the admonition against loving anything more than Him as He mentioned in Matthew’s gospel: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)

In other words, we must put our trust in the Lord. He sees into our hearts; we must turn away from the world and worldly possessions. It isn’t that they are bad, but we must be able to put them aside for Jesus’s sake. “... without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) God will take care of us. As today’s psalm said, “may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours.”