August 18, 2026
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 420
Reading 1
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy
32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
“I would have said, ‘I will make an end of them
and blot out their name from men’s memories,’
Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,
feared that these foes would mistakenly boast.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“‘Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“How could one man rout a thousand,
or two men put ten thousand to flight,
Unless it was because their Rock sold them
and the LORD delivered them up?”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
So that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081826.cfm
Commentary on
Ezekiel 28:1-10
The message of today’s reading is very clear and as relevant
now as it was then. Tyre was a Phoenician city on the coast of the
Mediterranean in what is now Lebanon. The Phoenicians were famous in ancient
times as traders and for their skill in seafaring. It is not fully clear
whether Ezekiel is personally attacking King Ittobaal, ruler of Tyre at the
time, or the whole city for placing itself on the same level as God.
The city bases this claim on its collective wisdom. Says the
prophet rather mockingly:
You are indeed wiser than Daniel…
This claimed wisdom was, as believed, the source of the
city’s enormous wealth and power. Daniel, like Solomon, was a byword for wisdom
in the Old Testament. This does not so much allude to the Daniel who is the
hero of Daniel chapters 1-12, but rather to the Daniel of chapter 13 (in many
translations), who solved the case of the alleged adultery of Susanna (see Sus
1:47-64 in the NRSVue Bible).
However, the prophet says, with growing wealth and power has
come increasing pride and arrogance, a sense of omnipotence. The empty base of
this sense of security will soon be shattered when the city is attacked by
foreigners who are even more powerful—referring to the Babylonians. They will
bring death and destruction. Then, what will become of the claims to divine
power?
Says God through his prophet:
…you are but a mortal and no god,
[helpless] in the hands of those who pierce you…
They will die the same death as the “uncircumcised”, the
most uncivilised of barbarians. (Note that the Phoenicians, like the Israelites
and the Egyptians, practised circumcision.)
Times and attitudes have not changed very much. There are
still people in our own time and in our own society who believe that a high
level of education, wealth and power give a kind of invincibility. It includes
those who have such great wealth and power and those who struggle all their
lives to get some of it. With money, anything can be bought—everyone has their
price.
Yet, the lives of all, rich and poor, educated and
illiterate, powerful and marginalised, can be snuffed out in the twinkling of
an eye. But our destiny is in other hands, and the sooner we realise that the
better for our happiness and peace of mind.
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Commentary on
Matthew 19:23-30
After hearing the sad story of the rich young man who could
not accept his invitation to be a disciple, Jesus gives some comments on the
effects of wealth. Jesus says:
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.
It could be that Jesus was referring to a narrow entrance in
the city wall of Jerusalem called the ‘eye of the needle’. In either case,
Jesus is indicating something which is extremely difficult, in fact, next to
impossible.
Some of us may likely feel discomfort about this. Even if we
are not rich ourselves, we might like to see our children get rich some day, or
we admire people who have, by their hard work, become wealthy. What is wrong
with having a lot of money which one has earned by one’s own sweat and labour?
What does the Gospel mean by being rich? To be rich here
means to have a large surplus of money and possessions while around one are
people who do not have what they need to live a life of dignity. How can I
continue to hold on to ‘my’ possessions when such a situation prevails? How can
I claim to belong to the Kingdom, the reign of God, which is a kingdom of love
and justice? Jesus said that “you” did not give me to eat or drink; “you” did
not visit me or show any compassion when I was:
…hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison… (Matt 25:44)
Instead, “you” piled up all that money in the bank or on the
stock exchange or you splurged it on fancy cars, restaurants and expensive
clothes.
In the Gospel, to be rich means refusing to share what you
have with those who have not. As long as you behave like that, you cannot be
eligible for the Kingdom. It really is like trying to get a
camel through the eye of a needle. There is a radical incompatibility.
The disciples were quite amazed at Jesus’ words. They were
thinking along lines traditional to their culture and their religion. Wealth
was a sign of God’s blessings—poverty and sickness a sign of his punishment.
But Jesus is turning their traditions on their head.
It was something the young man could not understand either.
He was under the impression that his wealth was a grace, a sign of God’s
favour. The idea of giving alms was to be highly commended, but to share his
wealth with the poor and create a more just playing field was something for
which he felt no obligation and which made no sense.
Then Peter, the optimist, begins to see the bright side:
Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then
will we have?
Jesus gives a twofold reply. As the leaders of the new
community and people who have generously put their whole security in Jesus, his
disciples will be especially rewarded. And indeed everyone who leaves family
and goods for Jesus’ sake will be rewarded many times over with father, mother,
brothers, sisters, goods. This is not just a pie-in-the-sky promise. It is one
that can be realised and, in many parts of the world, is being realised. When
everyone works for the good of the other, everyone benefits.
The wealth-is-good world believes that it is every man for
himself. There is only a limited amount of the cake and it is up to each one to
get as big a piece as he can—too bad about the losers.
In the world of Jesus, everyone gets because everyone gives;
because everyone gives, everyone receives. It is not a ‘gimme’ world; it is a
‘reaching out to others’ world. And when everyone reaches out, everyone is
benefiting. In such a world, I do not have to worry about a roof over my head,
or about brothers and sisters, or property or security. It is where love and
justice meet. For too many people in our world, there is neither love nor
justice.
If the rich man had liberated himself from his wealth and
shared it with the poor and become a follower of Jesus in the new community, he
might never have been rich again, but he would have had all his needs attended
to.
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Tuesday,
August 18, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and
above all things and reach the joy You have prepared for us beyond all our
imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 19: 23-30
Jesus said to
his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to
enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to
pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom
of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and
said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed
you. What will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to
you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is
seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name
will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who
are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Reflection
The Gospel today is the immediate continuation of
yesterday’s Gospel. It gives Jesus’ commentary regarding the rich young man’s
negative reaction.
•
Matthew 19: 23-24: The camel and the eye of the needle.
After the young man leaves, Jesus comments on his decision: “In truth I tell
you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Yes, I tell
you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than
for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Two observations concerning
this affirmation of Jesus: a) the proverb of the camel and of the eye of the
needle was used to say that something was impossible and unthinkable, humanly
speaking. b) The expression “that someone rich enters the kingdom of Heaven” is
a question, in the first place, not of entrance into Heaven after death, but of
entering into the community around Jesus. And even now this is true. It is very
difficult for the rich to enter and to feel at home in the communities which
try to live the Gospel according to Jesus’ standards and which try to be open
to the poor, the migrants and to those excluded by society. However, this does
not also mean that riches bring their own temptations which distance the person
from God.
•
Matthew 19: 25-26: The disciples’ fear. The
young man had observed the commandments, but without understanding the reason
for the observance. Something similar was happening with the disciples. When
Jesus called them, they did exactly the same thing which Jesus had asked the
young man: they left everything and followed Jesus (Mt 4: 20, 22). But they
were astonished at Jesus’ remark concerning the impossibility for someone rich
to enter the Kingdom of God. This was a sign that they had not understood well
the response which Jesus had given to the rich young man: “Go, sell all you
possess, give it to the poor and then come and follow Me!” If they had
understood, they would not have been so surprised by the requests of Jesus.
When wealth or the desire for riches occupies one’s heart and one’s outlook on
life, one does not understand the meaning of life and of the Gospel. God alone
can help! “This is impossible for man, but for God all is possible!”
•
Matthew 19: 27: Peter’s question. The background
of the disciples’ misunderstanding appears in the question asked by Peter:
“Look, we have left everything and have followed You. What are we to have
then?” In spite of the beautiful generosity of abandoning everything, they
still have the old mentality. They have abandoned everything in order to get
something in exchange. They still had not grasped the meaning of service and
gratuitousness.
•
Matthew 19: 28-30: Jesus’ reply. "In truth
I tell you, when everything is made new again and the Son of Man is seated on
His throne of glory you yourselves will sit on twelve thrones to judge the
twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters,
father, mother, children or land for the sake of My name will receive a hundred
times as much and also inherit eternal life. Many, who are first, will be last,
and the last, first.” In this response, Jesus describes the new world, the
foundation of which had been laid by His work and that of the disciples. Jesus
stresses three important points: (a) The disciples will sit on twelve thrones
next to Jesus to judge the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Rev 4: 4). (b) In
exchange they will receive many things which they had abandoned: houses,
brothers, sisters, mother, children land and will inherit eternal life. (c) The
future world will be the reverse of the present world.
There, the last ones will be the
first ones and the first ones will be the last ones. The community around Jesus
is the seed and the manifestation of this new world. Even today the small
community of the poor continues to be the seed and manifestation of the
Kingdom.
Every time that in the history of the people of the Bible a
new movement arises to renew the Covenant, it begins by re-establishing the
rights of the poor, of the excluded. Without that, the Covenant will not be
reconstructed. This is the sense and the reason for the insertion of the
community of Jesus into the midst of the poor. It draws from these roots, and
it inaugurates the New Covenant.
Personal questions
•
To abandon houses, brothers, sisters, father,
mother, children, fields, for the sake of Jesus: how does this take place in
your life? What have you already received in exchange? What are you expecting?
•
Today, the majority of poor countries are not of
the Christian religion, while the majority of the rich countries are. How can
the saying that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle be
applied today?
Concluding Prayer
Even
were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for You
Lord, are at my side.
Your
staff and Your crook are there to soothe me. (Ps 23: 4)
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