Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 17th August
Message from Fr Paul for Tuesday, 17th August 2021
Yesterday, among the many things that had to be done, including a hospital appointment and welcoming a second group of Downside monks to Belmont as they discern their future, I was also able to enjoy a private swim in my osteopath’s heated indoor pool. There’s nothing quite like having a pool all to yourself. It makes up for having no holiday this year and, because there’s no one else to see and hear, I can float on my back and sing to my heart’s content, just as I did as a small boy at our local beach in South Wales. I didn’t feel the cold in those days and had no fear. Oh, to be a child again! I took Toby with me, but he doesn’t go anywhere near water. On the way back we stopped at St Andrew’s, Bredwardine, certainly one of the most prayerful and interesting local churches. Toby and I go there frequently. I sang the Latin antiphon Ave Regina Caelorum in honour of Our Lady’s Assumption and dreamt of what it would have been like in the Middle Ages to sing Mass in the Rite of Hereford. Now that would be fun!
Our Gospel reading from Matthew, (Mt 19: 23-30), follows on from yesterday’s passage concerning the rich young man, who walked away sadly, as he couldn’t bring himself to sell his possessions and follow Jesus. Our Lord comments to his disciples, “It will be hard for a rich man 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 a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’” By rich Jesus means those who are so possessed by their possessions and enslaved to power and wealth, that they see no need for God and live their lives without him, like yesterday’s rich young man. There’s probably been more argument about the camel passing through the eye of a needle than any other phrase in the Bible. Some say it’s the narrow side gate that could be used at night once the city gates were closed. A camel couldn’t get through unless unloaded, so it would be a metaphor for giving up all our possessions. Others believe it to be the alternative meaning of the Greek word, a knot. In fact, we put a knot in the thread once we have passed it through the eye of a needle and not before. Either way, the metaphor is the same. How are we to be saved? Jesus’ reply is clear: by putting our trust in God, for whom everything is possible.
“Then Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves 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 be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life. Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’” Peter always speaks in the name of the Twelve and for us too. If we follow Jesus and give our hearts and our very lives to him, then we will share in the life of the kingdom. The twelve apostles might share in judging the twelve tribes of Israel. All I want is to get into Heaven, I’ve no interest in judging anyone. But in truth, heaven will be what God has chosen for us. We can hope or imagine, but ultimately, we’re in God’s hands and he knows best what heaven will be like for each one of us. Lord, it doesn’t matter to me whether I’m first or last, as long as I can get into heaven and spend eternity in your presence. Amen.
