You can't take it with you

Jgs 6:11-24a
The angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine pressto save it from the Midianites, the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with you, O champion!” Gideon said to him, “My Lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers told us when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the LORD has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian.”

The LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you.” But Gideon answered him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.” “I shall be with you,” the LORD said to him, “and you will cut down Midian to the last man.”

Gideon answered him, “If I find favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He answered, “I will await your return.”

So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and a measure of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth.” When he had done so, the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Thereupon a fire came up from the rock that consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the LORD disappeared from sight.

Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the LORD, said, “Alas, Lord GOD, that I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” The LORD answered him, “Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die.” So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD and called it Yahweh-shalom.

Ps 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace
To his people, and to his faithful ones,
and to those who put in him their hope.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

Mt 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.”

Today’s readings speak to hearing and seeing a vision that seems impossible in light of current circumstances. The Lord proclaims peace to us in the midst of chaos, war, and injustices. God sees a champion in us even when we see ourselves as losers. God promises wealth beyond measure to those who give rather than hoard despite the fact that hoarding seems the obvious path to wealth.
“Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.”

The story of Gideon encourages us to get moving even if the vision is not yet clear – but also encourages us to keep asking for clarity. God tells Gideon to go with the strength that he has – but is willing to spend considerable time with Gideon to assure him and prepare him for the work ahead. Gideon, for his part, is also willing to invest in discernment (an understatement we see as the story unfolds). Gideon hears and begins to act on what he understands in a big and risky way. God honors this commitment and continues to clarify and reveal a new vision of reality. Peter and the others gave up their livelihoods and families to follow Jesus in a big and risky way. Jesus assures them that their commitment is worth it with a vision of reality that goes beyond what seems possible in the existing circumstances.

Can we go in the strength that we have in confidence that all things are possible with God despite discouraging daily circumstances?

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. (Matthew 19:24)

Most of us find truth in the saying, "You can't take it with you." But it's hard to pay heed to it when we're so busy yearning. The gap between God's kind and loving grace and our fixation on vain, earthly treasures is enormous -- the two just don't mix. It's not wrong to have success and riches, but we aren't able to fix our minds on God while basking in the delight of our possessions or in clinging to the prospect of having them.

In fact, Jesus tells us it's impossible; "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) Because we were made out of nothing by the power of God, it's impossible for us to do anything without Him, yet with the help of His grace, we're able to conform our lives to do His will because He gives us all we need to thrive. It's true, there's no one "thing" we can take with us, but what we will take are the riches God gives us for accepting His offer of divine friendship -- the kind of riches we attain now that stay with us forever.