Today’s scriptures show we have a caring God who is not aloof to the travails that afflict humanity. He seeks men like Gideon to deliver His children, like the disciples to build His kingdom. And there are the familiar (and vital) reminders of the dangers of wealth, of the worth of one and all, especially the least! In short, a veritable feast of reason and flow of soul, as Wodehouse would say.
Gideon for Midian
The call of Gideon reminds us of other greats in the Bible. The meeting under the terebinth tree is similar to the time when Abraham looks up and sees three visitors, hastening to wait on them. Deliverer of Israel, shades of Samson. And there are multiple resemblances to Moses. Both are called while they are at work. Both question their own worth. And God patiently bears with each while they try their best to convince Him that He would do well to choose another. In this regard, his story is not unlike our own!
We can find ourselves questioning and protesting the mission or cross that comes our way. Not me, Lord. I am the least. I am nobody. But God patiently wears down our arguments and continues to remind us that we too are his chosen instruments, each having a part to play in salvation history. Why else would he put us here in the first place?
Tithe or Writhe?
Jesus tells his listeners how hard it would be for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is another reminder of how much of a burden money is to the disciple bent on heaven. Jesus does not say it is impossible, but that it is fraught with difficulty. We need to examine our relationship with money. Do we own or are we owned by our possessions? If they are a means to further the kingdom, then we’re on the right path. But we need to beware of carousing and drunkenness and of becoming like the rich fool who wanted to tear down his barns in order to hoard more stuff.
What will there be for us?
Leave it to St. Peter The Forthright to ask the question of the day. What is in it for me? What about my sacrifices, my devotions, what about these, dear Lord? Jesus promises him and us that the rewards will be commensurate with our efforts. However, there is the zinger about the least being first and vice versa. Why did Jesus chuck that in at the end? Could it be that he wants to remind us of God’s love for the nonentity, the Gideon who hails from the least of the tribes, the Moses who needs an Aaron to make up for his lack of eloquence? God delights in the least of our brethren, He understands it all too well, choosing to live in the backwaters of Galilee, born to a humble virgin and living a life of poverty, with nowhere to lay his head.
We are all called to mission, each of us a champion in His sight. The smaller we are, the greater His power will shine through us. But first, we would do well to spurn the two burning desires of the sordid world: fame and fortune. And instead grow rich in the sight of Our God by shelving our wills for His and building the kingdom with our bling and cha-ching.
