First Reading (Ezekiel 24,15-24)
Reading of Ezekiel’s Prophecy.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I am about to take away from you the beauty of your eyes by a sudden disaster. But you shall not mourn, nor weep, nor shed tears. Mourn in silence, and do not mourn for the dead. Put on your head a turban, and put on your sandals, and do not cover your beard, nor eat the bread of mourners.” I had spoken to the people in the morning, and that evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I was told. Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what these things you do have to do with us?” I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me: Speak to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I am about to defile my sanctuary, the object of your pride, the delight of your eyes, the breath of your life. The sons and daughters you left there will fall by the sword. And you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your beards or eat the bread of mourners, you will wear turbans on your heads and sandals on your feet, and you will not mourn or weep. You will pine away because of your own guilt, groaning to one another. Ezekiel will be a sign to you: You will do exactly what he did; when it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.”
– The word of the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
Gospel (Matthew 19,16-22)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew.
— Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, someone came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only One is Good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” The man asked, “Which commandments?” Jesus answered, “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Jesus, “I have kept all these things. What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.
— The Word of the Savior.
— Glory to you, O Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the readings we have heard lead us to a deep reflection on the nature of sacrifice, detachment, and total surrender to God. They challenge us to rethink our priorities and to understand what it really means to follow the Lord’s path, even when that path requires great sacrifice.
In the book of Ezekiel, we find a painful and surprising passage. The Lord tells the prophet that his wife, the “delight of his eyes,” will die. Ezekiel, however, is instructed not to publicly mourn this loss. He must not wear mourning clothes, nor weep or shed tears. This passage is deeply shocking at first glance. How can God demand that Ezekiel, a man of flesh and blood, hide his grief? How can He ask a human being, who loves deeply, not to express his grief in the usual way?
Here, the Lord is using Ezekiel’s personal experience as a sign to the people of Israel. The death of Ezekiel’s wife symbolizes the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the “delight” of the people of Israel. God is warning that the city and the temple, that which the people hold so dear, will be taken from them because of their sins and rebellion. Ezekiel’s grief, therefore, is not just individual but collective. He is a prophet living in the flesh what the nation as a whole will experience.
But why does God ask him not to mourn? Mourning in the Old Testament was a public expression of grief, often involving rites that demonstrated the sorrow of the soul. By instructing Ezekiel to refrain from these signs of mourning, God is indicating that at the time of Jerusalem’s fall, the suffering will be so great that there will be no room for traditional mourning. The people will be so stunned by the magnitude of the destruction that mourning will be replaced by a silent grief, incapable of being expressed in familiar human ways.
As we reflect on this passage, we are challenged to think about how we deal with grief in our lives. When we lose something or someone we love deeply, we tend to wallow in our grief, often turning away from the hope that God offers us. Ezekiel teaches us that even in the most difficult situations, we are called to trust in God. The Lord is sovereign, and even in our losses, He has a greater purpose that we often cannot immediately understand.
In today’s Gospel, from Matthew, we find another reflection on detachment. A rich young man approaches Jesus and asks a question that perhaps we have all asked ourselves at some point: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” He wants to know what is necessary to ensure his salvation, to be at peace with God. Jesus begins by telling the young man that he must obey the commandments. And the young man, with some confidence, responds that he already does so. But then Jesus goes deeper. He says: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The Gospel tells us that the young man went away sad, because he had many possessions. Here we see a classic example of the conflict between the desire to follow God and attachment to material things. The young man had kept the commandments, but his heart was attached to his possessions. He wanted to follow Jesus, but he was not willing to give up what he considered precious. How many of us find ourselves in this same situation? We want to follow God, we want to do what is right, but we cannot let go of the things that bind us to this world. Whether it is attachment to money, status, power, or even our own wants and desires, we often allow these things to prevent us from fully following the path of Christ.
Jesus calls us to radical detachment. He is not saying that it is a sin to have possessions or wealth, but rather that true following of Christ requires that we not allow these things to dominate us. The problem with the rich young man was not simply that he was rich, but that his heart was attached to his riches. He could not imagine a life without them, and so he could not follow Jesus with all his heart.
This passage challenges us to do some introspection. What are we putting between ourselves and God? What are the things or relationships that, although they may not be sinful in themselves, are preventing us from following the path of perfection that Jesus offers us? We are called to examine our hearts and let go of what binds us to the world so that we can fully grasp the promise of eternal life.
Just as Ezekiel was called to surrender his pain and loss to God, and the rich young ruler was challenged to give up his possessions, we too are called to surrender all that we have into God’s hands. This can seem daunting. Letting go is hard, and we often don’t understand why God asks us to make certain sacrifices. But as Christians, we are invited to trust that God has a greater plan for our lives, a plan that goes beyond the things of this world.
Living the Christian faith is, in many ways, a journey of letting go. It’s not just about following rules and commandments, but about allowing God to be the center of our lives, letting go of everything that distracts us from Him. This doesn’t mean that we are all called to sell everything we have, but it does mean that we must be willing to place all of our possessions, relationships, and desires in God’s hands, trusting that He knows what is best for us.
Let us therefore consider what Jesus really wants to teach us today. He is not just telling us not to love riches; He is telling us to love God above all else. He is calling us to a life of sacrifice, detachment, and total trust in Him. This is the essence of discipleship: following Christ, even when it requires giving up what the world values.
As we meditate on these readings, let us ask the Lord to give us the grace to detach ourselves from the things of this world, so that we can cling only to Him. May we learn from Ezekiel to trust God even in times of loss, and may we be more courageous than the rich young man, willing to leave everything to follow Christ.
May this message penetrate deeply into our hearts and inspire us to live with greater spiritual freedom, detached from the bonds of the world and firmly anchored in the love of God. Amen.
