Anything is Possible
Aug 21: Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In today’s first reading, God tells Gideon, “I will be with you.” God frequently tells people who are afraid to answer His call that He will be with them—Moses,1 Jeremiah,2 and most importantly, Mary.3 It’s why we say, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”
She’s the Queen of Heaven, a title we’re revering today. As St. Bonaventure once wrote, “Men do not fear a powerful, hostile army as much as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.”
On Tuesdays, we traditionally pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, but given today’s memorial, it’s probably okay to say the Glorious Mysteries instead, given that they end with the crowning of Mary in Heaven.
Reading 1
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 press to 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.
God calls on Gideon to save Israel, but Gideon doesn’t think he can do it. The thing is, he’s right! Of course he can’t save Israel. But with God’s help, anything is possible!
Ancient Israelites thought that seeing God face to face meant mortal danger, which is why Gideon is afraid. But God tells him not to fear; that won’t happen this time. Before going off to save his countrymen from foreign invaders, Gideon builds an altar in honor of this great gift from God. Yahweh-shalom, peace be with you!
We can be at peace, too, when we do what God asks of us.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
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.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
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.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
When the Lord speaks, we must listen. God brings benefits to people who are faithful, and the first step is actually listening to what he says.
Alleluia
2 Cor 8:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God didn’t have to become man, but he chose to, out of pure love for us.
Gospel
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."
There are a number of valid interpretations of the “eye of the needle” thing, but honestly, it’s not important. Take it literally, if you like. Many people do, in order to promote some political cause or other in the name of Christianity. But you can’t take that line out of context. Literally two verses later, Jesus says that it’s possible, for God.
But if you have given up everything for Jesus and the Gospel, like the apostles did and priests and nuns do now, you’ll be given a special place in heaven.
We have to sacrifice something. We aren’t perfect the way we are; in order to make God the center of our lives, something else is going to have to move out of the way.