REFLECTION:

During the storm, I was watching the news and trying to follow what was happening around different parts of the island. At one point, I saw a video of a woman driving while recording the storm. As she was driving, suddenly a large branch came crashing down on her car, damaging it and cracking the windshield.

I shared the video with a good friend of mine, and her immediate response was, “I would be so mad if that happened to my car!” And if you know her, you would understand. She loves her little Jeep. And she is still paying for it! So I guess she has every right to be mad. But then, as I continued looking through social media and watching the news, you begin to put things into perspective. Some people lost cars. Some experienced damage to their homes and property. There were injuries. And sadly, one person lost their life. Suddenly, a cracked windshield does not seem quite as important. And maybe that gives us a way into our readings today, because both readings ask us to think about the things we value and the things that are difficult for us to lose.

In Ezekiel, God tells the prophet that he is going to lose “the delight of his eyes,” his wife. It is a very difficult reading. Ezekiel loves his wife, and yet her death becomes a prophetic sign for Israel. The people are about to lose something they considered precious: the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was their pride, their security, the center of their religious life. But somewhere along the way, they had become so attached to the Temple that they forgot that the Temple was supposed to lead them to God.

Then we meet the rich young man in the Gospel. He comes to Jesus with a beautiful question: “What good must I do to gain eternal life?” He keeps the commandments. He seems like a good person. He wants eternal life. But Jesus discovers the one place in his heart that he cannot surrender. “Go, sell what you have, give to the poor... then come, follow me.” And the young man walks away sad because he has many possessions.

I think the question for us today is not simply, “Do you have too many possessions?” The deeper question is: What is the delight of your eyes? What is that one thing you would have a very difficult time letting go of?

Maybe it is your house. Maybe your car. Maybe your savings. Maybe your job. But it may not even be something material. Maybe it is your position. Your reputation. Your plans. Your comfort. Your need to be in control. Maybe it is simply wanting things to go the way you want them to go.

Storms have a strange way of reminding us how quickly the things we think are permanent can disappear. A tree comes down. Electricity goes out. A roof is damaged. A car is crushed. And suddenly our priorities become much clearer. But I don't think God is telling us that we should not care about these things. My friend should take care of her Jeep, especially since she is still making payments on it! The problem is not that we love the people and things God has given us. The question is whether we love anything so much that we cannot follow God without it.

There is also an important difference between Ezekiel and the rich young man. Ezekiel loses something precious and remains with God. The rich young man is asked to surrender something precious and walks away from God.

That may be the challenge for us today. When something is taken away from me, do I still trust God? When my plans change, do I still trust God? When I lose something I worked hard for, do I still trust God? When life does not turn out the way I expected, do I still follow him?

Because sometimes the real storms in life are not the ones with wind and rain. Sometimes the storm is losing a job. Losing a relationship. Losing our health. Losing someone we love. Sometimes it is simply realizing that something we thought would always be there is no longer there.

And perhaps today's readings remind us that our faith cannot depend upon everything around us remaining untouched.

The rich young man walked away sad because he could not imagine his life without what he possessed. Jesus was inviting him to discover that what he was being offered was greater than what he was being asked to surrender.

So maybe after this storm, we can ask ourselves a simple question: What really matters?

Thank God for the house. Thank God for the car. Thank God for our possessions, our work, our plans, and everything we have been given. Take care of them. Appreciate them. But never hold onto the gift so tightly that we lose sight of the Giver. Because eventually, everything we possess will pass away. But the One who says, “Come, follow me,” is the One we cannot afford to lose.