In today’s Holy Gospel, we find three distinct scenarios with a message: a narrative about Jesus ‘encounter with a rich man…Jesus’ sayings about wealth as a possible obstacle to following Him… and Jesus’ promise of reward for those who share material possessions with the needy. Jesus reminded the rich man of the commandments that deal with relationships with other people, and challenged him to sell what he had and to give the money to the poor. Jesus shocked his disciples when he challenged the Jewish belief that material wealth and prosperity were signs of God's blessings. Instead, he declared that true “religion” consists in one’s sharing his blessings with others rather than hoarding them and getting attached to them. The message for us? Practically speaking, Jesus was telling each of us that we need to accept the invitation to the type of generous sharing that Jesus expects from His followers. After all, Jesus was so generous that He gave us His very LIFE; therefore, there should be a DESIRE TO GIVE in the heart of every genuine Christian. Make no mistake, God does not ask us to give up our riches, but He does ask us to use them wisely in His service…to manage our possessions wisely, so that they do NOT gain control over our hearts. God gives each of us time, talents and riches that we may use them in the service of others. On the down side, we all have something in our lives that serves as a major obstacle to true happiness and peace. It may be anger, holding grudges, alcohol, drugs, apathy, unfaithfulness, dishonesty, or fraud. Let us resolve now to identify that obstacle in our life and to work hard to remove it from our path to the Lord. With a coconut, some roasted peanuts and a string, tribal people living in the border of forests in Africa, Sri Lanka, and India have been trapping monkeys for centuries. Here’s how they capture them…at one end of the coconut, they open a hole that is big enough to allow a monkey's hand to push inside. However, the hole is too small for a monkey to remove his hand when he makes a fist. On the other end of the coconut, a string is firmly attached and tied to a tree trunk. The coconut trap, with roasted peanuts inside, is placed along a monkey's trail, and the trapper hides behind bushes with a net. The monkey smells the peanuts and is attracted to them. He puts his hand through the hole and grabs a handful of peanuts, after which it is impossible for him to remove his hand since he is unwilling to let go of the peanuts. Suddenly the trapper casts the net over the monkey and traps it. We too are attracted by different "peanuts" that can be detrimental to our spiritual life. Today’s Gospel presents a rich young man who wants eternal life but will not relinquish “the peanuts" of riches. How short-sighted!!! Gospel Homework of the Week: What peanuts are you holding on to that prevents you from seeing Jesus in the poor?