Homily | August 18, 2026 | Get Off The Throne | (Episode 236)

Yesterday a rich man walked away from Jesus' side.

Today the disciples are still trying to understand what just happened.

Jesus looks at them and says, It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

And the disciples are stunned.

Who then can be saved?

That may be one of the best questions anyone could ever ask Jesus.

Who then can be saved?

Because beneath that question is something every one of us eventually has to discover.

I cannot save myself.

Listen to the first reading.

The Prince of Tyre has become enormously well, very successful.

He's intelligent, power, influential, and slowly something happens inside of him.

His success begins to deceive him.

He says A God am I.

And God answers him with a devastating simplicity.

You are a man and not a god.

That is not God humiliating him.

That is God telling him the truth.

You are not God.

And neither are we.

We know this intellectually, but I'm sure we always live a different way.

Because every time I believe that everything depends upon me, every time I need to control every single outcome, control the narrative, every time I think my plans must prevail, every time I begin to believe that my accomplishments make me secure, I start occupying a throne that does not belong to me.

And sooner or later life reminds me you are not God.

A diagnosis can remind you.

A phone call in the middle of the night can remind you.

A relationship you cannot repair, a child you cannot protect from every suffering, a problem you cannot solve will always remind you.

There are moments when our intelligence, money, connections, planning, and strength simply cannot fix what's in front of us.

Perhaps that's why Jesus' answer today is so important.

The disciples ask, Who then can be saved?

Jesus says, For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.

That sentence is not just about money, it is about salvation.

Christianity is not a self-improvement program.

Jesus Christ did not come simply to make people good, a little bit better, friendlier.

No, he came to save us.

And salvation begins when I finally stop pretending that I can be my own Savior.

That's the danger of wealth that Jesus is warning about.

Money itself is not evil, but wealth can create a very convincing illusion.

I have enough, I'm secure, I can take care of myself, I don't need anyone.

And eventually, without ever saying the words out loud, I can begin living as though I don't really need God.

That's the Prince of Tyre.

A God am I.

And that's why Peter's next words matter so much.

He says, We've given up everything and followed you.

Peter's not saying, look how impressive we are.

No, he's describing the opposite of the Prince of Tyre.

The Prince says, Look what I have built.

Peter says, Look what we've left behind.

The prince clings to what makes him powerful.

Peter has begun to discover that discipleship requires empty hands.

Jesus promises him something extraordinary.

Whatever is surrender for his sake is not ultimately lost.

It's transformed.

It is returned in ways Peter cannot yet imagine.

And then Jesus says, Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Because the kingdom turns our measurements upside down.

The world will say you're blessed when you need nobody.

Jesus says you're blessed when you know how to desperately depend upon God.

The world says accumulate as much as you can.

Jesus says, surrender.

The world says establish yourself.

Look out for number one.

Jesus says, follow me.

The world says, become powerful enough that nothing can touch you.

Jesus says, become humble enough to let God save you.

So maybe today the question is not, do I have too much?

Maybe the deeper question is, where have I stopped needing God?

Where have I stopped becoming so capable, so comfortable, so successful, so accustomed to managing things myself that prayer has quietly become optional.

Because eventually every one of us encounters something we cannot fix.

And strangely enough, that moment can become grace.

The moment when you finally say, Lord, I can't do this.

And Jesus says, I know.

But you can.

And he says, Yes, I will take care of it.

That's Christianity.

Not that I become strong enough to save myself, not that I become good enough to earn heaven, but that I finally become humble enough to receive only what God can give me.

For men, this is impossible.

Thank God that sentence does not end there.

Jesus says, but for God, all things are possible.

So get off the throne.

You were never meant to sit there.

Let God be God and let Him save you.

Amen.