Brothers and sisters, today’s readings put two unlikely candidates in front of us — Gideon in the Old Testament, and the apostles in the Gospel — and in both cases, God flips the logic of the world on its head.

In Judges 6, Gideon is not a military hero.
He’s threshing wheat in secret because he’s afraid of the Midianites.
And when the angel of the Lord appears, what does the angel call him? “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valour.”

From Gideon’s point of view, that’s ridiculous.
He feels weak. He says: “How can I deliver Israel? My family is the weakest… and I am the least in my father’s house.”

And yet — this is how God works.
He does not call the equipped; He equips the called.
He chooses the small, the hidden, the hesitant — so that it is clear the victory is His, not ours.

Gideon’s “yes” turns a frightened man into a leader of Israel.
And the sign God gives him — fire from the rock consuming the offering — is a foreshadowing of the fire of the Spirit that will come upon the apostles at Pentecost.

In Matthew 19, Jesus says it plainly: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This shocks the disciples — in their world, wealth was seen as a sign of God’s blessing. So they ask: “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus gives the key: “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” That’s the Gospel in one line.

We cannot save ourselves — not by money, not by effort, not by human achievement.

Salvation is God’s work, God’s gift — offered in Christ through the Church and her sacraments.

The danger of wealth is not that money itself is evil — the Church has never taught that — but that it can bind the heart to the passing world and dull our hunger for the Kingdom.

That’s why Our Lord warns us: if anything in our life keeps us from Him — whether riches, comfort, status, or sin — it must be surrendered.
Because the one treasure that cannot be lost is Christ Himself.

The apostles understood this. Peter says: “We have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?”

Jesus promises them — and us — a hundredfold, and eternal life.
This is not just a metaphor. This is the reality of grace: when you give your life to Christ, you receive far more in return — His peace now, and glory in the life to come.

Like Gideon, you may feel small, unqualified, or weak in faith.
Like the apostles, you may feel the cost of discipleship is too high.
But God says:

• Go in this might of yours — I will be with you.
• With Me, even the impossible becomes your mission.

For us Catholics, this is not a vague spiritual idea — it’s concrete:

• Christ is with us in the Eucharist — truly, substantially present.
• Christ strengthens us in Confession — restoring us when we fall.
• Christ sends us from the Mass as witnesses to a world that still thinks the camel can squeeze through the needle by its own cleverness.

The readings today are a challenge and a comfort:

• Don’t disqualify yourself from God’s work because you feel too small. That’s exactly when He can work most powerfully.
• Don’t cling to what you can’t keep — cling to Christ, the one treasure that endures.
• Don’t forget: salvation is impossible for us alone — but with God, it is not only possible, it is promised.

So, brothers and sisters — what is the “Midianite” in your life?
What is the thing that makes you say, “I can’t”?
Give it to Christ.
Receive Him in the Eucharist.
And hear Him say to you what He said to Gideon:

“Peace be with you. Do not fear. I will be with you.”