Reflection
Clutching Jewels or Clinging to God?
Pompeii was an ancient Roman city near modern Naples in the region of Campania, Italy. In 79 AD, it was destroyed and buried under 13 to 20 feet of ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The dreadful explosion killed thousands of inhabitants and covered the city in tons of volcanic ash. During later excavations, plaster was poured into the empty spaces left in the hardened ash where bodies had once lain. This allowed historians to see the exact positions of the victims at the moment of death.
Years later, construction workers discovered something striking outside the city. They found the body of a woman who had likely been fleeing from the eruption but was caught in the deadly shower of hot ash. The most haunting detail was that her hands were tightly clutching jewels, which were preserved in good condition. The jewels were hers, but death had made them completely useless to her.
This image speaks powerfully to the message of today’s Gospel from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven.” The disciples were greatly astonished. Like them, we may wonder: Is Jesus condemning wealth? Is He saying that the rich cannot be saved?
In the Old Testament, riches were often seen as a sign of God’s blessing. Abraham, Job, and many others were described as wealthy and favored by God.
Yet the Scriptures also insisted that material blessings must be accompanied by care for the poor and trust in the Lord. Wealth was never meant to replace God but to lead people to gratitude and generosity.
Jesus does not condemn possessions; He warns against attachment. The real danger lies in allowing riches to take God’s place in our hearts. When wealth becomes our security, pride grows, and dependence on God fades. Like the woman of Pompeii clutching her jewels, we may also sometimes hold tightly to what cannot save us.
True richness, as Jesus teaches, is found in discovering God as our greatest treasure. Everything else is temporary. Material wealth cannot cross the threshold of death. Only love, faith, and trust in the Lord endure. When we cling to God rather than possessions, we invest not in passing treasure but in eternal life.
