The eye of the needle

Now as he was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " And he answered and said to him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever yo have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God." And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."

Then Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left all and followed you." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

- Mark 10:17-31

Now as he was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" We begin today's reading with the recollection that Jesus is now in Judea, having completed his ministry in Galilee. Immediately we recall the passage just before this one, in which Jesus admitted the children into his presence and gave them his blessings, "for of such is the kingdom of God." This young man is not a child, but still young. So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." My study bible says that this young man approaches Jesus as a mere human and Jesus replies as such, not denying Jesus' own goodness but rather focusing the young man's attention entirely on God. This is the first indication of a shift from morality to a deeper sense of faith. "You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " And he answered and said to him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." The first focus starts with the Law, the commandments. My study bible notes that "Jesus affirms obedience here to the Ten Commands as an essential aspect of the question for righteousness and eternal life." In a sense, Jesus is beginning at the beginnings, the foundation of his own ministry, and he will lead the young man into the fullness of this promise. Clearly, the young man is filled with a spirit of obedience, and a zeal - a love - for righteousness.

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. My study bible notes: "Jesus recognizes and approves the man's moral righteousness. But he tests him at his point of greatest vulnerability, where he needs to repent most. It is his money that is keeping him from salvation. Jesus challenges him with the ideal of total sacrifice for his sake. The command to sell all is for this man, or for any other whom Christ may call in this particular way, but should not be construed as a universal requirement." What I find important is that, just as Jesus himself is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and takes faith beyond what was understood as the moral laws, so in his person in front of this man that Jesus loves, he takes the man beyond a moral code. He is, in fact, pointing at the place of greatest vulnerability, as my study bible says. Quite surely, this passage teaches us that as disciples we hold nothing back from Christ. In our prayer relationship, we behold the Christ and he beholds all of what we are; through time, we ask that we ourselves become exposed and healed in our own weaknesses, our vulnerable places. This is the life of prayer and transformation he asks of us. In this case, the young man's possessions are a stumbling block, an obstacle to the fullness of that relationship in its full depth or completeness. My study bible continues, "Christians are to use their possessions according to God's purposes, above all to help the poor and needy, but they are not to reject ownership of property. However, voluntary poverty is a legitimate part of a freely chosen way of life -- for example, for monastics."

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God." Jesus notes the pull of wealth on the human psyche, beyond morality and codes and laws. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." My study bible notes, "Riches grip the heart like few other things. When people trust in money more than in God, refusing to return their wealth to Christ, they fail to gain eternal life." Clearly, this illustration is meant to teach us of the difficulties of entering this kingdom with attachments! A similar saying in Matthew's gospel occurs when Jesus teaches to "enter through the narrow gate." Whatever we are attached to, whatever we consider possessions that stand in the way of this loyalty and first relationship to Christ, will get in the way of that narrow opening. This is an illustration that Jesus wants all of us, but not with the burdens we may bear that we give up to him, no matter what they are. It is deeply difficult to escape from our needs in this world, to give up possession to Christ, but this is what he asks of us. Who we are is separate from what we own; and in Christ we find the image of who he wishes us to be. And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Again, an expression of the deep attachment we form to possessions, and especially of those who claim identity from all that they own. "With God all things are possible" teaches us the grace that we need in this journey of faith, this place beyond codes and laws. We bring ourselves, as we truly are, before God, and ask of God to teach us what we do with this life, with our possessions, including our time, our work, and what we put our faith into. Stripped of those possessions is where Grace finds us; that is, this is the place where we truly stand before God and where God knows us, and shapes us into what is possible. And with God, all things are possible.

Then Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left all and followed you." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life." The apostles, through Peter, reflect on their own journey with Christ. "See, we have left all and followed you." They indeed have left their families and their possessions behind, and Jesus assures them of "a hundredfold" return, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. We recall Jesus' words about his mother and brothers and sisters - they are those who do the will of God. In this relationship with him that Jesus is encouraging all of us to take up, we find the hundredfold, but also persecutions. The way of the cross is not easy or simple. My study bible notes, "The disciples have done what Jesus asked the rich young man to do. Justification before God is never, in the Old or New Testaments, said to be by faith alone, though it is by faith apart from the law. God calls on people to believe and to act because they believe." Furthermore, it adds, "Discipleship is radical self-denial, a total offering of oneself to God. This implies readiness to give up dear possessions or even relationships that stand in the way of following Christ." Surely we are to understand that the young man in this passage received inherited wealth, and that wealth ties him to his family -- part of the difficulty of what he is asked to give up for a relationship with Christ. Regarding the "reward" - my study bible has yet another helpful note I will repeat: "That disciples will receive earthly rewards a hundredfold now in this time is not an absolute promise: countless saints and martyrs were not so rewarded. However, God has a way of returning and multiplying earthly blessings along with persecutions to faithful men and women according to His will." I also think it's important to remember that when we are asked to choose between a worldly possession - regardless of what it is - that confirms our image in the eyes of men, and something that God asks us to choose to conform to the inner image of what gives us possessions that neither moths nor rust can consume, then we are also in a sense on the cross. This is, in whole, an image of humility, of emptying to God. In so doing, there are other treasures that we store up, where thieves do not break in and steal. Those things become a part of us, in exchange for the things we let go of, and give to Christ for his direction in how they are to be used. "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Again, an affirmation of humility. Those disciples who serve him now are the same ones who were a little while before disputing among themselves on the road as to who was the greatest. I find it interesting that today's passage also begins on the road. Jesus is the one who has said that, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." This journey on a road is clearly a symbol of one who travels light, without burdensome possessions, who can enter through that narrow gate; with God's help, the eye of the needle.

What we recall here is the power of this relationship -- that it comes before all things. Radical humility, poverty and obedience (such as are included in the vows of monastics) are not called good in themselves alone. Christ's call is one of putting his relationship with us first. All things serve that relationship. It is in this sense that we are to be free enough from possessions to make choices. Possessions can be used for many purposes; they can serve many ideals or goals. But there is nothing that should stand in the way of union with Christ - and we will all be called upon, I feel, to make choices. They need not be spectacular -- some of those we find in the public eye who covet others' wealth made the greatest shows of charity donations. I feel that these vows are for all of us in the sense that to follow Christ is simply to put Him first, to put our relationship with Creator first. And in our hearts, that depth of relationship extends far beyond moral law and codes of behavior. On this road, with the cross, that journey continues a lifetime and into depths within ourselves that we cannot foresee. In that sense, how we use our possessions in that relationship can take many, many forms. It is not easy, and it may come with persecutions. But we remember his promise, and that "with God all things are possible."