With God all things are possible

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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." When the disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Then Peter answered and said to him, "See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore what shall we have?" So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

- Matthew 19:23-30

Today's reading takes us further into the territory of detachment and faith - what it is to practice the kind of humility that gives us repentance of the most profound type. We have read (in yesterday's reading) about the young man with many possessions, who has followed perfectly the Law all of his life. In order to be perfect, Jesus told him, he should sell what he has, give to the poor, and he "will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But the young man "went away sorrowful," we are told, "for he had great possessions."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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." When the disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." As in the recent reading on marriage and divorce, the disciples react to this hard saying by remarking on its difficulty! Previously, they remarked that it is better not to marry, given Jesus' teaching. Today, they respond to the teaching to the young man with many possessions by asking, "Who then can be saved?" So, Jesus' deep teachings on detachment, humility and the cultivation of relationship are difficult even for the disciples, and they express for us (especially Peter, as is frequently the case) our own reaction to these teachings, so that Jesus may answer.

My study bible has a note on the whole of today's passage: "Various interpretations have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle: e.g. that the word was not camel, but 'rope'; or that the eye of a needle was a city gate through which the camel might barely squeeze. (The Talmud uses a similar expression, 'for an elephant to go through the eye of the needle.') But whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the difficulty of salvation for those who are attached to riches. The disciples and others give all will receive a hundredfold (v. 29) in the Kingdom." I agree with my study bible in the sense that this saying is meant to convey extraordinary difficulty, because of the responses of the disciples. We are told that they were "greatly astonished." Their question implies that given this saying, perhaps no one can be saved. And Jesus' reply also implies the impossibility in the worldly sense, or point of view: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." We are at the point of a strange paradox: Jesus says that his teaching is impossible for a mere human being to achieve through personal effort alone. This saying is possible only with God's help: "with God all things are possible." So, we are entering into territory here where the personal relationship with God becomes a requirement for the teachings of Jesus. Without this "walk with God" we cannot cultivate the necessary detachment for the great devotion to the kingdom that he asks of his disciples, his followers.

Then Peter answered and said to him, "See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore what shall we have?" Peter is the first to point out that the disciples have "left all and followed you." He asks, "Therefore what shall we have?" -- he wants to know what is gained in exchange for such a transfer of allegiance, attachment. I think it's of tremendous importance that the gospels teach us about the disciples' worldly, emotional perspective -- their "great astonishment" and their doubts that anyone can follow these difficult teachings. We also have Jesus' replies. Peter speaks for all of us to come, and asks the questions we, too, would ask.

So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The disciples are taught -- as was the young man -- about the "treasures in heaven" that await them. They themselves are to sit in exalted places in this kingdom, when the judgment is to come. I think that for many people, this would not only seem like a reward that is not necessarily compensatory - and also the fact that it is a promise for something in the future may be an element many people discount in favor of reward in the here and now. Moreover, this promise is one that is believed in faith. It is not something physically proven to them. Speaking for myself, their faith demonstrates in itself the possibilities that come "with God," with God's help. As are the apostles, we are transformed in the presence of God, through faith and relationship. This union, this faith, transforms us: the things of God become as treasures to us. This change is what is represented most profoundly by the Greek word for repentance, metanoia - which means, literally, "change of mind." We change, we are transformed with God's help. That is why "with God all things are possible." Of course, to hold this position in the judgment is a tremendous spiritual honor reserved for the apostles, who have responded with faith to Christ's call.

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." This promise, however, is to all of us - to all of Christ's followers who learn to practice this sort of detachment. At least, that is the way that I read it. There are many ways of leaving everything behind, of practicing detachment. It is not necessarily so that all of us leave homes, property and families behind in a literal or physical sense. But to do so in a spiritual sense is something that faith will compel us toward. This may be a lifetime process of learning to cultivate detachment, to put the kingdom - and faith - first, so that all is in service to the kingdom. Every choice we make may be one in which we "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," and in this way we learn to practice the detachment that leaves all behind for this kingdom. We are told in the teaching on Solomon in all his glory that we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and "all these things shall be added unto you." Here, "a hundredfold" represents a similar teaching. Faith, a walk with God, also gives us an appreciation for the treasures of the kingdom and their great worth to us, an internal feeling of joy in that beauty.

"But many who are first will be last, and the last first." This saying occurs in other parts of the gospels as well, and it is used in the sense of the cultivation of humility among the disciples. Surely we can see for ourselves, that they who come first will perhaps wait the longest for their reward - to see the day of the judgment. They will also suffer martyrs' deaths, they will give up much more for the sake of the gospels once Jesus' earthly life is over, and after the coming of the Spirit. And many saints and martyrs will also do the same. Today, we have the benefit of many structures of the church, the dissemination of information and teachings, institutions and so much more that has been established to support the faithful. But these, "first," were those who accepted in faith to establish this beginning of the church in faith, and who walked with Christ before the Spirit was given upon all, before all that we have now. It remains, however, a great teaching on humility in the hierarchy of the church and the nature of authority as Christ wished to convey it to us. They who will sit in judgment must be "last of all" - they will serve all.

So, these teachings on a radical kind of humility remain with us and continue to teach us what to be as models of faith. Everything goes into service for our faith. We are to learn the type of humility that aspires to serve all in ministry to faith. We know the tremendous difficulty - Jesus calls it "impossible" - this conveys. Are we to be stoics who face all out of our own energy and capacity? No, this is not his teaching here to us. We are to walk with God in faith, and "with God all things are possible." It is not our own strength alone that gives us the capacity to have faith, and to change and transform in that faith. This is what is given to us via grace. It is still our choice that facilitates, that opens the door to the connection to the work of the Spirit. But we merely have to open the door and God makes things possible in us. These are not teachings that ask of us tremendous feats of our own strength. But they are teachings that set us down in a place where we are to understand the depth of change from one sort of "worldly" reality to another, a heavenly reality which is given to us, and in which we are allowed, through relationship, to participate. We grow through detachment (to all sorts of things and ways of thinking) into deeper faith. How then do you experience the help of the Spirit today? What ails you that you need to let go of - which new form of humility will help you to heal as a spiritual person, to change? What new detachment is necessary for growth and healing, and the deepening of one's life in this kingdom? Turn to God in prayer and ask, and help for it all will be there. This is the spirit of mercy that Christ teaches - and in our detachment and humility we are healed. To experience the beauty of the things of heaven is to be transfixed by that beauty and to experience the joy of it and its uplifting reality in our lives. Mercy is God's medicine that makes all things possible.