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

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For 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 those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

- Luke 18:15-30

On Saturday, we read Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The publican is a tax collector - he works for the Romans, and takes money from the people. Essentially, he is seen as a public sinner, cheating his own people. The Pharisee is exemplary in terms of observing God's Law, and a highly respected person. But the prayer of the Pharisee is essentially "with himself," while the tax collector prays in humility to God. Jesus pronounces the publican "justified" rather than the Pharisee. He says, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." My study bible has a note here which reads, "The blessing of children by respected rabbis was customary. Jesus uses the image of the child to convey the ideal of childlike simplicity and humility required to enter the Kingdom." Since, as my study bible notes, this was a common custom (for respected rabbis to bless children), we can only assume that the reason the disciples rebuke those who bring infants to Jesus is because Jesus is busy with other work, considered more serious: perhaps healing, preaching, or He's still in the midst of His discussion with those "who trusted in themselves that they were righteous" (to whom He gave the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican). But Jesus takes the time for this blessing, because there is an important reason behind it, and an important teaching and lesson connected with it. We've just been taught in the parable that humility is the all-important character trait we need in our relationship to God. This is what justifies the publican, or tax collector, in the parable. Infants are the most dependent human beings of all; they rest everything in those who care for them - and this is how we are to rest in God, to depend on God. This is total relationship to our Creator. This is how we receive the kingdom.

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. A note in my study bible reads: "A rich ruler is challenged by Jesus not only to observe the Ten Commandments but also to sacrifice all thing and follow Him. ... St. John Chrysostom teaches that because Jesus loved the man (Mark 10:21), He named these conditions for his particular need." First of all, we note that Jesus directs this man to God: He says, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." In effect, our relationship to God creates the inheritance of the eternal life of the kingdom. This is the "inheritance" the young man asks for. We begin with the relationship to the Giver of Life. Then Jesus turns the young man to the word of God: the commandments. All these the young man has kept from his youth. In some sense, there is an echo of the Pharisee from the previous reading. This young man is doing all the right things; his behavior is exemplary in terms of religious practice. So we are given the basics first, the rock upon which we begin the journey of faith. But then Christ takes this young man further, and it becomes personal. So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. We assume that Christ, in His role as "knower of hearts" already knows this about the young man. We also note that Jesus is not suggesting that He leave the young man (whom He loved) destitute and alone. On the contrary, Jesus is opening up fellowship and community, the kingdom of heaven, in inviting him to "follow Me." He's extending an invitation to discipleship in His ministry. He's asking him to really leave behind the old life, and enter into a new one. For a "very rich" young man, this will no doubt mean leaving behind family and social connections, and a host of social duties probably expected of him. In today's world, it would be the same question posed to a person of considerable family wealth and inheritance. Monastics give up worldly possessions to "follow Him." And he is not only wealthy, but he is also a "ruler." His social position extends, we presume, to inherited material and political power and rank. So, there is an exchange going on: an earthly inheritance (family, wealth, social position) for a heavenly one of eternal life and the treasures of the kingdom. In this sense of fully emptying his earthly life, Jesus asks the young man to become like the little child in the earlier part of the reading, fully dependent upon that ministry and discipleship.

But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For 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 those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. 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." A note here reads, "God's power can save even a rich man. And those who have turned their backs on riches and forsaken earthly good altogether for the cause of the Kingdom will reap abundant rewards from God." We note that the young man's sorrow extends from his possessions. What Jesus is asking of him is a terribly hard choice, a true dilemma. It is in response to the young man's difficult dilemma that Jesus says, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" Jesus is talking about attachment and the things that bind us to a "worldly life" when it comes to push and shove, when we get to that place where we need to remove the things we cling to that keep us from that all-dependent, childlike relationship to God. Great wealth will easily act as this great burden, because it may bind us so strongly to identity we need to forgo. To maintain great wealth (and other attachments) may also demand of us a great deal of time and effort - how we spend our lives, and how we are engaged with the world. "For 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." This saying is also in Matthew's Gospel, as well, in a similar version of the story. There is a similar expression in the Talmud: "for an elephant to go through the eye of the needle." And there are various explanations for the saying. Any way you read it, we get the message: attachment to riches - and I would extend this to anything we cling to that gets in the way of fuller relationship to God - makes it very tough to squeeze through that place we need to go in order to get to the true goal. Elsewhere, Jesus calls it "the narrow gate." In this sense, this "eye of the needle" is that place we can only pass through by shedding our burdens, the things we cling to, that we think are necessary to carry with us, which God may ask us to give up in order to have a more full relationship with Him, to be truly dependent like the little child -- and to receive the real inheritance and riches that we seek, the eternal life and treasures of the kingdom of God. Great wealth, and the rank that goes with it, may truly bind us to the extent that it gets in the way of a full relationship to God; it becomes an obstacle. But there is good news here: And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." With God we find a transformative power that overcomes all things, all obstacles. It gives us courage to see a way through a very difficult, tight spot that may require of us what we see as impossible dilemmas to solve, and impossible tasks, and that most difficult of all - of letting go of what we think we need that gives us our own understanding of who we are. 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." My study bible says that, "More in this present time does not necessarily signify material things." But the truly important note in this passage is its extension from "riches" (of the wealthy man) to the whole of the riches of earthly life that the apostles have left behind. They have "left all," which includes "houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands." And again, we are taken further by Jesus. They have not only left behind riches, but all -- the relationships most important to them. They have gone further. And there is an important note of judgment here, that reflects a similar theme found elsewhere: their example creates judgment. They have given truly all; and they will be taken yet further after Jesus' death and Resurrection, to the end of their lives.

To lose is indeed a difficult thing. In this heavenly kingdom, we exchange in order to gain something better: eternal life, from the Source of life itself. What does that mean to you? In my personal spiritual journey, I have found this emptying and growing dependency has indeed required of me the hardest dilemmas. The deeper I go, the more I find I need to release: of images of myself I felt I had to cling to in order to be "good" or socially respected, and of things in my life I loved the most. But the journey through that eye of the needle takes me further, and I need to release what it turns out to be baggage that binds the camel. What do you need to release? Does God call you to go through that eye of the needle itself? We remember we are promised a different, heavenly inheritance, a relationship, a fellowship. What does discipleship mean to you in your life, and the treasures of the kingdom that are there for you, awaiting your choice? I, too, have found "abundant rewards from God," and that is my testimony. Anything is possible with God, the Giver of life. We remember, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." God makes that journey of emptying possible for us.