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

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 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.

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 great 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

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus had traveled to Judea, to Jerusalem. He was disputing with the Pharisees when they asked Him a question, to test Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" Jesus said that an easy or simple divorce was provided for men by Moses "because of the hardness of your heart." He taught that marriage is about love, a relationship made in sacrament. He said, "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." Then someone brought little children to Him, that He might touch them. When His disciples tried to keep them away, He 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 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." Still in Judea, we have another important question. How do we inherit eternal life? But first, Jesus' focus is on one thing - it is God who is good. I think this is an important understanding. He turns the young man toward the relationship with God, this comes first in answer to all questions. My study bible says that Jesus is speaking as a human being, not denying His goodness, but focusing the man's attention on God. We each must cultivate that prime relationship to answer the questions in our lives.

"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." Next, Jesus focuses on the Law as given by Moses. These are the commandments of God, given through the greatest prophet of the Jews. He is in Judea, and begins with Moses in answering the questions posed to Him, as He did in yesterday's reading.

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. I love that we learn that Jesus "loved him." I wonder what He loved about the young man: we can see his devotion, and his deep care of the commandments of Moses. And, I believe, his sincere seeking must be a part of what prompts Jesus' love. At any rate, we are taught by learning of Jesus' love for the young man, that he is of good character and heart, and Jesus responds with true teaching for his best understanding. "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." Perhaps the one thing this young man lacks is an understanding of the reality of the kingdom that is there present. Jesus' answer invites him to think of life as a sort of exchange, where the real presence of the kingdom in our midst is alive and well. Life isn't only about following commandments, but realizing in that relationship of a spiritual kingdom that all that we do and say in the world is interrelated with another reality in which we also participate. At any rate, this kind of transcendence or detachment is extraordinarily hard for this young man to comply with as Jesus has put it, and he goes away "sorrowful, for he had great possessions." It is a lot to give up, a lot to transcend, to see past, and this sacrifice in exchange for the riches of the kingdom reaches deep down into this young man. My study bible says, "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." In other words, this is the young man's vulnerable spot, the place where he needs repentance, or "change of mind." All that we have is to be used for God's purposes - but Jesus is not rejecting ownership of property.

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 great 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." A hard saying, and the apostles are astonished. But this teaching is about the seduction of wealth, its illusion of providing all there is for us, our identity, and its grip on the heart. To "trust in riches" is to be beholden to what we own, so that it owns us. And wealth, unfortunately - the love of money - is a very seductive power in the world; it may be what we are prepared to have in exchange for our souls. Jesus is teaching that detachment - the ability to use what we have for God's purposes, to put God first in all our dealings in life - is possible even from such a great temptation as vast wealth, with God's help. "With God all things are possible." This is why, we're reminded, He first steered the young man to God, to faith in God who is transcendent of his wealth. Jesus has said (in a few readings past, as He addressed an illness that even His disciples could not help) "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Here, the "illness" is the great attachment to wealth, a deep temptation, a weakness. The demonic possession of the boy in the earlier reading, and this young man's identity so bound up with his property, have something in common. But with the help of faith, "all things are possible." We recall the father's cry in the earlier reading, and it might well have been the young man's in today's reading, if he had not turned away in sorrow: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

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." My study bible says, "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 . . . 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 hope I may be allowed to testify here to my own fortune in life: I have been blessed, along with what we might call "persecutions" if I may use that word. (It wasn't always so, however.) I am greatly blessed in the loving home I have in life, and my marriage (see yesterday's reading). Of course, Jesus' words in these verses constitute another radical teaching on detachment, and humility.

With the past several readings, the disciples are learning about detachment, and the necessary humility for their work as servants in the kingdom. "But many who are first will be last, and the last first" creates for us an important understanding of the answer to the dispute among the disciples (about who would be greatest in the kingdom) that Jesus was responding to in Monday's reading. Since then we've read about Jesus teaching them to receive the "little ones" as if they are receiving Him and the Father who sent Him, about other groups casting out demons in Jesus' name, about the supreme importance of caring for the "little ones," about care and love in the relationship of marriage - especially toward the weaker partner, and today about detachment from possessions. Jesus' messages are taking the disciples (and us) further and further into what it means to take up their crosses and follow Him, and what it means to have humility - to be able to give up the things that are necessary in order to embrace life in the kingdom, even as we are a part of the world. Over and over again, we are taught that it is up to us to live this life of the kingdom in our world. It is not something that belongs to another place, another life, but the here and now, and must be lived out as it is in our midst, it is among us and within us. Its realities permeate and live even through ours, even though it turns the "prince of this world" upside down, and stands those "worldly" values on their head that teach us otherwise: that rank and position are all, that wealth comes before other concerns in life, that power is always coercive. Jesus asks us, as He asks the apostles and the rich young man, to put God first, before everything else - and this sets down all other relationships in their right place. It gives us perspective - and this is the detachment, the humility, He looks for. We are to let go of all else that stands in the way. So today, my question is, where does that relationship with God put you? And what does it say you might need to let go of, that has a firm grip before it?