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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 His 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
Yesterday, we read that little children were brought to Jesus that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? Now one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, 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 His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished saying, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus gives an extremely vivid metaphor for the difficulties of detachment, especially from great possessions. We often view this as disparaging wealthy people, but if we look closely, what it really tells us is the difficulties of attachment to wealth. We could perhaps elaborate on various interpretations that have been given for this picture ("eye of a needle" was possibly the name of a small city gate that a camel could only pass through if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, or "rope" in Aramaic sounds like the word for camel). In addition the Talmud uses a similar expression for difficulty: "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle." But to be pressed and squeezed through a tiny opening (and we remember that Jesus has said all of us must enter through the narrow gate to life) tells us of a difficult journey, of unloading all the things to which we're attached and from which we feel we take identity in life. The "wealthy" are going to have a harder time with this, because wealth determines so much about life and creates dependency. But the attachment to riches doesn't only exist for the exceptionally wealthy. This is a particular lesson for this time of year and where we put our emphasis during the holidays. This is especially true in a world that has radically departed from the economies of Christ's time, and so emphasizes what we might get that will make us happy or "successful," and what others have that we might not have. My study bible says that whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches. It notes that this is clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?" This question reflects everybody's concern.
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." I think the power in this statement is something that we often want to overlook. We seemingly never fail to underestimate the power of God at work in our lives. It is my belief that the Holy Spirit will help us to detach from the things which we need to become detached from, in order to let God more fully into our hearts. Furthermore, Jesus clearly states that God is a necessary part of this equation. It's impossible to change of ourselves alone. How are we supposed to unthink who we are? With what resources do we understand how to change in the ways that are necessary to reach a goal we can't yet contain nor understand, as it's not a part of us? We need God's help for detachment, a lifelong process of movement in our faith and re-centering in the place Christ asks us to be instead. We need help. That is, we need the kind of help that makes all things 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." As far as we know, these are not wealthy men of great possessions who have followed Christ. It's possible that Matthew -- the author of this gospel! -- was relatively wealthy, as he was a tax collector. But Peter, who has a family and a house, still speaks for them all when he says, "We have left all and followed You." It's another emphasis that this teaching isn't just for the very wealthy, but for all of us. Jesus now speaks of those who have left behind the whole of their lives for His sake, for the sake of His ministry and His church. According to St. John Chrysostom, this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family. It means even the acceptance that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). The return is wealth within faith: brothers and sisters in Christ, and the kind of wealth added to life in the richness of faith. Faith helps us to understand and discover resources present to us (exemplified in the multiplication of loaves and fishes), including "houses" of worship and fellowship. Again, it is a kind of exchange of one life for another, as we have so often seen (see yesterday's reading and commentary on this subject).
We've often written in this blog about the exchange that we can see in Christ's teachings. When something is sacrificed in the process of our faith, our walk with Christ, somehow the exchange we receive is something magnified beyond the value of what we gave up. Christ "fills us with good things." In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke of having "treasure in heaven," in exchange for the worldly wealth the man who came to Him would give up, and I think we have a great tendency to be so focused on the material that we can't understand the great wealth that comes to the soul. Enlightenment, in terms of being illumined by faith, gives us a far different perspective on the things we have than life without that faith. There was a time I gave up nearly everything I owned because I felt it was that important to move; I had to leave most everything behind because I had no place to take it to, and found a way to give it to the poor. It was the most liberating thing I have ever done, because it taught me that I could always start, with Christ, from wherever I am. And it made me permanently dependent on God in ways that I pray I will not lose. Christ has blessed me with a material life far beyond what I had then but it all has to be in service to God. Most important however is the place of the heart. It really doesn't matter what one has or doesn't have if we're totally selfish human beings. And there we start with the baggage of the wealthy piled atop that camel in today's reading. It is a time of Thanksgiving in the United States where I live. Tomorrow is the holiday for giving thanks. In a letter from a bishop, I read today that we must particularly give thanks in times of persecution, not only in times of peace and prosperity. I ask my readers to remember those who are persecuted for their faith around the world today. And it really is a worldwide phenomenon that I am writing about. I have many readers in Africa who understand too well what I am writing about. People across the Middle East are also suffering persecution for their faith, including those in the persecuted Church (and others) who have suffered from genocide in the last century and now face similar circumstances. Whether we are wealthy or poor, we can understand the needs of those who stand to lose even their lives at any moment, or their freedom to slavery of the most horrific kind as women and children, targeted specifically because of their faith, are either made sex slaves or child soldiers and murderers. These things are surely evil in the robbing of the souls of those who are its victims, the innocent and powerless of the world. It is a time for all of us to understand who "the least of these" really are in our world and to give whatever we can -- including our prayers and time -- to help. It is a hardhearted form of sophistry not to care about such people when one is far away from the horror with which they must live. Let us not be blind to the reality of those who suffer the most persecution because they are the most helpless.
