The things which are impossible with men are possible with 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 hard 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 said, "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 that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; 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 tells us that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  Theophylact explains:  "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.    He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

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."   This man comes not to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from someone he simply considers a good Teacher, my study bible says.  Christ's response is not to deny that He is God, but rather to lead the rich man toward that knowledge.

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing."  In Matthew's version of this story, the man himself senses he still lacks something, although he has kept the commandments.  Here in Luke, it is Jesus who tells him, "You still lack one thing."  Either way, this story asks us to understand that formal observance of the commandments does not make us righteous before God; there is a deeper discipleship that awaits.

"Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  My study bible says that perfection consists in the willing sacrifice made of that which is necessary in order to follow Christ.  One must freely give such a sacrifice for discipleship.  It adds that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  As wealth had such a strong grip on this rich man, his hope was to sell and give away his possessions, so he had the freedom to follow Christ.  We note the exchange of one way of life for another, a form of total repentance:  to sell and distribute to the poor is to have treasure in heaven.  According to St. John Chrysostom, giving away possessions is the least of the instructions of Jesus.  To follow Him in all things is a greater and more difficult calling.

But when he hard 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?"   There are many interpretations of the saying of Jesus about a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some say that camel sounds alike to the Aramaic word for rope, and so it is conceivable that my unraveling the rope altogether, it could possibly gradually be threaded through the eye of a need.  There is another suggestion that the eye of a needle was the name of a very small city gate, through which a camel could squeeze only after it were relieved of all of its baggage.  My study bible notes that there is a similar saying in the Talmud:  "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  At any rate, regardless of what this saying refers to, it is an illustration of the impossibility of salvation for those attached to riches.  Such a pervasive reality then and now is made totally clear by the response of those who heard it, "Who then can be saved?"

 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  With God's grace, my study bible says, even what is impossible to human beings can come to pass.

Then Peter said, "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."  We read here of the sacrifices made by the disciples for the Kingdom, to follow Christ.   We read about the things that remain the contents of settled middle life in the world, which may all in a certain sense be considered forms of wealth or possessions:   house, parents, brothers (extended family and relations), wife, and children.  Once again, Jesus speaks in the language of exchange.  Peter, speaking for the rest of the disciples, notes for us that they have left them all behind in order to follow Christ.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, two notable facts are given to us about the ruler in today's reading.  In Matthew, we're told that this is a young man who comes to Christ (Matthew 19:20).  And in Mark's Gospel, we're told -- just before Jesus tells him of the "one thing" he lacks -- that Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21).  I find it notable that this story is given just after Jesus tells the disciples, "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."  Combined with the understanding that this rich ruler is both young and beloved of Christ, we can come to the understanding that even in this figure of a man attached to wealth, Christ sees the image of a little child, someone capable of hearing his "hard word" that must be given to make sacrifice, in order to overcome attachment that prevents his full service and discipleship to the Kingdom.  And here is the great wisdom hidden in the Gospels:  it really doesn't matter who we are or what our status is in life, sacrifice will be asked of us, and the hard things we will be asked to give up will be those which are given in exchange for a deeper, fuller, and more rewarding dependence upon and communion with God.  Each of us is capable of being this little child who receives Christ's word, even a very rich ruler.  We know the man is "good" -- for he has kept all the commandments from his youth.  But Jesus asks of us a step further.  He asks us for trust -- the meaning of the Greek root word for "faith" in the Gospels.  He asks us to take whatever it is we are most attached to, and exchange it for attachment and trust in Him, and where He leads us.  This is a "hard saying" for anyone, not just for a rich person.  But Christ does not minimize the difficulties for those with "riches."  He does the opposite, and remarks on the extraordinary difficulty of detachment for service to the Kingdom, to lose one's life in order to save it, for one who is rich.  And here is the great good news, that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God."   In other words, any one of us may be like this rich man.  It really doesn't depend on our specific circumstances to find difficulties in following the word of God, trusting in and deepening this reliance on Christ.  All of us have things in life to which we are deeply attached, and each of us may be challenged precisely because of the attachment, to learn to give up what we cling to in order to replace it with our depth of communion with Christ.  This is why even this figure of a man, for whom giving up his wealth to follow Christ is a step too far, is beloved of Christ and as such, given the difficult command.  Each of us is gifted with the potential of being that "little child" in the eyes of Christ, for whom a command can be given in order to grow in closeness, in trust, in communion with Him.  The apostles, indeed, comment on all that they have left behind.  But what we don't read here is the depth of life given and received of Christ through the taking up of our own crosses, and our willingness to realize the "treasure in heaven" potentially received by this rich man through distribution of what he has to the poor.  The great exchange is for a deeper communion with God, and there is simply no telling where that will lead us, into what depths that will take us.  We may even find ourselves, after giving up such a position, once again responsible for great wealth, only this time with the first duty to faithfulness in Christ (16:10-12).  In the exchange of one way of life for another, of the certainties of possession for the faithful life in Christ and where it might take us, there is only one thing that is a yardstick by which to measure:  the trust within which we grow in communion to God, the redeeming sense of exchange that blossoms with new experience and growth.  The disciples will go from fishermen on the Sea of Galilee to those who spread His Gospel to the world.  Where will your exchange of one life for another take you?  As Jesus teaches, everything is possible with God, even the greatest depth of change we may be asked to make.