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. 

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 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 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

Yesterday 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 says that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  It quotes Theophylact commenting on this section:  "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.'"  This man does not come to test Jesus, but rather he is asking advice from someone whom he considers to be a good Teacher.  Jesus' response doesn't deny He's God, but rather He's leading this ruler to understand the foundation of "goodness," and to the commandments of God.

And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  To credit this man and his character, we are given to understand that he has an earnest desire for eternal life and he senses that he still lacks something, so he continues to press Jesus for an answer.  My study bible notes that here, as with the Pharisee in yesterday's reading, above, formal observance of commandments doesn't make one righteous before God.  This understand couples with Jesus' earlier statements about entering the kingdom as a little child.

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.   My study bible says that to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  This is the one thing the ruler lacks.  Nothing is gained unless the sacrifice is given freely.  But the specifics of how each person will follow Christ is different for each person.  Since wealth has such a grasp on this rich ruler's identity, his hope was to sell and distribute his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom suggests that giving away his possessions is the least of the instructions from Christ here.  To follow Him in all things is not only a greater but a more difficult calling.

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."   The image of a camel going through the eye of a needle is one for which many people have suggested possible interpretations.  Perhaps the word for camel is similar to one for rope (in Aramaic), thus introducing an analogy.  Perhaps the eye of a needle was the name of a tiny city gate through which a camel might squeeze if it were relieved of all its baggage, which would symbolize wealth.  There is also a similar expression in the Talmud:  "For an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But however we wish to explain this saying, one thing is clear (and Jesus' linguistic brilliance assures that we will be drawn to it over and over again), that a camel passing through the eye of a needle conveys the impossibility of salvation for anyone who is attached to riches.  The difficulty this conveys for people (for how many feel no attachment for whatever wealth they have?) is evidenced in the seemingly stunned response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible with men is 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."   The disciples reflect on the sacrifices that they have made.  My study bible suggests that Jesus is not telling believers that they need to divorce spouses or abandon children.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.   It also tells us that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith ( see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Here Jesus promises believers many times more houses or relatives, not necessarily in an earthly but a spiritual sense, as my study bible puts it, of "fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship."

Losing family or possessions (things connected with our "worldly" lives) is always a sad and hard thing.  But Jesus doesn't speak here of leaving things behind that are unnecessary to our well-being or rather to our lives of faith to One whose healing and counsels are always "wholistic"; that is, concerned with the whole lives of His flock.  Our Teacher is not a severe aesthete, does not call us all to a kind of severe asceticism, but rather to a life that is truly healthy -- meaning that our concerns, lives, actions, aims, and plans for ourselves fulfill all of who we are:  soul, spirit, mind, strength.  Nothing should be left out.  When we're asked to make some sort of sacrifice, it is never to the detriment of the fullness of life, but rather in order to enhance it, protect it, and fulfill new possibilities in terms of who we are and who we can be in His sight.  For this rich ruler to leave his possessions to the poor not only means "treasure in heaven," as Jesus says.  It also means an expanded life, understanding, and identity as a disciple of Christ.  We don't know what this rich ruler may have become or found for himself as a disciple, but we can understand that even for the greatly desired gift of eternal life, he seems unwilling to make the sacrifice that Christ suggests for him.  This isn't so much a failure to make a sacrifice as it is a loss for the young man of something much better and richer.  It tells us that we may be asked to give things up when we can't see around the corner or into the future what it is that we will gain in our lives as a result.  The richness of a blessed life isn't so much in the material things we gain as it is in the whole fabric of life that is enhanced and given beauty which is palpable to us in a deeply internal sense.  C. S. Lewis refers to this beauty as Joy (see this article from the Guardian on a recently-discovered letter in which Lewis writes about Joy, and also his book, Surprised by Joy).  We have only to look at the apostles themselves to understand the difference in their lives between the time they were fishermen, for example, to the destiny they would find as Christ's disciples and apostles.  We don't know what the road holds for us when we make sacrifices.  We're not given absolute assurances and promises about what the journey ahead will hold or will be like.  Sacrifices, let us note, are not minimized in the Gospels.  It's clear to Christ how deeply difficult for the rich ruler the sacrifice is that Jesus has suggested that he make in order to find the great gift of eternal life with Him.  Even the disciples note what they have left behind in order to follow Him.  Thus, we have the great tension of faith.  Let us be reminded of Jesus' words in such matters.  Recently we've read that He's taught,  "Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it" and "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  In chapter 9, He taught, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (see this reading).  Never does He minimize the difficulty of sacrifice, but the fullness of life to which He calls us is only possible through such sacrifices, as the attachments He calls us to give up to follow Him are those things that stand in the way of the life He offers, the joy and the beauty of participation in God's love in the way He has made possible for us.  Let us remember that grace calls us forward, just as it compelled Christ in His great mission in our world, out of a life as Jesus of Nazareth.  He was the first, and we are all called to take up our crosses and follow Him.