Luke 18:18-30
A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
People have been trying to explain away this passage for centuries. One popular explanation, for instance, is that Jesus isn’t speaking literally; rather, the “eye of a needle” is actually a small door in one of the gates into Jerusalem where camels would have to be completely unpacked before entering in. So what Jesus really meant was that we need to unburden ourselves of whatever might be keeping us from relying on God. That might be wealth, but it might be some spiritual impediment instead.
Great story. Except for one thing – there is no gate into Jerusalem with a door named the eye of the needle. Rather, that story started circulating in the mid-nineteenth century to make rich Christians feel better about their wealth.
Lutherans have at times been fond of saying that Jesus couldn’t possible mean what he said because if we really could get into heaven by giving away what we had, that would be works righteousness. So this must be a set up, a plot to show us how unable we are to earn salvation and illustrate our absolute dependence on God’s grace and mercy.
Again, it sounds pretty good. But I’m not so sure. I think the God we read about in the Bible really does care about what we do with our wealth, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Jesus actually wants us to sell what we have in order to care for the poor. I mean, if you were God, wouldn’t you want all of your children to have clothes on their backs and food in their bellies, instead of just some.
So what if Jesus meant it? Then what?
Well, then we’re as likely to be shocked as Jesus’ disciples…although for different reasons. In Jesus’ day, people assumed wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, and so the disciples can’t believe their ears when they hear Jesus say it will be hard for rich people to enter heaven. If not the rich, then who?
We, on the other hand, are shocked because we can’t imagine not having what we have. It’s not that we’re unwilling to share some of what we have, a bit of the left over once we’ve paid the mortgage and put something away for retirement and had that well deserved vacation and bought all the Christmas presents and all the rest. But everything?
I’m with you. I can’t imagine it either. And so maybe it really is impossible for us. But I don’t think that lets us off the hook. I think Jesus actually believes that the more we give the better off we are – not just the poor, though certainly they benefit, but also we. Because as we share more and more of what we have, we learn to depend on God’s grace over our own security, to value relationships over possessions, and to experience the joy of giving rather than the anxiety of accumulating.
This is no easy word. I struggle with it as much as the next person. But given that one of Jesus’ primary concerns throughout Luke’s gospel has been the welfare of the poor, I suspect he means what he says. Which means, in turn, that the least I can do is struggle to obey. And if I’m going to do that, then I’d better start by turning in prayer to the God for whom nothing is impossible. Perhaps you’d like to join me.
Prayer: Dear God, teach me the joy of generosity and open my heart to trust in you and so give freely of all those things with which you have blessed me so that all your children have enough. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: “Christ and the Rich Young Ruler,” by Heinrich Hofmann
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