eye of the needle

17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 20He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It 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." 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

Do we cringe when we read this passage?

I imagine there may be some cringing for those who believe in a literal interpretation of scripture.  Have you sold everything you own yet?  If you haven't, you won't enter the kingdom of God!  This is what said interpretation may read...

Taking this verse contextually and metaphorically still may cause some cringing.  How far do we take this statement?  Can you have wealth and follow Christ?

Regardless, this was a VERY unique passage to study in our "no holds barred Bible study" at BSM.  Remember, we've always got a few in this who are homeless!  It's a very unique context that is beginning to rock my world.

As we gathered to discuss this difficult passage, we began to talk about what it means to "sell all you have to the poor." One key point was made by noticing Jesus "loved him" before answering, which points to the fact that Christ knew this man and what he needed to do.  This command was specific to this person.  His wealth had clouded his ability to love his neighbor, so he was thus instructed to give it to the poor - the people who need it most.

There is a popular idea about this metaphor of a camel going through the eye of a needle that refers to some busy gate in Jerusalem called "the eye of the needle," where camels would have to remove baggage and go on their knees to get through.  True or not, there is still sacrifice involved.  As it is for us.  there must be things we must give up, sacrifice, in order to participate in the kingdom of God that is present and not yet.

A man in our Bible study group, who happened to be homeless, spoke up in the midst of this conversation.  "What do I give up?  I don't have anything?" There was a moment where all of us of privilege had nothing to say.  The same man then broke the silence, "I guess I give up my previous ways of thoughts and doing things that hold me back" (paraphrased).  What a RADICAL concept!  This man showed us a radical faith, that commits when you truly have nothing - not by your own volition, but by the crappy reality of poverty that plagues us.  He demonstrated a commitment to serve God out of nothing.  In some ways, this appears as an ideal to live for.  I believe in that moment, we all wished we could be more like him.

The end of this passage is a reminder to us that we should not be so concerned about the reality of our salvation.  "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." We can only place our faith in God, and move beyond this speculation into dedicated service.

So if this should not be our focus, what should?

If this passage is any indication, it should be a willingness to serve the poor at the risk of being made uncomfortable, that we may truly understand what it is like to live as they do.

Still cringing?  I hope so.

p.s. the first picture is me riding my camel through the streets of Philly.  The second picture is from the always awesome Brick Testament