"It's easier for a camel to pass ..."

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the 'Eye of the Needle' than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18)

A rich young man approached Jesus and asked, "Good Master, what must I do to attain eternal life?" Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? There is only One, who is good. But if you want eternal life, keep the ten commandments given to Moses at Sinai." "This I have always done," he said. "What else do I lack?" Then Jesus said, "If you would have eternal life, go and sell all you have, and give to the poor, so that you will have riches in Heaven. Then come and follow Me." When the young man heard this, he was crestfallen, for he had very much wealth, and he walked slowly away.

Jesus looked to his disciples, and said, "How difficult it is for someone who thinks he is rich to choose instead the Kingdom of Heaven. Truly, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the 'eye of the needle' than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Hearing this, the disciples were astonished. "Who then can be saved?" Peter asked. And Jesus said, "For man, it is impossible, but all things are possible for God."

Now, in the Bible, we don't get to hear the rest of the story about that young man. Did he ever come back? We don't know. But I suspect that he began to question whether his desire for eternal life outweighed his satisfaction with the wealth his family had accumulated. No one wants to be poor, but the scriptures promise a life of blessings and abundance in Heaven for those who are accepted to enter.

That is what he was asking: How high is the threshold that we must pass to enter Heaven? We wonder if that young man ever figured out what Jesus meant by his answer. Was there a principle involved, but left unspoken? Jesus didn't even tell the disciples, as he didn't want to spell out yet another law for us to haggle over, and nit pick, and get wrong because of our stiff-necked self interests. So we have to go back to the most basic level and try to see how Love can be applied in this situation.

Jesus did give a specific answer, applying the rule of Love, to illuminate what was lacking. "Give all you have to the poor." On the surface, He was saying that we should choose to be poor, so that we can follow Him. But maybe there's another level.

As an aside note, I've heard that there was a shortcut trail, called "eye of the needle" through the desert between Qumran and Jerusalem. It had a passageway so narrow that a camel would have to be unloaded in order to squeeze through. Trade caravans wouldn't use it, because a stuck or balky camel could ruin the trip. But a brave traveler in a hurry to reach the city might consider it doable, if he was on foot and not carrying too much. If this is so, the disciples had a clear idea of the difficulties involved. Now, back to the story.

The way we do economics in this world, and the way Jesus seems to say that economics works in the Kingdom, these are clearly different. Jesus always spoke in favor of giving workmen a fair daily wage, even if they arrived late to work. He seemed to think that accumulating profit for one person implied that others were not getting all they deserved. But this is not merely an issue of fairness, but rather one of sharing in love. Several times, Jesus had his disciples feed the crowds that followed Him, by setting the example of sharing what they had with everyone, and trusting God to supply all that was needed with his abundance. Where others need our help, we are to give, and when we need help, we are told to ask, persistently if necessary. But in their daily lives, Jesus and his dozen followers shared everything in common. This is easy when you are poor, but takes a lot of thought when you have  to manage a large estate as a trust for those who must depend on it.

So Jesus just gave that rich young man an easy answer. Liquidate your assets and share them with all who have contributed by their hard work, and anyone else who needs a helping hand. He could have said, Contract with all your workers to have a share in your farms and businesses, and divide the proceeds among them. But that would have been to establish an unstable economic system in a hostile environment. All He really wanted was for the man to release his concerns and come to follow in his footsteps to learn about the Father  and his Kingdom. As you see, the easy answer was the better one in this case.

But it didn't sound easy to the rich young man. Selling all you own is a difficult task, especially if much of it has sentimental value. And most people already have their own household items. If you want to sell a farm, or a business, your only buyers are other rich people, who want to profit. So how do you divide your wealth among the poor? If you give away small plots of land, you want to give them to people who will farm successfully. You can give away furniture, if people have a place to keep it.  A house you can sell, and give the money to charity, if you don't have any family of your own. Indeed, having your own family makes all of this generosity problematic. But, with determination, it can be done, however slowly, and family conflicts can be endured.

One last question then remains. Where is Jesus, now that you have finally arranged to distribute all your wealth and have become poor yourself? It probably took a long time to accomplish the task that Jesus set for you. Maybe He has already been arrested and crucified, and you were not there to witness the events or hear many of his teachings. Do you go to find his disciples, and join with them to build this new separatist sect, with all of their peculiar, even heretical, theology? And now, you hear the incredible claims that some of his disciples have seen him alive, raised from the dead?!

But isn't that what you said you wanted, all those many months ago?  Eternal life. If Jesus can rise again, maybe he really does know the answer.  Let's go see and listen.