As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments:
You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
Gospel Trivia:
Jesus challenges the rich man's attachment to riches and presents it not just as a major obstacle, but an impossibility, in obtaining eternal life; comparable to a camel going through the eye of a needle.
This is not a startling fact as we readily acknowledge that one's attachment to wealth makes it difficult share and extend love to our neighbors. But consider this: in biblical times, wealth (together with good health and children) were considered blessings for the Lord. If you are rich, then you must be good. Conversely, if you are poor, then it can only be because you are a sinner and did not follow the Laws of Moses. You did not contribute money to the temple, you did not fast, you did not pray, and you broke several of the hundreds of Moses' laws (many of which the common folk did not, and could not, know since the poor were illiterate and uneducated.)
Thus, Jesus was not just challenging one's attachment to wealth, but the very mindset that one could earn his/her way to the Kingdom of God by simply religiously following rules.
To Jesus, the essential requirement is acknowledgment that eternal life is pure grace -- an initiative of God out of simply the goodness of God's heart.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 82-83.
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