| SINCE all the riches of this world | |
| May be gifts from the Devil and earthly kings, | |
| I should suspect that I worshipp’d the Devil | |
| If I thank’d my God for worldly things.--Blake |
Today's gospel is the upsetting discussion on ownership.
A man comes to Christ and asks what he must do to attain eternal life. He has followed the commandments but still he worries.
"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;"
It is easy to be overwhelmed here. Especially for modern man for whom possessions have undergone a change. We no longer see ownership as abusive; possessions have progressed from accumulation of power and influence to the more defensive Enlightenment view of safety and independence. But the key phrase here is "Jesus, looking at him, loved him."Christ is not diminishing the man's achievements; the man has done well with a good heart.
Then He tells the apostles,
"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."
By this He meant "unencumbered," the "eye of the needle" being a small door in a city gate that would admit only a man, with no weaponry.
The apostles are horrified because they know the truth. Man must work, earn and live.
"They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?""
Indeed, who is unencumbered? And Christ's answer to this complex worry is simple:
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
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