Word to the Wise
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - Tuesday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
[Ezekiel 28:1-10 and Matthew 19:23-30]"Amen, I say to you,it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, 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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "for men this is impossible,bot for God all things are possible."
Why are the disciples astonished? It's because they shared with most of their culture the belief that wealth and riches were a sign of God's blessing. If someone truly wealthy, i.e. so favored by God, cannot be saved then what chance has anyone else?! Jesus simply tells them that no human person can save themselves - whether by wealth or any other means except by God! He uses hyperbole common to the culture when he speaks of the camel and the needle. Impossibility is impossibility. However, with God, all things are possible. I rather doubt we should expect the absurd, however - namely, threading that poor camel! The challenge is to our security. Where is our ultimate security? Is it in having a place to live, food to eat, friends to love, things to entertain? Lots of folks think so. Jesus warns us that those things are not secure - or at least not the security that following him will offer. An old joke says, "Working for the Lord may not pay much, but the benefits are unbeatable." Maybe that's the "package" we should accept! It's the only offer we're going to get from Jesus! AMEN
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