Soak the rich

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

The words of our Lord in today’s Gospel (Mt. 19:23-30) are a slap in the face for rich people everywhere.

Indeed, many people get defensive when they hear these words.

Some take refuge in comforting interpretations by obliging preachers and scholars who usually refer to a gate in Jerusalem called the Needle’s Eye (through which camels had to pass on their knees) or who idiosyncratically retranslate “camel” as “rope”.

The message being conveyed in these interpretations is essentially “It’s hard, but don’t worry, you CAN do it.”

This feel-good message is explicitly contradicted by our Lord’s very next statement: "With men this is impossible... "

Sorry, rich people, there is nothing you can do that will get you into heaven (but stay tuned).

The other defensive position that people take is to deny that the passage applies to them because they aren’t really “rich.”

Sorry, not-really-rich people, when our Lord says, “With men this is impossible,” he means you too.

"With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible."

Here, of course, we have the ultimate answer: we are not saved by riches, nor by lack of riches, nor by anything we can do – we are saved by the grace of God in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

All of us, rich and poor, need the soaking rain of God’s love and mercy.

* * * * *

This, of course, does not mean that we should be passive or complacent, that we can just go on with our lives and follow our whims.

No, we must be faithful to the Lord in all of the opportunities and challenges before us.

Material goods
– whether the superabundance of the rich
or even the few possessions of the poor –
represent especially important opportunities
and serious challenges
for all of us.

Our Lord refers to these challenges most gloriously in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal:

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

"For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also."
Matthew 6:19-21


The first part of this passage recalls the words of Ecclesiastes

"For what hath man of all his labour,
and of the vexation of his heart,
wherein he hath laboured under the sun?

"For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief;
yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.

"This is also vanity."
Ecclesiastes 2:22-23


This insight also calls to my mind an old Gershwin song:

"Folks with plenty of plenty,
they got a lock on the door
Afraid somebody's gonna rob 'em
while they're out a'makin' more
What for?"

These are not challenges for the super-rich alone. Indeed, such concerns may be an even greater burden for those with far fewer possessions.

The most significant challenge, however, is in the very last verse of the above Gospel passage:

"For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also."

Rich or poor, we can base so much of ourselves on material things - so much of our attention, so much of our hope for contentment – that Christ is no longer the focus of our lives, no longer the source of our hope, no longer the source from which we seek contentment.

St. Augustine most famously and beautifully recounted how he foolishly pursued happiness in the things of this world and later recognized God as the true and only source of real fulfillment (Confessions, X.xxvii[38])

"Late have I loved thee,
O Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved thee.

"For see, thou wast within
and I was without,
and I sought thee out there.

"Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly
among the lovely things thou hast made.

"Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee.

"These things kept me far from thee
(even though they were not at all
unless they were in thee).

"Thou didst call and cry aloud,
and didst force open my deafness.
Thou didst gleam and shine,
and didst chase away my blindness.
Thou didst breathe fragrant odors
and I drew in my breath;
and now I pant for thee.
I tasted,
and now I hunger and thirst.
Thou didst touch me,
and I burned for thy peace."

Whether we are truly wealthy or only have a few possessions, the challenge and the reality is clear:

"Where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also."

* * * * *

Materials goods are also opportunities for us.

First, they are opportunities for us to fulfill our obligations: especially to our children and our families (mindful, of course, that we must also teach our children to keep their hearts set on the things of heaven).

Second, material goods also represent opportunities for us to help others and to do things for the glory of God. The greater the wealth, the greater the opportunity (and also the greater the danger).

Many holy men and women throughout history (such as St. Stephen of Hungary) have possessed kingly resources and have used them brilliantly to aid people in need and to build up the People of God.

Yet, even for the most generous of benefactors there are dangers, such as the danger of focusing too much on material goods and not spiritual goods, the danger of glorifying oneself, the danger of trying to buy one’s way into heaven, and the danger of not doing enough -- "for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Lk. 12:48b).

* * * * *

Finally, material goods present a very particular, special opportunity – a radical option to which the Lord calls some, but not all: the opportunity to give it all away.

That is the vocation to which Christ calls the young man earlier in Matthew 19. That is the vocation that Peter and the disciples have answered.

"Then answered Peter and said unto him,
'Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee;
what shall we have therefore? '

"And Jesus said unto them, 'Verily I say unto you,
That ye which have followed me,
in the regeneration
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

"'And every one that hath forsaken houses,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundredfold,
and shall inherit everlasting life.'"

While all of us are to live in this world with our hearts set only on the things of heaven, there are some among us who are called to give up all the things of this world for the sake of Christ and the Gospel.

Not all of us are called to this full and explicit evangelical poverty – true responsibilities cannot be lightly set aside – but this lifestyle can be a powerful witness.

Many holy men and women throughout history have answered this call and their holiness has been a beacon for the world: people such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta – people who remind all of us that the greatest treasure is the treasure laid up for us in heaven.

* * * * *

Rich or poor or in-between,
may all of us seek
the soaking rain of God’s love and mercy;

May we use the things we have
for the good of others and the glory of God;

And may we not tie our hearts to the things of this world,
but may we live in this world for the treasures of heaven.