If we want to experience the kingdom of God, we must not close ourselves from it by being self-absorbed, closing in on ourselves instead of being open to God and God’s grace. We certainly must not think it is something we can attain all by ourselves, that on our own, we can do what it takes to become perfect. We can’t. Perfection is impossible without union with God, for God is good, the source and foundation of all that is good, and whatever goodness we have comes from God. But God is love and does not prevent others from participating in that goodness, but rather, God creates out of a desire to share that goodness with others. Whatever gets in our way participating in and embracing that good, we must cast aside, even if, in some other circumstances, they can be shown to be relative goods which help people reach out and embrace God. So long as we find ourselves attached to them, they become barriers between us and God. Thus, we can do many good things, we can, in a relative sense, be exemplary in our actions, but still hold onto something which gets in the way of our participation in the absolute good which is found in God, and in doing so, find ourselves unable to experience the kingdom of God.
For many, money, what they want to do with it, is what gets in their way; they follow the dictates of mammon, and all kinds of “economic laws” which mammon establishes, instead of God, making mammon their lord and master. Of course, they might not realize this. They might think they believe in and follow God, but their relationship with money gets in the way of their relationship with God. Unless they detach themselves from mammon, which might for some mean casting all wealth they might have, mammon will continue to get in the way of their realization of the kingdom of God. This is why Jesus told a rich man, one who seemed eager to do good works to be saved, that he was far from the perfection of the kingdom of God:
And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions (Matt. 19:16-22 RSV).
While the rich young man had many great possessions, in another sense, those possessions, his wealth, possessed him. He was unwilling to give them up. He let them rule him, as his heart was set on them more than God. He had done many good works, but he was still far from the good which he needed because he cut himself off from that good and put his wealth in its place. This is not to say he was absolutely evil – he, like everyone else, had good in him, but it was a good given to him by God, a good which he did not fully embrace, because he let the goods of the earth take possession of him.
Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man surprised many of his followers. They were used to the rich getting their way. But when the rich young man encountered Jesus, he could not and would not get his way. He wanted an easy salvation, one which allowed him to remain as he was, possessed by his possessions. But Jesus’s response was clear: God could not and would not be manipulated by wealth. What leads to God is a true and honest relationship with God where anything which gets in the way of that relationship is cast away. For the rich young man, that was his wealth. And yet Jesus did say, the rich young man, like anyone else, could be saved, but only through God and God’s grace:
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:23-26 RSV).
There are many ways we can interpret what Jesus meant when he mentioned the camel going through the eye of the needle. While they can be and are interesting to explore, helping us know the cultural background of Jesus’ words, all of them ultimately lead to one and the same point: we must learn how to detach ourselves from those things which would hinder our journey to God, that is, our union with God. For many, it is the love of money, or material goods, that is avarice, which gets the best of them, and so, like the rich man here, though they think they possess those goods, they are the ones who are possessed: they need to find a way to cast off that attachment, to enter into the narrow gate like a camel going through such a narrow gate, one in which it needs to remove all that it is carrying if it is to make it through to the other side. For everyone, there can be and are things which get in their relationship with God; every idol which we make for ourselves must be abandoned before we can find our unity with God. Once we do so, we will find ourselves attaining perfection because we will be sharing in and participating in God’s perfection. What are our idols, what do we put in place between ourselves and God’s expectation for us? Is it possible for us to cut ourselves off from them all by ourselves? Not entirely, but when we cannot do it, God can, and if we are willing, God will help us, for again, what is not possible for us is possible with God.
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