My sons, how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Mk 10:24-25)
As Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem in Mark’s Gospel, he challenges us to abandon whatever may hinder complete devotion to the kingdom. He offers the call of discipleship “with love” and assures us that the reward is a full community life “in this present age” and everlasting life “in the age to come.”
In the first reading the author of the Book of Wisdom takes on the persona of Solomon and prays for the gift of wisdom, rather than power, riches or health (see 1 Kings 3:6-9). The Book of Wisdom personifies God’s wisdom as a woman who is God’s eternal spirit, creating and directing the universe and history according to a loving plan. She is the only reality which lasts; “scepter and throne,” “gold” and “silver,” “health and comeliness” are ephemeral in comparison with her. “Yet,” Solomon assures us, “all good things together came to me in her company.”
The second reading from Hebrews is a warning to a lapsing community that it is called to union with God whose word is both “living and effective” and “sharper than any two-edged sword.” Faced with the awesome prospect of being judged by this word that “penetrates and divides soul and spirit,” we should remain steadfast in our fidelity to our original calling.
The Gospel selection is divided into three sections: Jesus’ encounter with the rich man; his teaching to the disciples on the danger of riches for those who would enter the kingdom of God; and his assurance to Peter that those who have sacrificed for the kingdom will be blessed in this life and the next.
In his dialogue with the rich man, Jesus lovingly offers him “treasure in heaven,” the kind of lasting wisdom that Solomon prayed for in the Wisdom reading. When the man claims to want a “share in everlasting life” and insists that he has observed the commandments of the law for that purpose, Jesus challenges him to sell his merely temporal goods and give them to the poor. But, sadly, he cannot part with his “many possessions.”
After the man has gone away “sad,” Jesus warns his disciples that earthly riches are a hindrance for entrance into the kingdom. To illustrate the folly of trying to enter “the kingdom of God” with earthly possessions, Jesus pictures a camel, loaded with baggage, trying to squeeze through a needle’s eye. But then he concludes the dialogue on a hopeful note. When the disciples express their doubt that anyone can be saved under such demanding conditions, Jesus assures them: “For man it is impossible but not for God. With God all things are possible.”
At this point, Peter reminds Jesus that the disciples, in sharp contrast to the rich man, “have put aside everything to follow you!” Jesus then assures him that, although a life of discipleship will involve persecution, it will be blessed with rich community fellowship in this world and the everlasting life of the kingdom in the next:
“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”
