Sometimes, it is really hard to understand the meaning behind Jesus’ sayings: the parables, the metaphors—sometimes they don’t translate well and we’re not sure exactly what point he is trying to make. Other times, as in this text, Jesus is crystal clear, and the problem is not with Jesus’ speaking, but with our hearing.
I have to be honest; I don’t like this text. It makes me uncomfortable, and immediately my defenses kick in and I try to explain it away: “Jesus says all my possessions, but he doesn’t really mean all, right? Surely ‘some’ will do.” “Jesus says that it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, but he doesn’t mean me, right? I mean, there are plenty of people in the world that have a lot more money than me.”
Maybe you have found yourself saying similar things.
The Gospels contain many, many sayings about money, and there is no question that this one is about money, too. Especially during Lent, then, those of us who have been given much are called to wrestle with how we spend our money. But, it is also true that this exchange is about more than just money; more broadly, it is about “treasure”—it is about the things we value, the things we cling to, the things we think will save us, the things we are afraid to let go. In short, it is about the things we “worship,” the things we are tempted to give pride of place in our hearts over God.
The disciples actually get it, I think—the seriousness of what Jesus says here, and they answer with a version of my own answer to Jesus: “Well, then, I guess we are all doomed, right?”
But, the gospel in this text is that Jesus doesn’t leave them—or us—without hope. God, Jesus says, continues to work in us, making the impossible possible: loosening the chains that bind us, and freeing us for joyous discipleship, hearts bound to God alone. Jesus makes clear that there is “no good deed” we can do to earn ourselves a place in heaven, but thanks be to God, no good deed of ours is needed—we are saved through Jesus Christ and his love and forgiveness alone. And in that, the kingdom of God is already ours.
