Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” - Mark 10:25.
Since the third century, scholars and saints alike have explained that the “eye of the needle” referred to a particular gate in the wall of Jerusalem. During the day, this large entry was wide open through which a camel could easily pass. But at night, the larger gate was closed leaving a smaller opening in the gate that allowed only people to pass. A camel, however, could not meander that smaller opening unless it got down on its knees, had its load removed from its back, and crawled through.
In referencing this story, Saint Anselm states that “the rich should not be able to pass along the narrow way that leads to life, till he had put off the burden of riches, that is, by ceasing to love them.” Thus, it is possible for a camel to enter but only on their knees, humbling themselves, and ridding themselves of the “baggage” of their riches.
Perhaps. Or have interpreters, even the great Anselm, found a means to avoid the hard consequences of Jesus’ statement, smoothing it over to make it less startling? After all, the abrasive and unsettling Marcan Jesus comforts the affiliated and afflicts the comfortable. The roundabout semantics of the argument about the “eye of the needle” might draw the accusatory Church Lady of SNL fame to shame and accuse us with her classic, “How conveeeeeenient!”
The strategy began as early as the third century. Clement of Alexandria declared that being wealthy was acceptable as long as one wasn’t morally corrupted by one’s wealth. Perhaps Saint Clement was a pragmatist who simply wanted to keep wealthy members of the community inside the group.
Or is the argument, both then and now, to make it easier for the rich to stay rich? For in truth, especially in Mark, Jesus makes controversial statements to rattle and unsettle. He never offered loopholes. Yes, Jesus is clear that anything is possible if God makes it so. But the moral obligation to share one’s resources with those who are suffering is the most consistent moral teaching in the New Testament.
None of us wish to become victims to the Church Lady’s assaults and accusations. And thankfully God will judge us and not the likes of her. Yet the challenge remains. Where do we fall, you and I, regarding today’s Gospel challenge? Can we squeeze through the needle's eye? Or does the Gospel call us to do much more than that?
—Timothy J. Cronin