Mammon or God? : a reflection for Day 34 of Lent

“…Jesus said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad, for he was very rich.” (Luke 18.22-23)

     Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem.  The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1; 13.22; 14.25), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.  Besides announcing imminent judgment, Jesus is feasting and telling stories.  Jesus’ “gospel” is bad news for the self-sufficient, smug and vengeful and good news for the poor, desperate and trusting.

     In Luke 18.18, a “certain ruler” approaches Jesus with a question.  Thus begins the first of two episodes which sit close to one another in the narrative, showing the different reactions of two rich men to the challenge of the kingdom issued by Jesus (cf. Lk. 19.1-10).  In the first case, a man asks Jesus: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life (i.e. the life of the Age to Come)?”  Jesus begins by obliquely identifying himself with God – “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Lk. 18.19; cf. 5.21).  Jesus lists off six of the Ten Commandments, those commands that concern how humans treat each other (cf. Ex. 20.12-17), intimating to the man that this is “the way to life” (Lk. 18.20; cf. Dt. 30.19-20).  The man replies that he has faithfully followed all the commandments from his youth (18.21).  Jesus looks at him and delivers the final answer to the man’s question: “You lack one thing; Sell all that you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (18.22).  On hearing this, the man was shocked, saddened both at not being any closer to the life of the Age to Come, and because “he was very rich” (18.23).  Jesus’ demand might strike us as unnecessarily harsh, but let’s not forget that Jesus is heading towards his destiny (cf. Lk. 18.31-34).  Even those who have been with him for many months are still struggling to understand the nature of his mission, and what is more, the inevitable cost of discipleship (cf. Lk. 9.23-26).  There is simply no time for Jesus to take on followers who have material attachments (cf. Lk. 9.57-62).  He and his disciples are journeying towards a grim fate, and one hesitant follower could cause the whole “flock” to scatter prematurely.

     Jesus looks at the ruler and declares “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (18.24).  In other words, how difficult it is for the rich to follow Jesus.  Jesus did indeed count some wealthy people among his disciples (cf. Lk. 8.1-3, where Luke names many women who accompanied Jesus and provided for his material needs out of their resources)[1].  The disciples are perplexed and astounded to learn that the rich will have difficulty entering the kingdom.  In the culture of the time, wealthy people were often benefactors of public religious institutions and infrastructure, and were considered to be favoured by (the) God(s).  Hence the disciples’ question, “Then who can be saved?” (18.26).  That is to say, if those who are considered to be closest to the divine have as much chance of being saved as a camel does of passing through the eye of a needle, what hope is there for anyone?  Jesus responds by saying that “what is impossible for mortals is possible for God” (18.27).

     Peter, always the first to speak up, says, “Look, we have left everything and followed you” (Lk. 18.28).  Jesus responds with a promise – no one who has left house/home/fields/family for his sake and the sake of the kingdom will fail to receive much more in “this age” and in “the age to come”, eternal life (18.29-30).  Luke could not have made his point any clearer – leaving everything behind in order to follow Jesus is the way into the kingdom of God; Jesus is the source of salvation, now and into the Age to Come.  The “Age to Come” (=kingdom of God) is the messianic age, the time when God’s people would be “justified” over against all pagan nations that had been persecuting/oppressing them, a time when the righteous dead would be resurrected into a world of perfect peace and justice (cf. Ps. 96).  As we have seen time and time again, those who will share in the life of the coming Age are more often than not precisely not those we would have expected to see inside the kingdom.  “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”  Amen.


[1] Then again, Luke’s Gospel contains some of the harshest portrayals of wealthy people / teaching about the dangers of riches to be found in the New Testament…

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