OCTOBER 2000

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
(Mt 19:24)

    These words are essential for understanding where Jesus stands with regard to wealth. The image is striking, paradoxical, in keeping with the Semitic style. Wealth and the kingdom of God are incompatible, and there is no point in attempting to play down a teaching which appears several times in Jesus’ preaching, as for example, when he says that it is not possible to serve God and mammon (=wealth),1 or when he seems to ask the rich young man to give up something which is impossible for man but not for God.2 
    But let’s try to understand the true meaning of these words spoken by Jesus himself, which reflect his relationship with the rich.
    He associates with people who are well-off. To Zacchaeus who gives away half of his goods, he says: "Today salvation has come to this house."3 Moreover, the Acts of the Apostles testify that the communion of goods was spontaneous and free in the early Church.4 
   Therefore, Jesus did not intend to found only a community of people who, when called to follow him, leave all their riches.
    And yet he says:

   Then what is Jesus condemning? Certainly not the goods of this earth
in themselves, but those who are attached to them.
    Why?
    It’s clear: because everything belongs to God. The rich person, instead, acts as if the riches were his or hers.
    Riches can easily take the place of God in the human heart; they blind us and favor every vice. The Apostle Paul wrote: "Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains."5 
   What should be the attitude then of those who have possessions? They need to keep their hearts free and totally open to God. They should feel that they are administrators of their goods and know, as John Paul II says, that these goods are under a "social mortgage."6 
   Because the goods of this earth are not evil in themselves, they should not be scorned, but they must be used well. Our hearts, not our hands, must stay far from them. It’s a matter of using them for the good of others. Those who are rich are rich for the benefit of others.

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than
for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’’

    Someone might say: I’m not rich at all, so these words don’t apply to me.
    We must be careful. The question that the disciples asked Christ in dismay right after they had heard this statement was: "Who then can be saved?’’7 This tell us clearly that these words were addressed in some way to everyone.
    Even a person who has left everything in order to follow Christ can be attached to thousands of things. Even someone who is very poor but who curses anyone who touches his bag, can be rich in the eyes of God.
    And yet many rich people in the history of the Church did not pull back. They followed Jesus along the way of the most radical poverty. Such was the case with Eletto, whom I knew well: a tall, handsome young man who was intelligent and rich. When he heard God’s call to follow him, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He didn’t turn away. Riches didn’t seem to exist for him. He gave up all his goods and his life, too. He drowned in the act of helping a young boy. Eletto
was only 33. There, by the lake, the following words are written on the memorial stone dedicated to him: "I have chosen God alone, and nothing, absolutely
nothing else."
    When Eletto appeared before Jesus, he certainly did not hear the words: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’’

1) See Mt 6:24.; 2) See Mk 10:27.; 3) Lk 19:9; 4) See Acts 4:32; 5) 1 Tim 6:9-10; 6) See Encyclical letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Rome, December 20, 1987 n. 42; 7) Mt 19:25.

Chiara Lubich

The commentary to the Word of Life is translated in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs. If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past "Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine, the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information, or to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. A book, From Scripture to Life, containing Words of Life with commentary by Chiara Lubich and related experiences of life is available through New City Press, the publishing house of the Focolare, 202 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538.
To order the book or magazine, call: 1-800-462-5980. E-mail: info@newcitypress.com

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