For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it, said: Who then can be saved? He said to them: The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God (Luke 18:25-27)
Continuing with Our Lord’s challenging utterances we have this one about how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Our Savior’s words were pathetic ones offered to His disciples after a certain rich man, a good man who kept the commandments, balked at the invitation to join His disciples in walking the road to perfection: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me” (Matthew 19:21) Why did the man hesitate and walk away sad? Because “he had great possessions” (vs. 22).
All three of the synoptic Gospels recount his episode.
Notice, the man “had great possessions.” Not just well-to-do, was he, but very well-to-do. All of the Apostles had given up the possessions that they had, and left all things, i.e., their families, even, for some perhaps, their wives. (The Gospels do not tell us if Peter’s wife was living, only that he was married, for he had a mother-in-law.) Of the other Apostles, we do not know what they left behind in order to “follow” Jesus. Bartholomew (Nathanael is his Hebrew name) is a name denoting nobility (son of Ptolemy) so this Apostle may well have been wealthy. Perhaps. too, was Matthew the tax collector.
Is Our Lord saying that, without a special grace from God, it is impossible for a rich man to be saved? It would seem so. If not, how do we understand so many other admonitions Jesus gave concerning the danger of riches?
“But woe to you that are rich: for you have your consolation” (Luke 6:24)
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9)
“And answering, he said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached” (Luke 7:22). “To the poor,” not only means those who are materially poor, but those who are “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).
“And he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said: Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20)
Codex Aureus Epternacensis (Golden Gospels), Illuminated Manuscript; Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus (source)
Some commentators opt that the four beatitudes and woes provided in Luke’s Gospel (6:20-26) were given by Our Lord on a different occasion than that of the eight beatitudes which we read in Matthew’s Gospel (5:3-10). The latter was given “on a mountain,” the former on a “great plain.” That would explain why the four woes are not found in Matthew’s Gospel.
Finally, we have Our Lady’s Magnificat: “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53).
Now, a rich man, unquestionably, has temptations to vices that would be absent to a poor man. But, on the other hand, a poor man would be more tempted to envy than a rich man. And, money or no money, all men are tempted in the imagination by the allure of the flesh.
Poverty is exemplified in the Holy Family, in their humble abode and occupations, as we see they accepted a stable in Bethlehem “for there was no room in the inn.” Surely, if Saint Joseph were a rich man, he could have bargained for a “better” place. Being a “poor man,” he was happy to receive “the better part,” a cave, in which to bring the “rich one”, God Almighty, into the world. Thus it was that, six months earlier, Our Lady would prophesy that the “hungry would be filled with the good things, and the rich would be sent empty away.”
But, the Magi were rich, so was Abraham, so was Solomon, the writer of inspired books (and, although he had been holy, great was his fall); many saints were rich, Empress Helena, King Louis IX of France, Emperor Henry and Queen Cunegunda of the Holy Roman Empire; Saints Elizabeth of Hungary, Margaret of Scotland, Bridget and Catherine of Sweden, and Edward the Confessor were surely rich; Blessed Emperor Karl and Zita were rich; and not only kings and queens, we also have Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Saint Thomas More, Saint Katherine Drexel of our own nation, Saint Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zelie Martin, were hardly poor, her father being a jeweler, and many other saintly men and women, to be sure, were rich.
These wealthy, holy men and women cooperated with the special grace they received from God to shun the pleasures of the world, even legitimate ones, and give of their largesse to the poor. They lavished alms upon the needy and the suffering souls in Purgatory; they supported the missions, hospitals, religious orders, and gave to the building of churches and monasteries. In short, their ten talents were multiplied exponentially.
Nevertheless, material riches, in themselves, are not the kind of treasure that can be stored up in heaven. One cannot serve God and mammon. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required” (Luke 12:48). This is true no matter what special gifts we have received. Even if we are blessed with poverty we are not exempt from giving much. Remember the widow’s mite. Remember the Holy Family.
