The rich man who comes to ask Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life is a good man, sincere in his asking. Jesus answers, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” How hard it is for us camels to pass through the eye of the needle! Like the rich man, we too grieve at the impossibility. Mark’s gospel is alone in saying that Jesus looked on him and loved him. Out of love, not judgment, Jesus offers him an open door to life: sell all you own and give it to the poor. Jesus wants us, and therefore also wants the things that keep us from him; he gazes upon us in love, even as he calls us to leave behind our false sources of security. In this week’s sermon Deacon Bri will remind us that while it is in fact impossible for us, it is more than possible for God. Our culture bombards us with the message that we will find life by consuming, but our understanding of stewardship counters this message with the invitation to find life by removing some of our camel’s packs for the sake of the other as we Boldly Live, Boldly Give.
Image: The Geierlay (suspension bridge) in western Germany by Sandro Fabris. Copyright © 2022 Getty Images Plus via Getty Images. Used by permission.