The eye of the needle

Thumbnail Image by Christian from Pixabay

Edie Wakevainen, PhD

October 13, 2024

21st Sunday after Pentecost

“Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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.’”

When the mind wants to understand something, a comparison can help—as long as we’re given a standard for comparison. Describing something as “hard” doesn’t tell us a lot, does it? As hard as hickory, which is considered the hardest wood used for flooring? Or as hard as diamond, the hardest gemstone? Or as hard as a chewy brownie mistakenly left uncovered on the counter overnight? I imagine that the disciples were perplexed by Jesus’s first statement because he did not provide a standard for comparison. He just said it would be hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom.

As an excellent teacher would, Jesus noticed their lack of understanding (they were perplexed) and tried again, this time offering a comparison with a standard. A rich person entering the kingdom of God would be harder than a camel going through the eye of a needle. The disciples—and we—are expected to grasp that standard, something familiar from daily life, and compare the new concept—a rich person entering the kingdom of God—to it, in order to think about which would be harder.

Being familiar with both needles and camels, we can imagine something similar to the picture on the bulletin cover. Your average camel is a creature 11 feet long, 6 feet tall at shoulder height, weighing about 1000 pounds. The eye or opening in a needle through which thread is passed, can be as tiny as .03 inches. It’s ludicrous to imagine that large beast passing through that very tiny opening. So, by comparison, we conclude that Jesus meant that it would be even more ludicrous for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom. But WHY?

First we need to understand what the kingdom of God is. Theologian Walter Rauschenbusch said this: “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven.” The Kingdom of God is here and now. It is not a future thing. And it requires transforming our life on earth into the kind of harmony we anticipate characterizing heaven. The kingdom is comprised of all the humans on earth, every one of whom is worthy and sacred because all are created in God’s image. The kingdom comes about when we are all living together in heavenly harmony—can we even imagine that? It would call for each of us to notice and value the rest of us and to enter into fellowship together, something  that simply is not happening.

We are so far from that Kingdom, because we aren’t doing that work. We don’t live that way. Instead, we use our limited attention and mental space to focus on things we consider more important. You may know people with “one track minds” who focus single mindedly on just one thing. Maybe it’s wealth, or power, or possessions, or achievements. Even a relationship. Whatever it is, putting all their attention on one thing keeps them from seeing the other humans that cross their paths. And if we don’t see them, we can’t build that network of harmonious relationships. Jesus may as well have said, “It is harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a person to prioritize their fellow humans over their personal interests.

Those who do set such priorities are unique and noteworthy. Consider Eleanor, Sean, and Charles—the children of one of my friends from second grade. These three young people live in Asheville, NC, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. They are without power, cell service, and water. They are without income, because they work in the food service industry, in restaurants that closed because of the storm damage. Yet since World Central Kitchen set up in Asheville, Eleanor, Sean, and Charles have been working tirelessly alongside other volunteers to feed people. These three are modeling the Kingdom of God as they focus not on themselves but on their fellow humans, serving all who cross their paths in a time of great stress and devastation.

May we also do our part to hasten the coming of God’s Kingdom.