In the Gospel reading this morning, we heard the account of a rich young ruler who came to Christ, asking one simple question: “Good Teacher…what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Our Lord responded to the Rich Young Ruler’s question, by saying: “You know the commandments! Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your Father and your Mother!” These were all obvious responses…but they were positive virtues that the young man had (at least to him) already incorporated into his life.
So our Lord peered deeply into his heart, and saw that there was one more thing that was needed: “Sell all you have…all of your possessions…give to the poor…and come follow me...because it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”
This image of a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle has always been one of my favorites in the entire New Testament. When many of our parish family was able to visit Jerusalem, we had the added blessing of visiting the “eye of the needle” which our Lord spoke about this morning. Contrary to what you are thinking in your mind, Jesus was not speaking about a camel fitting through a sewing needle. He instead was referring to the small openings that could be found near the large gates of Jerusalem, where men and animals, one at a time, were able to enter in and out of the city while the main gate were shut. These openings were very small, and the only way that you could fit large animals like a camel through them, was to first remove all of the baggage and cargo that they were carrying, so that they could slip through unhindered.
I love this image, because it is a perfect description of what our own spiritual lives should look like! In order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven…in order to come into complete communion and union with God…we have to drop all of the baggage in our lives that have been weighing us down!
Living in the richest country in the world, I can go into a litany of ways in which we have material baggage that prevents us from entering the eye of the needle…but I will leave that for another homily. Instead, as we enter the new Liturgical Year on September 1st, I want to bring attention to the baggage that we cannot see.
While preparing for confession, one of the practices I love to do is to read a prayer by St. Dimitri of Rostov, which acts as an all-encompassing guide for our lives…to uncover the non-material baggage…the sinfulness of our everyday life that is keeping us from entering into communion with God. Every time I get through that prayer in my own personal confession with my spiritual father, I am left speechless. I feel that my knees are about to buckle under the weight of baggage that I carry in my own spiritual life. After spending time confessing all the ways in which I have failed, I sometimes am left same question that the Apostles had towards the end of the Gospel this morning: “Who then can be saved?”
Our Lord ends the reading this morning by remind us all that: “The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God.” He has shown us the way. He has given us the Church and the Sacraments to renew us. He has offered His Saints as an example of how to enter into the eye of the needle.
Many of the Saints, including the great ascetic we remember today, St. Pimen, remind us and encourage us along the path of removing our excess baggage. For example, when we suffer from the baggage of gluttony, we should be tripling our efforts to watch what goes into our bodies. St. Pimen tells us: “Just as bees are driven out of the hive by smoke so that the sweetness of the honey can be removed, so gluttony drives out the fear of God from your heart, so that all of your good works are brought to not.” Be cautious of not only what comes out of our mouths…but what goes into them as well!
For those of us who suffer from temptations and evil thoughts, again St. Pimen says: “If someone shuts a snake and a scorpion in a bottle, in time they will be completely destroyed. So it is with temptations and thoughts, they are suggested by the demons, yet they disappear through patience.” He reminds us to practice the virtue of silence and patience when confronted with a temptation to anger or judgment…a reminder that will be desperately needed in an election year, when so many of God’s flock will be tempted to anger and division over the politics of the day.
I read the beautiful story recently about a priest who, just before World War II, used to get incredibly angry and hostile when reading about Bulgarian advancements into Thessoloniki. In order to rectify the situation, he took a vow not to read the newspaper, regardless of what was going on in the world. A few years later, a man was speaking to him about Hitler’s advancement into Europe, and unlike everyone else in the world, the priest had no idea who Hitler was. When the man asked why he doesn’t pick up the newspaper anymore…the priest responded with an excerpt from psalm 51: “For I know my iniquities, and my sins are ever before me…”
Who am I to judge the ramblings of a politician…or to respond to a social media rant…or to look down at any of my brothers and sisters who don’t agree with me…when I myself am weighed down with my own weaknesses? Instead of being fired up about the politics of the day, that priest spent the rest of his days offering words of encouragement and love in the local coffee shops to people who were distressed about the war!
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
It is a simple question with a simple answer. Labor to remove the excess baggage of sin…Ask our Lord for help…and enter into the narrow gate, where God is waiting to embrace those who are ready to receive Him.