I suppose that most pastoral commentary on Matthew 19 focuses on the issue of divorce. We live in a culture where marriages are more disposable than Dixie cups. Of courser with Dixie cups, we worry about the effect of all those little plastic and paper cups on the environment. With divorce, the lingering and lasting consequences seem never to get a second thought. In a culture like ours, Jesus' teaching about the permanence of marriage certainly deserves serious explanation and consideration.
But what strikes me today is not what Jesus says at the beginning of the chapter. It is what He says at the end. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus makes it clear that keeping too tight a hold on one's possessions can hinder one's entrance into the Kingdom of God.
For years, some in the church, especially Fundamentalist churches, have gotten this truth backwards. When I was young, helping the poor was not high on the Christian priority list. The thought was that people needed the Gospel not material goods. Spiritual needs were far more important than physical needs. Jesus' teaching does not really allow us to make this dichotomy. The rich young ruler had a spiritual need. He desired eternal life. Yet, Jesus zeroed in on his bank account. The separation between spiritual and physical needs is apparently not so great.
Am I more like the rich young ruler or Peter? Do I walk away sad from Jesus' command or can I say: "I have left all to follow you." The truth is I am probably somewhere in the middle. This passage challenges me again to give up all for the sake of God's kingdom. It reminds me not to keep too tight a grasp on my possessions.
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