Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as the continuing feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos!

In today’s Gospel reading we heard how difficult, perhaps even nearly impossible it is for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. For us, living in Canada in the 21st century, these words are very severe and terrifying, because, without a doubt, we are all rich. We all have everything that is necessary for a comfortable life. Each of us has a place to live, something to eat and clothes to wear. Naturally, some are more fortunate than others, but few in our country and our time die from hunger or due to exposure to the elements on the street. Could it be that being in such a good physical state has closed our path into the Kingdom of Heaven and that we can only hope for God’s mercy? Could it be that our good deeds, our prayers and fasting bring us no closer to God, because we are more or less rich?

As with last week’s reading, a better understanding of the classical world will help us to better understand this difficult passage from Holy Scripture. We can sum up difficulty of this passage by stating the obvious – that it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. This expression on its own seems to us to be strange and unnatural. In a certain way, it’s an anti-parable. If in a parable the message is vivid and easily grasped, here there is darkness and confusion. From ancient times this passage from the Gospel was considered difficult and various people gave different explanations of it. Therefore, let’s examine how they explained these verses.

Some people, such as St. Cyril of Alexandria, thought that by the world camel Christ had in mind not an animal, but a thick rope that was used by sailors to attach anchors. Others said that there used to be a certain gate in the walls of Jerusalem that looked very much like the eye of a needle. A camel could walk through this gate only with difficulty, on his knees. Other people, like the compilers of the Russian Study Bible of Lopukhin, note that many of the peoples of the east have similar idiomatic expressions and that these expressions denote a very complicated and difficult task, but in no way an impossible one.

It doesn’t really matter which of these explanations is closer to our heart. What is important, as St. John Chrysostom notes, is that riches on their own do not block us from the Heavenly Kingdom, but our attitude and our attachment to these riches can. Therefore, let’s thank the Lord that He has given us everything that is needed for our earthly life, and even more than what is simply necessary! If we have a hard time understanding how to properly use our riches, let’s read about the righteous men of the Old Testament: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Job, as well as the saints of the New Testament times: Philaret the Almsgiver, Vladimir of Kiev, Juliana of Lazarevo and many others. Let us imitate their hospitality, kindness and work ethic.

priest Alexis