Syndicate
More of Christ's Teachings
Christ would express himself through many parables so that the people in that time would be able to better understand his teachings, but his words ended up being translated and interpreted word by word by the preaching of the following two centuries, even though the symbols today have changed and vary from one culture to another. If we analyze the famous parable of the rich boy that goes to Jesus wanting to become his disciple, believing that he is dignified because he had kept the law, we see that Jesus does not argue with him about his past merits, since by his teachings we can see that it is almost impossible to integrally observe the law. The young man had observed the letter of the law, however Christ urged him to also observe the spirit of the law, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and that shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me”. “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, 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”. (Matthew 19: 21-24). For the young man to obey the spirit of the law supposed giving up one’s riches, but that richness was precisely what had allowed him to observe the ritual precepts of the law, and had not only given him a place in society, but also, this constituted his own identity. The most interesting explanation of the literal sense of the final phrase of the parable refers to the difficulty of a camel going through the eye of a needle. In the city of Jerusalem, in those times, there was a law that prohibited the entry of camels mounted with provisions after the sun set. The doors of the city were closed and it was only possible to get through them through small lateral doors that were a lot smaller and very low in height which was called needle eyes. The merchants that wanted to get in after the sun had gone down with their camels, needed to make the camels get down on their knees and drag to be able to pass under the small doors. If the camels were loaded with stuff, they could not kneel down, and therefore, they had to leave the load on the end outside in the same way that we mortals have to let go of material goods when we leave this life.
The response that Christ gave to the young man is often times very generalized, as if it were a general mandate given to all Christians. But this interpretation could be inexact. The mandate was a directive given to this young man, who was arrogant due to these riches, because Christ detected that it was the riches that was precisely his source of trust. In the same way, giving up riches was not as important as putting into service the needs of others. As we can observe from a beginning it looks as if Christ were radical in condemning riches and in its calling to give it up. But by examining things in a defined way, we can see that his message is an admonition that pretends to move people to do charity. There are all different types of scopes about the problem with riches and owning it, from the fanatic assaults of some against the rich, until the didactic and serene response of others. But the common denominator is the worry for the human well being and only differs to the way of expressing it through the different generations. We can observe that the bible does not back up pure capitalism or the concentration of riches in the hands of some, as well as the obligatory redistribution of goods. This exhorts people to be moderate and practical in attending the needs of the neediest.