Everyone in our society knows something about Jesus Christ, but many also seem to presume that he was the soul of political correctness, kind, tolerant and non-judgmental.
Jesus was controversial and he was killed because of his teachings, some of which continue to surprise although other Christian attitudes have seeped deeply into our store of common sense, often existing there unrecognized.
His teaching on riches is a good example of political incorrectness. It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle, he explained to his disciples, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.
Most Australians believe they belong to the middle class and we are reluctant to concede that we are rich. But would the rest of the world, and perhaps God himself, believe the camels are better placed than ourselves?
There is no easy escape from this provocative exaggeration, this hyperbole, because scholars, despite their best efforts, have not been able to discover a small entry next to any gate in Jerusalem which was too low for a camel.
We also have the beatitudes, the blessings and the curses which seem to turn everyday values upside down. Here it is the poor, the hungry, those who are weeping who are blessed, while woes are predicted for the rich who are enjoying their consolations now.
One commentator claimed that Christ warned against the danger of riches more frequently than he condemned the evil of hypocrisy (although I have never done the count myself). Nor can we claim that Jesus was simply another example of class envy, because some of his friends e.g. Lazarus, Martha and Mary were rich and comfortable.
Jesus himself practised what he preached, living simply with no fixed home and his teaching represents a decisive rejection of his Jewish background where wealth was a sign of divine blessing and friendship. Even Job, after his terrible misfortunes, recovered his riches.
Central to Christ's position was his conviction that no one can serve both God and money, as they are incompatible masters. Money is a ruthless boss and a difficult employee, because it can dry out and harden our hearts, so we become mean and closed to the poor.
The rich man would not even give the crumbs from his table to Lazarus, the beggar at his gates, but in the next life their two situations were reversed.
Money cannot return our love although it encourages us to believe we are self sufficient, to despise those not as well off as ourselves. No priest has ever told me that the richer the parishioners the higher the rate of giving, although some wealthy parishes are very generous. This is not a universal rule.
But to return to the original question. Can the rich be saved? Nothing is impossible to God because only God saves. No one, not even the poor, arrives under his own steam.
