Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)
Jesus’ teaching has pressed the disciples to their breaking point. In spite of their somewhat limited understanding of who Jesus is and what he is about, they feel like they are hard working and faithful followers. So when he tells them that the best efforts of the wealthiest people are still not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven, they are stretched to the end of their rope. Jesus has said to them, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” And in their shock they ask, “Then who can be saved?”
It is into this question, borne out of frustration, that Jesus tells them that in spite of the seemingly impossible task before them, “for God all things are possible.”
Watching the current political climate unfold before us, it seems clear that we must hope that Jesus is right. The presidential debates show many powerful people who are mostly filled with bluster. Our own state’s gridlock seems destined to months more of stalemates while people most in need suffer as a result. If our destiny is simply in the hands of the rich and powerful, we are in sorry shape.
But Jesus knows that our destiny is in the hands of God. In spite of our somewhat feeble attempts to get life right, all of us are just as fragile and incapable of saving ourselves as the rich and the powerful. While it is fun and somewhat cathartic to point fingers as the 1% or politicians or whoever, ultimately all of us are in the same boat. If we are in the boat on our own – we are probably in trouble. But if we are in the boat with Jesus – with God all things are possible.
