Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10:27
“It is the duty of all who love truth and who are a part of the Christian community not to treat wealthy members of the church with rude contempt or, on the other hand, to bow to them in order to benefit from their friendship and generosity. Use the words of Scripture to help them overcome their despair, and show them with interpretation of the Lord’s teachings that the kingdom of heaven is not an impossible goal for them if they will obey the commandments.”
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 — c. 215) in The Rich Man’s Salvation, ed. and trans. by Jan L. Women in Morality and Ethics in Early Christianity (Sources of Early Christian Thought; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987), as recounted by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 8-9.
Today’s excerpt gives us a glimpse into late second century thinking with regard to the treatment of the rich in the church. This homily, Quis dives salvatur, or literally, Who Is A Rich Man That Is Saved?, wrestles with the implications of Mark 10:17-31 for the rich.
Rhee notes (xxii): “Is there hope for the rich, then? If so, how can they be saved? Clement acknowledges that salvation seems to be more difficult for the rich than the poor, but he wants to show the concerned rich that have already been initiated into the salvation process “how what is impossible with humans becomes possible” — with Christ’s instruction to the truth and their good works in lifelong perseverance.”
Clement’s advice in antiquity is timeless. We must neither despise the rich nor bow to them to benefit from their giving, but “use the words of Scripture” to help them obey the commands of Christ to share the riches they possess to take hold of a kingdom of one hundredfold value. Rhee’s counsel in modernity echoes that. We must help them understand “Christ’s instruction to the truth” and exhort them not just to hear Christ but to do what He says.