In Matthew 19, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." According to one tradition, the "eye of a needle" referred to a narrow gateway into Jerusalem. A camel heavily loaded would not be able to pass through it unless it gets unloaded first. In any case, it will be harder for a rich person to enter heaven. In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, we heard the parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus. After they both died, Lazarus was comforted and the rich man in agony. It seems that for a rich person to be able to enter heaven easily, he needs to detach himself from all his possessions, to unload them, so to speak. Next, choosing to be rewarded in your next life rather than in this life can help. Last, in Luke 12 Jesus told Peter, "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much." So the richer we get, the more generous we should become to the poor. Now, love the Lord with all your heart and you should get into heaven easy.
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