Impossible?! It is possible!

[AI translation] The problem of this young man we have just read about, known to the Church as the "rich young man", is how to obtain eternal life for himself. "What shall I do to gain eternal life?" This is a very honourable intention, but does it not somehow feel a little old-fashioned to the modern man? That is not usually his problem, his main problem - oh, rather the problem of today's man is how to get a car, or, if he has one, how to get a new one, a modern one, or how to get a nice trip abroad, how to get a nice, good evening to spend, a little pleasure in the great chase of life after a day's work - or a little happiness... But the eternal life is slowly disappearing from his sight, from his perspective, so attached is every thought and aspiration of man today to this visible, earthly world and its things and interests. The problem of eternal life is of no interest to him, except when it becomes relevant: at the moment of death. And yet, Brothers and Sisters, without the perspective of eternal life, the horizon of this earthly life also becomes terribly, miserably narrow, and if one loses his orientation towards eternal life, sooner or later he loses his orientation here on earth, in this earthly world too. So, in fact, this young man is troubled by a very correct insight when he inquires about eternal life.There are many, many problems in life, many questions in life. Among the many questions, this young man has also grasped the most important one: the question which, in contrast to all the other questions of life, is in fact only second and third important, to a certain extent relegated to the background. This rich young man is all the more right if we try to understand the concept of eternal life as he did. I have very often found that there is hardly a concept in the Bible with which there are such serious misunderstandings as there are with the concept of eternal life. Because when we hear "eternal life", most people usually think of that certain life beyond death. Believers and non-believers alike think of life after death, of that certain uncertain afterlife. Somehow they think: "well, yes, we are living here now, until now or so, for so long or so long, and then one day this earthly world will end, life in it will end, then some other life will begin, which will never end." Well, Brethren, no doubt that is included in the concept of eternal life, but it is only one aspect of eternal life. Let us never fall into the error, which people very often fall into, that Jesus is only preparing for the afterlife and wants to redeem human souls.
In this connection, a conversation I heard just last week between the then head of the German Church of the Faith, Niemöller, and the then President of the State, Hitler, is very typical. When they were discussing each other's problems, Hitler said to Niemöller: "Please, sir, you, the Church, just deal with the afterlife, and we will deal with the affairs of the world ourselves." It is typical, but the sad thing is that in the public mind it is generally: yes, well, let the things of faith deal only with the afterlife and its problems. The things of this world - that is something else, that is no longer a matter of faith. Well, then, the most important thing about the concept of eternal life is not that it is a life that will never end, but that it is a life of a completely different quality, content and nature than the life we humans are used to living. Not an empty life, but a life full of content. There are no dead ends, which many people still ask today: "Why am I living?" It is a life that has content, purpose and meaning in every moment, in every situation. It is a life full of divine richness, of an indestructible zest for life, of pure joy, or should I say pleasure, of a sense of responsibility and vocation in all situations, and of the spiritual strength to do so. So eternal life is in fact life from God already here on this earth, in our life.
But perhaps even better, to put it this way: it is the true human life that has been opened to this earthly world of ours through the doorway of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, the one to which Jesus said, "I am life!" It is, in fact, eternal life, which has a purpose, a meaning, which is worth living, which one never regrets, from which one never wants to escape to another place - this would be eternal life and so, after this, we feel that we are a little closer to the question of this rich young man: "What shall I do to gain eternal life?" I don't know whether you feel that this question has in it the disillusionment of the man of today, which is felt even more than in the past, that in fact earthly goods, careers, love, lottery prizes, and even with all these things, one may still be missing something without which life remains empty, sometimes painfully empty. How many rich people commit suicide because life is so empty for them, meaningless, purposeless... Well, Brothers and Sisters, that's what this rich young man felt, and how good it is when someone so consciously feels this emptiness, so formulates and addresses to Jesus this question: 'What shall I do?'
Well, what is Jesus saying here? First of all, he refers to the commandments, "Thou shalt not kill, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor bear false witness, nor honour thy father or mother." And this is a very important moment in the story, because what Jesus is saying is that we are not talking about a new ethic to be set against the ethic of another religion or another ideology, God told you long ago what to do, how to live - you know very well, do it! Do what God tells you to do, because it is the doing that is important, not the religious mood, not the pious piety, not the fine words, not the religious philosophizing, not the keeping of traditions inherited from the ancients - all that is nothing! The clear commandments of God are there: do as God says. And then the rich young man, in all good conscience, says: 'Lord, if it depends on this, there is no fault in it, I have done all these things from my youth, yet I feel that something is missing; what lack is there in me?
You might ask a modern pastor, and he would say, 'Wait a minute, you didn't keep it, at most you kept it to the letter of the law, but it's all a waste of sight! Indeed, all virtue is a sham. If we were to look into the depths of it, we would see how far you have not fulfilled it!" And it's interesting that Jesus doesn't say anything about all this, leaving his virtues as virtues. He says: It's all right, you're an honest man, you're not a vain man, you're not useless, you've always tried to stand up honestly in this earthly world. But then he continues: There is only one thing missing, you have one shortcoming, only one... - and here the moment becomes as exciting as when the last strain of his drowning strength tries to escape, only one arm's length is missing to catch him, to reach the shore, a tiny, last little distance. "You have one more eclipse." And what is the one on which all the others depend, against which all the other riches of life remain empty: what is that one?
Well, no one would really have thought of the poor - the poor in particular - in connection with the problem of eternal life, just as we, when we are dealing with the things of our faith, discussing our relationship with God and trying to dissect the question of our salvation, do not usually think of the poor. How many times, Brothers and Sisters, have I had someone come to me who wanted to pour out his heart in a really serious way. He doesn't know why the Bible doesn't speak to him, he doesn't know why he can't really pray, immerse himself in prayer... He doesn't feel the connection between himself and God... You feel that your prayer is not real... He wants to seriously deepen his faith life... Elolvasott már egy csomó prédikációt, pasarétit is, Klauzál-térit is, mindenfélét, elment mindenhová, ahol azt gondolta, hogy élő igehirdetést hall... and still he's got this damn life of faith: what's he supposed to do? You know, if I asked Jesus that question, he wouldn't say: Look, my dear, dear son, pray like this and like that, he wouldn't tell you how to read the Bible, how to go deeper into religious devotion, into the depths of mystery - he wouldn't say a word about all that. But you know what he would say? He would point to the other person, perhaps the one the questioner doesn't even notice - because eternal life and the other person are very closely linked!
Do you know who that other person is? He may live in the same house as you, he may work in the same factory or plant as you, he may meet you on the street, or he may look at you from behind the counter with such and such a passion. He may be talking to you from a television screen, or over the radio, or you may be sitting with him in a meeting, or in a factory meeting - at the same table as the other man. Always, everywhere, there is "the" other person around you, with you, with me, uninterrupted. There are many "other people", and most importantly, this other person is always poor in some way, at least poor in the sense that he or she may lack something that you have. For Brothers and Sisters, let us remember this well, that we all have something rich that another is poorer. For, for example, he who has peace in his heart is a wealth beyond measure, in comparison with which every man with an unpeaceful heart is pitifully poor. Or he who has joy, in contrast to which every sorrowful soul is poor. Or he who is healthy, able to walk, able to work, in contrast to which every sick and helpless man is poor. Or he who has any material ability or opportunity, on the other hand, all needy people are poor. Of this rich youth it is written, "very rich"... Well, my brethren, in a way you and I are all very rich. Only we never look at what the other has that we do not have, but always the other way round: what I have that the other does not have. And then we will feel at once the untold richness of ourselves. The day before yesterday I was with a very serious cancer patient, writhing in pain... and when I left him, I was so ashamed, so thankful to God that I am so rich compared to this man, I don't have any pain - except sometimes my stomach, a little bit - how rich I am!
Are you interested in eternal life? Do you care as much as that rich young man? Well, brothers and sisters, Jesus says: see the other person who is poor compared to you, because all kinds of poverty - whether it be material, spiritual or spiritual poverty, all kinds of poverty - is contrary to the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed on this earth. Riches are directly aimed at making the poor rich! So when Jesus says, "Sell all your possessions" - it does not mean that a man should not keep anything for himself, that a believer should not have any wealth at all. Yes, you can. It means that he should put all his wealth: spiritual, intellectual, material wealth - because we all have something - into the line of the kingdom of God, that is, he should try to make a poor man as rich as possible through it. Imagine, Brothers and Sisters, what would happen if this world took this seriously and used the immense treasure that it spends on the production of weapons of mass destruction to make poor people rich. What would be on this earth? Today, on the day of the nationwide commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, it is timely to ask this question, to reflect on it... This call is for me and for you: Come, place yourself with all that you have in the line of the kingdom of God, in the direction of making the poor rich! Think, for example, now perhaps of your happy family life, or perhaps think of all that you have achieved in this earthly life, or of the authority and esteem that surrounds you from men! Well, set all this towards the kingdom of God, make some poor person, that other person, rich!
Yes, deal with eternal life, it's a very good thing, but always so that: Well, let's see, what about the poor, what can be done for them, for that other person? What use is your wealth, this or that, to the other person? Moreover, always ask this question about your sufferings: What can this suffering do for the other person? Because, Brothers and Sisters, even the most painful pain on earth should be taken as the richness of one's life, because there is nothing else in the world that can enrich one's life in wisdom and experience as much as suffering and disappointment. So use it also for the benefit of the poorer man in life experience and life wisdom. It is in this direction that we all find that certain "eternal life", that true human life which has meaning, which has purpose, which really has meaning. "Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor..." says Jesus. What you have - not what you don't have - what you do have and all that you have, not just some of it, put it all into the hands of Jesus so that Jesus can use it through you to make the poor rich.
You see, Brothers and Sisters, this is where human selfishness is exposed, because well, this rich young man did not imagine it. He imagined that he would keep all that he had for himself, and on top of that he would have eternal life. Just as we usually think that if we lose the beauty and richness of this life on earth, we will get eternal life in the end - in the end... Well, says Jesus. Either one grasps eternal life now, in the way Jesus says, or one does not grasp it at the moment of death, when one really needs it. It is precisely what Jesus says on another occasion: 'Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it' (Mt 10,39b). Let us see, Brothers and Sisters, let us believe for once that for a man with a truly believing heart, it is enough that God loves him, it is not important that men love him; it is enough that God's grace is given, it is not important that men praise him; it is enough that God is good, it is not at all desperate to be in the wrong of man; it is enough that God helps him! So there is nothing wrong in being let down by men. Well, let us believe it, from the grace of God, from the help of God, from the goodness of God, there is such a rich overflow to the believer that there is always enough for the other man.
I know very well that this is difficult. It is not easy - so much so that Jesus said it plainly, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And now, however you explain this concept of "the needle's point" - there are all sorts of explanations, it's not important - however you explain it, it means that it is humanly impossible. That we humans cannot, in our own strength, attain eternal life, the true life that we are talking about. We are excluded by our own human selfishness, our self-centeredness. God excludes no one from eternal life. We exclude ourselves by turning all our aspirations, all our intentions back on ourselves, by living a self-centered life. Therefore, it is impossible in man, but what is impossible in man is possible with God - so Jesus said.
And if anyone here now knows himself in the form of the rich young man, let him be encouraged by Jesus' promise: it is possible, yet possible - with God. And then, if we feel this, let us not look to ourselves, for that is impossible, but to the God who, through His Spirit, makes eternal life possible even in our world, even for wretched people like us. And if we truly believe, it will show up in our lives, here on this earth, in tiny, tiny signs, in spite of all the failures and setbacks, that God is really here, pointing our lives into the line of His kingdom. And then, here, there and everywhere, all around us, the face of a poor person lights up and he or she senses something of the riches of God's kingdom. That is real life, that is the life worth living! Is it impossible? Yes, humanly - and yet it is possible, because Jesus is here and he says: "Come and follow me!" Let's try!
Amen.
Just lead me, Lord, all the way and take my hand,
Till I reach my destination happy,
For without you my strength is so little,
But where you go before me, there is no fear.
(Canto 462, verse 1)
Date: 8 August 1965.