A Camel through the Eye of a Needle

Jesus said to the disciples, “The truth is, it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.”  —Matthew 19:23–24

Using the medium of baked clay and a style akin to political satire, Charles McCollough offers a humorous and somewhat biting image of trying to have it both ways. The men are “dressed like rich men in a Monopoly game,” says artist McCollough. They are caricatures of our stubborn drive to hold on to possessions and power—even while we attempt to show ourselves to be faithful. It’s as true of nations and individuals now as it was in Jesus’ day. “Of course, the camel is leery of the project of getting pulled and pushed through the needle’s eye,” says McCollough. Perhaps this is the part of us that knows our allegiances are divided. A Camel through the Eye of a Needle appears in McCollough’s latest book, The Non-Violent Radical: Seeing and Living the Wisdom of Jesus.