Mark 10,17-30. (R)
Wealth and well-being were considered signs of God’s favour in the Old Testament, especially when belief in an afterlife was vague and undefined. From the second century BC, faith in the afterlife finds its clearest expression in the prophet Daniel (12,2), in 2 Maccabees 7,9; 12,24; 14,46; and in the Book of Wisdom 3,4; 4,1; 8,17; 15,3. This new outlook should have influenced attitudes to wealth and the meaning and purpose of life, by the time of Jesus
As Jesus was setting out on a journey (his final journey to Jerusalem), a man runs up, kneels before him and asks, “Good Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” For the Jews, God alone is good, so, such an address to Jesus is most unusual. The term “eternal life” occurs in Dan 12,2 and means life in the age to come and is associated with the resurrection of the dead. Although the man has kept these commandments which Jesus mentions, something more is required.
Jesus mentions the 4th, 5th, 6th,7th and 8th Commandments to the man and adds a new one – not to defraud,). The commandments mentioned concern his relationships with other people. Surprisingly, the first three commandments which concern his relationship with God are not mentioned.
The man had kept these commandments from his earliest days, and then Jesus adds the decisive requirement for him to be his follower and to possess eternal life. Following Jesus, leads to eternal life, but to be able to follow him, the man must get rid of the idols of wealth and covetousness. Here Jesus highlights the essence of first three commandments dealing with putting God first in one’s life. The disciples’ amazement parallels the man’s sadness. They have the same attitude to wealth as the rich man has. Jesus radicalises their whole understanding of what it means to put God first in life and what eternal life with God is all about. The difficulty/impossibility of entering the kingdom for the rich man is captured in the image of the camel passing through the eye of the needle. For all, entry to the kingdom is impossible without God’s help. It is the work and gift of God, for whom all things are possible.
For the disciples who have the poverty of spirit to leave everything to follow Jesus, there is reward in this life, even in situations of persecution, (possibly reflecting the situation in which Mark is writing), and in eternal life.
There are three “looks” in today’s gospel. “Jesus looked steadily at the man and loved him,”(10,21), before he asks him to give up everything and follow him – a look of love, appeal and compassion.
When the man left, Jesus, he “looked around” (10,23), and said to his disciples; “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” It is Jesus the teacher engaging with his pupils and gauging their reactions. When they ask “who then can be saved?” he “gazed at them,”(10,27),- reassuring them, aware of the distance between them. How do think he would look at you if he were in your company today? What do you think he would ask you to give up in order to follow him better in your life?
Fr Geoff O’Grady