Reflection on The Gospel of Mark 10:17-31: Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, October 13, 2024
The Gospel of Mark 10:17-31
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Let us Pray: “God, help me to be generous with what I have. Open my heart to the needs of others, and give me the courage to share my blessings, knowing that true wealth is found in love and compassion.” Amen.
This passage is a powerful one. Here, a rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to follow the commandments, but also to sell everything he owns and give the money to the poor. The young man is saddened because he has great wealth. He is emotionally disturbed by Jesus’ teaching, indicating an openness to its truth, but he is not able to follow through. His emotional attachment to his wealth and status overrules his willingness to heed the words of Jesus. This highlights how attachments to material possessions can hinder spiritual growth. Jesus emphasizes that it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, but he also reassures that with God, all things are possible. It’s a call to prioritize faith and compassion over material wealth. Although Jesus’ teaching about riches and salvation clearly confused the disciples, it also gave them hope, for they were not wealthy. Therefore, Peter, speaking on behalf of all the apostles, said, “See, we have left all and followed you”. While Peter had earlier confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, his faith was still maturing. With his declaration here Peter may have been implying that the disciples were saved because of their work of leaving all and following Christ. By way of response, Jesus taught that following Him often does entail the loss of earthly things; however, it also includes the gaining of many heavenly things. Still at this point the disciples are perplexed because of their assumptions about the relationship of rich people in the kingdom of God. The general assumption in Jesus’ culture was that rich people were blessed by God. If you were wealthy, it meant that God had blessed you.
Applying this to work today requires real sensitivity and honesty with regard to our own instincts and values. Wealth is sometimes a result of work, ours or someone else’s, but work itself can also be an emotional obstacle to following Jesus. If we have privileged positions managing our careers may become more important than serving others, doing good work, or even making time for family, civic, and spiritual life. It may hinder us from opening ourselves to an unexpected calling from God. There is still a crucial aspect that remains. Jesus’, purpose was not to shame or browbeat the young man, but to love him. He calls him to leave his possessions first of all for his own benefit, saying, “You will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.” We are the ones who suffer when we let wealth or work cut us off from other people and remove us from relationship with God. The solution is not to try harder to be good, but to accept God’s love; that is, to follow Christ. If we do this, we learn that we can trust God for the things we really need in life, and we don’t need to hold on to our possessions and positions for security. Although Jesus’ teaching about riches and salvation clearly confused the disciples, it also gave them hope, for they were not wealthy. Therefore, Peter, speaking on behalf of all the apostles, said, “See, we have left all and followed you” (Mark 10:28). While Peter had earlier confessed that Jesus was the Messiah (cf. Mark 8:29), his faith was still maturing. With his declaration here Peter may have been implying that the disciples were saved because of their work of leaving all and following Christ. By way of response, Jesus taught that following Him often does entail the loss of earthly things; however, it also includes the gaining of many heavenly things. Christ’s reference to “houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands” (Mark 10:30) is likely a reference to relationships within the Body of Christ and the material things of the renewed earth.
Let us Pray: Jesus, I trust in your promise that with God, all things are possible. Strengthen my faith to follow you wholeheartedly and guide me away from the distractions and temptations of this world. Amen
Reflections by Bob 