The text from Mark 10.17 to 27, and one of the most emblematic texts of the gospels; Many doctrinal and interpretative errors have been made about it. This is because the narrative, read without understanding what is between the lines, or its revelation as a whole, can cause astonishment and even fear in some.
This text is very rich as a pedagogy of life, of faith, of journey; It could talk about the exaggerated devotion sponsored by religion, which Jesus rejects: “Good teacher”.
Or even about “obtaining” eternal life, which Jesus first responded to, in which he only mentions the relational commandments – of a horizontal nature, in which I treat people as people, being people, leaving the first four vertical commandments – which is quite coherent for someone who comes with such devotion. We could talk about Jesus’ gaze of love, which is not like our gaze;
Jesus, by loving, says, faces, brings reality, by loving he sits us on the couch of healing, by loving… If we stop saying, we don’t face it. Or even, about those who through wealth think that eternal life can be obtained, anyway, the text is very rich.
But I want to focus on a single interpretation, and that is precisely what the narrative tells us between the lines.
In fact, the human being is endowed, composed of finite and infinite.
On one side I have my finitude, which is what I touch, what I see, what I do, what is matter. And in this finitude, this material side of us, we do everything possible to fulfill all our desires to achieve our satisfactions in this finitude.
Our finitude makes us build a castle of possibilities, so that, if possible, we will never lack anything;
On the other hand of this dichotomy is our infinite; And if my finiteness is realized with everything that is possible for me, my infinite can only be realized with that which is IMPOSSIBLE.
That is why we see in the text a young man who built all the possibilities so that he would lack nothing with an enormous desire for infinity:
“Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
As the wise man says in proverbs, that God placed eternity in man, therefore that which is eternal to me, can only be filled by He who is Eternal, and here Blaise Pascal is absolutely right when he said:
”There is a void in the heart of man the size of God”
This emptiness is our infinite side, which can never be filled by human possibility; And we can create all the possibilities that will never satisfy my infinity!
The possibilities that wealth brings us, only gives me a castle of other possibilities so that in my finiteness, I lack nothing, that's all.
Religion creates a possibility for man's salvation, and this is certainly also falsified, even if it is an exaggerated devotion, and this is simple to understand:
It is exactly because my infinity can only be filled by that which is impossible for us!
Follow Mark's narrative as it unfolds:
– A young man who created all the possibilities in wealth and religion, but even so the desire for infinity pulsed within him.
– Jesus’ answer is: “You lack one thing: Destroy all the castles of possibilities that you have built, turn everything into nothing, just to follow me later.”
– The young man rejects the proposal and Jesus declares: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (here it is actually a needle – the etymological root refers to sewing material) than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God – Therefore IMPOSSIBLE;
This is not an appeal “Franciscan” –NO – and yes, Jesus wants to teach us that salvation is a HUMAN IMPOSSIBILITY; precisely because the one who seeks it, the one who desires it is the infinite “I”, my soul, therefore if it is infinite it is impossible for us, because my reason is finite.
This young man's mistake, like many others today, was precisely to think that salvation was a human possibility, especially for someone who had already built all the possibilities like him.
Only to eternal life with God, salvation, if it is impossible, if not, it would not be salvation; Salvation demands an act that I cannot perform, that is why it is the word salvation.
So what now? Who can be saved? This was Peter's question in verse 26.
The same narrative in verse 27 answers:
“Jesus said: With men it is impossible, but not with God, because with God all things are possible.”
On one side, we have our finite self, which does everything possible for its satisfaction; on the other, our infinite self, which can only be filled or satisfied by that which is also infinite – God. And in this limbo, we have this drive: What will I do to inherit eternal life?
The problem is trying to inherit this eternal life with my possibilities, which ends here, which is ephemeral, which is just our finitude;
The problem is thinking that I can appropriate eternal life with God, with religion – which is finite.
The problem is thinking that having my castle of possibilities that creates all the opportunities, and that this will generate the possibility of salvation for me;
And in this mask the soul cries out for eternal life, even if you don't yet know that it is for eternal life that it cries out.
The principle for inheriting eternal life is this: Knowing that eternity with God, salvation, is a human impossibility, but a total Divine possibility; And I have it, and I am nourished by this infinity, precisely when I am aware of this, and I get rid of all the possibilities that I created to inherit it.
Go, get rid of all possibilities, and follow THE GOOD MASTER.
Begotten by grace,
Fabiano Moreno