You are lacking in one thing (Mk 10:17-30)
In Mark's account of a rich young man's meeting with Jesus, the numeral "one" appears three times, which in Greek comes in three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter): heis, mia, hen. In translation, it will not necessarily always be translated as a numeral. In Mark 10:17, heis takes the meaning of "some, certain" man. In 10:18 it serves to emphasize the oneness of God as the One who is "alone (heis) good". It is only in 10:21 that Jesus uses the word in a numeral sense, stating that the young man "lacks one (hen)". Referring to the occurrences of this numeral in today's Gospel, let us seek an answer to the question of what the young man lacks.
At the starting point, he remains somebody indefinite, which results from the fact that he is called heis - "certain" man (10:17). In conversation with Jesus, he describes himself as a young man who strictly keeps the commandments (10:20). The Evangelist, commenting on his departure from Jesus, will add that "he had many possessions" (10:22). Thus, three things make up the characteristics of his person: youth, obedience to the law, and wealth. Youth is a transient factor, although it plays a vital role in his encounter with Jesus. Despite his specific social status (a pious and wealthy Jew), his youth makes him ask himself fundamental questions about life, about the good that makes life happy, about the possibility of enjoying eternal life.
The ability to pose these kinds of questions, as well as the willingness to seek answers to them, determines our being young, regardless of our birth date. There are certain questions that will accompany us throughout our lives, will motivate us to look for something more, they will be the search for the truth about life. Without these questions and an attempt to answer them, we will remain only heis - "some, certain" person deprived of identity, self-esteem, awareness of the purpose of our life, even if we will make our state of possession and perfection in this or that area of life as our “business card”
The young man is faced with the discovery of not only his own identity, but also of Jesus. He calls him "a good teacher" (10:17). On his lips it sounds like a polite phrase, although calling Jesus "good" may be dictated by a desire to flatter Him and win His kindness. Jesus does not answer his question about the way of achieving eternal life, but asks him the question: "Why do you call me good?" To make him realize that "no one is good but one (heis) God alone" (10:18). Jesus does not deny that he is "good” but encourages the young person to reflect on what he has just said. Since he calls Jesus "good" and the only "good" is God, the young man must draw the appropriate conclusion about the person of Jesus and the answer that Jesus will give him. The only question is whether the young man recognized Jesus, since when he answered Jesus, he only called him "teacher" (10:20).
Our address to Jesus also includes a variety of words and phrases that reflect the truth about Jesus. It is essential that theological truth translates into existential truth will transformour lives. If Jesus is God, then His voice is not the voice of one of the many teachers in this world. Nor is it just a voice that demands obedience from us because what transforms our lives is Jesus' love for each of us.
It is this experience of God's love that the young man lacks. To his declaration on keeping the commandments, Jesus will reply: " You are lacking in one (hen) thing" (10:21). The "one" that the young man lacks is his relationship to God, recognizing in God the source of all that he is and all he has. Jesus does not want to make him one more commitment, analogous to the commandments, although he addresses the young man: "sell, give, follow me" (10:21).
To understand the meaning of this command, it is necessary to pay attention to the gesture of Jesus that precedes these words and which is the key to their interpretation. In the Greek text we read literally that "Jesus looked at him and loved him" (10:21). Jesus "loved him", that is, gave himself to him, in a way anticipating what would happen at the hour of the Cross, when he "loved his own who were in the world, and loved them to the end" (Jn 13: 1). The young man faces the love of Jesus - therefore, by giving from his life, he does not lose anything, but receives everything.
"You are lacking in one" - this "one" is the love of Jesus, to which he must open himself, he must accept it to attain eternal life. This is how his identity becomes defined. What defines truly man, what reveals the truth about his person and his fullness, is Jesus himself, who says: "come and follow me" (Mk 10:21). Jesus says these words on the way to Jerusalem, which is the way of the cross, emptiness and love that leads to life and resurrection. Man becomes rich when he enters the way of Jesus, when he accepts his lifestyle: cross, sacrifice, love and service.
" You are lacking in one thing," hears the young man. What is missing in our life? How do we perceive and define ourselves in relation to others? What questions bother our hearts? The young man left saddened (10:22), but his encounter with Jesus is still written in our lives.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george