The impossible is often the untried...

Today’s gospel (MK 10:17-27) reminds me of the Olympic games in London a few months back as I was literally glued to the TV for two weeks of good news stories, images of solidarity, humanity at its best and the universal language of sport breaking down all cultural and political barriers (if only for 16 days). What struck me most was the interview given by Katie Taylor right after she won her gold medal, her first words being “Where would I be without God in my life?” Katie decided aged 11 she would be Olympic champion and aged 26 that’s exactly what she achieved. Katie talks of the Bible as her psychological tool and Jesus as the strength in her life.

The man in today’s Gospel is a man of faith but he wants to know what rules to obey and what things to avoid so that he can simply get on with things and achieve some deeper existence without too much bother. The man goes away sad perhaps thinking about a goal he had set but not achieved because he was unwilling to give everything. What Jesus asks seems impossible to him. We are not given impossible tasks. We are given dreams that can be achieved but that will involve hard work, determination, perseverance and bouts along the way. There is no easy path to a deeper involvement with life, whether that be in our relationship with God or with a community, a cause or a lifelong dream. We are reminded that ‘all things are possible with God’.