I like to think of today's Gospel forming the conclusion of an inclusio starting with the rich young man at chapter 10 verses 17-22. The subsequent verses, chapter 10 verses 23-45 elaborate what it means to have the true detachment necessary in order to be a disciple. This attitude is them exemplified in Bartimaeus who throws aside his cloak, his only worldly possession, and shows the kind of faith in Jesus that is required. He receives back his sight and in contrast to the rich young man who: "was shocked and went away grieving" (Mk 10: 22) Bartimaeus: "followed Jesus on the way." (Mk 10: 52). Immediately, the Gospel narrative switches to the countdown to the Passion with the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem from chapter 11 verse 1. Thus, all who choose to follow Christ "on the way," including Peter, James, John and Matthew, are also choosing to follow Christ to the cross. They do not aspire to worldly prosperity of glory and are obliged to leave their old lives behind. Bartimaeus possesses nothing yet in Christ he now has everything whereas the rich young man has everything but is so blinded by his bourgeois morality and riches he in fact possesses nothing. St Paul speaks of this dynamic when: "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish (lit. 'garbage' or 'human excrement'), in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but on that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of the resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Phil 3: 7-11)
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