NOTES for Mar 9:42-10:1
Today in the Gospel according to Mark we read Christ's words as if they were addressed especially to our time. The point is that in life there are many things that in one way or another draw us toward sin. As a rule, when faced with these temptations, we permit ourselves many unacceptable things. God told Cain long ago: "sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Gen 4:7). In today's passage the Lord says the same thing. He calls us to renounce and free ourselves from what draws us into committing sin. We are not to justify ourselves by saying that we cannot resist our "natural needs," but to be freed from them.
In the fourth century, morals in the Roman Empire were no better than they are in our world today. Most people believed it was impossible to resist the thirst for pleasures of the flesh, the thirst for wealth, and the striving for success and power in life. And the Lord called an Egyptian named Anthony to renounce all this, so that we might see that the temptations of an age can be overcome. Thus monasticism was born, bearing witness to all of us through celibacy, poverty, and obedience that the words of Christ read today are possible to fulfill.