Former Texas Governor Ann Richards (1933-2006) once said, “You can put lipstick and earrings on a hog and call it Monique, but it’s still a pig.”

Read this Sunday’s Gospel lection. Meet Monique. But make it fast. I’m removing the Estée Lauder and Harry Winstons and going whole hog. It won’t be pretty.

Mentioned only four times in this Gospel (Mark 9:43, 45; 10:17, 30), “[eternal] life” is not one of Mark’s preoccupations, but it overlaps “the kingdom of God” (Mark 9:45; 10:23-25). Nor has the Old Testament much to say about eternal life (Proverbs 9:6; Job 19:25; Daniel 12:2). The concept of indestructible life, transcendent blessedness as God knows it, gathers steam in Jewish literature between the testaments (Wisdom of Solomon 5:15; 4 Maccabees 15:3; Psalms of Solomon 3:16). Second Maccabees 7:9 is representative: “The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.”

Like Mark 10:30, some New Testament writings distinguish this life from that of future blessing (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Timothy 2:10; Revelation ...