November 29, 2024

A Lot of Activity

Mark 3:7-12

This is an interesting section that contains a great deal in just a few verses.  We are told that as Jesus and his disciples left for the Sea of Galilee, that a great multitude from Galilee followed him.  This is somewhat amazing considering that Jesus has only been active for a rather brief period of time.  But then the size of the following expands, as Mark tells us that people have come to see Jesus from Judea in the south, including Jerusalem, then from further south in Idumea, from the east beyond the Jordan River, and from the Mediterranean coastal area to the north around Tyre and Sidon.  This is an immense geographical area.  We of course have no way of knowing how many people came from each area, but as this gathering of people grew it no doubt would have attracted the attention of the Romans.  Large gatherings of any kind made them nervous. 

Jesus has the disciples set up an escape route onto the sea, for he is well aware of the push of the crowd, especially since he has cured so many.  Among those being healed though are people somehow affected by unclean spirits.  As to exactly what those situations looked like, we can’t be certain.  We are told that these spirits respond to Jesus by falling down before him and shouting their acknowledgement that Jesus is the Son of God.  But Mark tells us that Jesus ordered the spirits not to make him known.

This last verse is curious for two reasons.  The first is to ask why Jesus would tell them to keep quiet.  Perhaps it is because they are described as unclean, and Jesus doesn’t want the witness to his identity to come from them, but, more importantly, I think Jesus wants people to discover this truth for themselves.  The second item of curiosity is that this secrecy becomes a repeated theme of Mark’s.  We will encounter it again.

November 22, 2024

Further Conflict Surrounding the Sabbath

Mark 3:1-6

This is one of those stories where you need to decide for yourself whether everything happened as described, or if Mark has put his own spin on it.  Remember, Mark wrote his Gospel about forty years after this encounter, during a time of great persecution by the Romans, and likely during increased conflict between the early church and Judaism. 

I raise this issue because, once again, as so often, the Pharisees are portrayed as cold and villainous.  Perhaps they were, but remember that these are faithful Jews who are committed to a faithful relationship with God.  They may have been protective of what they understood to be the proper way to observe the Sabbath, but does this passage portray them in the larger picture of who they were?

If we take this story at face value, as Mark has delivered it to us, we are confronted with Jesus’s question, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill.”  (NRSVUE)  The obvious answer would seem to be that doing good is the priority.  The issue is that doing anything, other than going to the synagogue, was considered to be work, which was banned on the Sabbath.  There were exceptions though for rescuing an animal that was in danger, and Jesus is perhaps saying, “Isn’t this man worthy of the same consideration that you would give in such circumstances?”

This then takes us back to the clarification that Jesus put forth in the passage we looked at last week, that being that the Sabbath was a gift to people, rather than observance of it being a gift to God.  So, Jesus is certainly consistent in how he approaches things. 

Now it seems to me that the Pharisees could have argued that this man with the withered hand had been like this for some time, so it would make sense to observe the Sabbath and then heal the man the next day.  However, Jesus likely would have moved on by the next day, and so this was the opportunity, right now, to bring about healing.

The Pharisees, as with many of us when we are faced with conflicting decisions, stay silent rather than committing themselves one way or the other.  Jesus, who apparently hoped that they would go beyond their limited understanding, then heals the man. 

As to the comment about conspiring against Jesus, this could be factual, but it could also reflect Mark’s perspective on things.  Remember, we don’t hear the Pharisees saying something here, we just have Mark’s notation of what was apparently being done.

November 15, 2024

A New Understanding of the Sabbath

Mark 2:23-28

We are faced here with two views of the Sabbath.  The first one we hear about from the Pharisees, where they question what the disciples are doing, because it was forbidden to work on the Sabbath, and picking grain was considered to be work.  The Gospels in general give us a negative view of the Pharisees, portraying them as the adversaries of Jesus.  In fact, were not Jesus who he was, he would have likely fit in well with the more liberal-minded Pharisees.  In addition, while the Gospels often portray the Pharisees as inflexible, it was a part of the give and take in their lives that debate over issues, including things related to the Sabbath, was a healthy part of their working things out with one another.

So, Jesus addresses their question by referring to an incident in the life of David, the most esteemed of the kings of Israel.  What David and his companions did in that instance was contrary to the laws that were observed, and yet, under the special circumstances of what he and his men were going through, it was permitted.

And so, here, where Jesus and his itinerant followers are moving about, with nowhere to call home at the moment, Jesus basically says that the issue of meeting the needs of those who are hungry is more important here than the keeping of a law.  He then essentially says that the Sabbath was a gift of God to people, rather than just something that the people were to observe in order to be in line with God.  While the Sabbath was in many ways at the heart of Judaism and its weekly flow of life, it was also necessary to understand that by instituting the Sabbath it was meant to bring about a day of rest, which was for the renewal of the people. 

Jesus doesn’t negate the value of the Sabbath, nor its holiness as a day set apart for rest, but he clarifies that it is a gift of God, rather than a requirement to be kept.

November 8, 2024

The Old and the New

Mark 2:18-22

We are looking at three different traditions of faithfulness to God here.  The first is John the Baptist and his followers.  They seem to have led an ascetic life, with fasting and more.  They of course were still relatively new when compared to the Pharisees, one of the older, established religious sects of Judaism, known for their fasting, their prayers and their Temple observances.  And, while the Gospels often portray the Pharisees as one homogeneous group, they were actually diverse in nature, with some of them being quite traditionalists, especially as regards the Sabbath, whereas other Pharisees were much more open to newer understandings.  Jesus, with his unfolding tradition, was much more like these open-minded Pharisees, or, perhaps more accurately, they were more like him.  Jesus’ tradition was one of being active right as he was with people, teaching, learning, responding to the needs of the people.  And in these verses he makes clear that fasting and other disciplines can come later, when he is no longer with them in this life.  Still though, it was certainly the case that Jesus and the disciples did pray, did find times of quiet reflection, did engage in learning Jesus’ ways of sharing God’s grace and peace.

Then we have these two proverbial-type sayings which conclude the verses in this section.  On the one hand, they are simple truisms about fabric and wineskins.  But, since Jesus wasn’t in the habit of just quoting proverbs, we need to look more deeply at these sayings.  What are they telling us about the newness of his approach in contrast to these other two traditions?

I do think we need to be careful that we don’t just look at John and the Pharisees and say that they are the old ones, and Jesus is the new one.  Jesus isn’t eclipsing these other traditions, but really, he is building upon them. 

So, perhaps what we might take away from these sayings is that no matter how sound our tradition is, we need to always be open to the unfolding of God’s presence among us, to the wonder of grace in our midst.

What do you think is going on with these little sayings of truth at the end of this section?

November 1, 2024

Following Jesus

Mark 2:13-17

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?  We will likely each answer that question a little differently.

For Levi, whom we know in other Gospels as Matthew, there is an invitation extended to follow Jesus.  As with others who accepted Jesus’ call, Levi may have known Jesus, or at least known about him, before this moment.  What was true about tax collectors generally was that they were hated by their neighbors, because they were collecting taxes for the Romans and often taking advantage of their neighbors in the process.  And so, when Jesus goes to have dinner in Levi’s house – and Levi, being a tax collector, likely had a fancier house than his neighbors – it is scandalous that Jesus would associate with Levi and his friends. 

When the disciples are challenged by the scribes about this, Jesus overhears their question and tells them that he has come not for the righteous but for sinners.  The beauty of this reply is that it allows us to place ourselves wherever we choose in the picture.  If we perceive ourselves to be righteous, then we of course do not need Jesus, for we feel that we are already in a right relationship with God.  But, if we acknowledge that we are a sinner, as indeed we all are, then we can also accept his invitation to follow him and learn of his ways, and connect to God through following him.

Jesus never forces us to do anything.  He presents the truth to us, invites us into a relationship, and leaves it to us to decide.