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Mark 12:35-44

4/8/2015

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Mark 12:35-44 (NRSV)

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?  36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
    ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
    “Sit at my right hand,
        until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!  40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.  42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.  44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Notes

Jesus now shifts to directing the conversation. After silencing the scribe, and the rest of the crowd, Jesus takes the lead. His first teaching is a subversive lesson on messianic expectations. As I stated with the story of the entry in Jerusalem in chapter 11, the question is not “will Jesus be a king,” but “what kind of king will Jesus be.”

A Shift in Expectations


The crowd welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of Hosanna and hopes for the return of the Davidic kingdom. One of the hopes and expectations of the promised Messiah was that the kingdom of David would be restored and the oppressors driven out. These are political hopes. They have social, religious, and economic implications. There is a yearning for the “golden age” of Israel. Jesus challenges these assumptions.

“Jesus appeals to another key messianic psalm, 110, in order to argue that the authority of Messiah ‘preexists’ the authority of David…. Jesus is not disputing genealogy but ideology: to be ‘David’s son’ is to stand in solidarity with the restoration vision - that is, the re-legitimation of the temple state. Thus in his interpretation Jesus makes it clear that the Messiah is not David’s son (12:37), rejecting both of the earlier messianic acclamations, 10:47f. and 11:9f. (Myers, 319).”

Jesus, having already critiqued and dismissed the temple institution and mechanics, will not be in the business of restoration. The new social reality called the kingdom of God is the movement of the promised Messiah. This way of life with God will unfold as Jesus has already demonstrated with his life and ministry - Mark chapters 1-8. It will be realized in the world through political, economic, social, and religious alignment with the patterns of the kingdom of God that we have already witnessed in Jesus.

The Price of Power: The Widow’s Offering

Jesus then critiques the scribal leaders - “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!  40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Jesus’s critique of these leaders is that they play into the Graeco-Roman honor culture. Jesus has already taught extensively about humble service, particularly in the “first must be last” sections of chapters 9 and 10.
Mark 10:42-45
So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.  43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,  44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The scribes play the power game of their time and place. They prefer status over service, honor over humility. The critique is not over.

The most shocking charge leveled against the scribes is their “devouring of widow’s houses.” This charge informs the interpretation of the story that Jesus tells to the disciples in the temple.

Mark could be alluding to two practices. The first is the “practice of scribal trusteeship of the estates of widows (who has women could not be entrusted to manage their deceased husband's affairs!) Through their public reputation for piety and trustworthiness (hence the ‘pretext of long prayers), scribes would earn the legal right to administrate estates. As compensation they would usually get a percentage of the assets; the practice was notorious for embezzlement and abuse (Myers, 320).”

The other practice involves “Mark’s narrative opposition between ‘prayer’ and ‘robbery.’ The site of the scribal prayer is the temple, and the costs of this temple devour the resources of the poor. Jesus, who fiercely opposed to such exploitation in the temple action and demanded a new site for prayer, points to the tragic story of the widow’s mite by way of illustration (Myers, 320).”

Either scenario can be supported through historical and contextual argument. The main point is that the scribes are gaining and maintaining power at the expense of the very people they are called to serve. The widow, one of the triad of vulnerable from the Law - the orphan, the widow, and the alien - is being exploited by the ones who she is supposed to be able to trust. This stands against everything Jesus teaches and the communal foundations of the new social reality called the kingdom of God.

The lesson we can now take from the story of the widow’s giving of the two small coins is not about her piety and graciousness in giving. It is that the institution of the temple, and the mechanics of giving monitored by the scribes, has robbed her of everything she has to live on and thus she is forced to give literally everything she has. She is co-opted into participating in a system that drains her resources but does not invest its collective resources into supporting her well-being. The temple has failed it’s duty. The scribes play the power games of the status-quo. The ones that God called upon the people to protect and support - the orphan, the widow, and the alien - are being devoured by a corrupt system.

Jesus as the Messiah came not to rebuild or reform, but to help us to realize that God is doing something new through him.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • How do we get caught up in playing the power games of our time and place?
  • What expectations do we have of Jesus?
  • Where do they differ from the way of Jesus in Mark?
  • How do our churches as institutions avoid exploiting those whom we are called to serve?
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Mark 12:28-34

4/7/2015

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Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV)

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”  29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;  30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;  33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Notes

The final wave of questioning from the religious leaders is at hand. This particular encounter does not seem to be a trap. Mark narrates the scene with less tension and describes the scribe’s action as one of curiosity - “One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him…(12:28).”

The First Commandment


The question from the scribe is about the first commandment. Jesus launches into an answer instead of turning the question around and back to the scribe. In his answer he cites two passages from the Law. The first is the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
The second citation is from Leviticus 19:
Leviticus 9:9-18
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

11 You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.  14 You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Jesus brings these two separate commands together to demonstrate what it is to love God. Myers cites Vincent Taylor: “[It] brings together to widely separated commands… While each is warmly commended by the Rabbis, so far as is known no one save Jesus has brought them together as the two regulative to principles which some up man's duty [Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark, 1963:488](Myers, 317).”

I  have included the context of the “love your neighbor as yourself” command to show it’s depth and reach. To love one’s neighbor as oneself includes the trilogy of the vulnerable - the orphan, the widow, and the alien - that is written into much of the Law. The call to “love your neighbor as yourself” is a call to justice in the community, extending even to those outside of the community. “The Leviticus tradition is or particular interest, for it defines love of neighbor in terms of non-exploitation (Myers, 318).”

Jesus’ critique of the temple institution, its mechanics, and its leaders, is that they have exploited the very people whom they have been called to help - the most vulnerable. As we will see in the story of the widow and her two coins, the very place that was created to protect and support her, the temple, has been turned into a system that exploits her.

While not creating a new command, Jesus is bringing these two together to demonstrate the radical nature of our relationship with God and how it shapes the new social reality called the kingdom of God.

“The point Mark is trying to make by his bold conflation is consistent with his ideology: heaven must come to earth - there is not love of God except in love of neighbor (Myers, 318).”

The new social reality called the kingdom of God will demonstrate it’s love for God by taking care of the wholeness of the community. Radical equality, abundance in sharing, and taking care of the most vulnerable will serve as signs that God’s kingdom is a present reality through the followers of Jesus Christ.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • How does the church as institution serve its own mechanics of survival and ignore its call to serve the wholeness of the community?
  • How are our churches held captive by the mechanics of survival?
  • How do we demonstrate our love of God by loving our neighbors?

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Mark 12:18-27

4/1/2015

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Mark 12:18-27 (NRSV)

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying,  19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’  20 There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children;  21 and the second married her and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise;  22 none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died.  23 In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.”

24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?  25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?  27 He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

Notes

The next wave of questioning comes from the Sadducees. This group, as well as the term “resurrection,” only appear hear in Mark. Mark is quick to tell us that this group stance on resurrection is that is does not exist. This immediately sets the tone for the conversations. These Sadducees take not time for flattery and launch right into the question.

We get another citation from Moses and from the Law. In actuality, their statement plays loosely with the declaration recorded in Deuteronomy 25:
Deuteronomy 25:5-6   
When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her,  6 and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 

The issue at stake is one of the possession of property, they marrying of the widow and the production of offspring perpetuate the family land and name.

For the Sadducees, the value of the widowed woman is only to bear the child. She has no equal value in the family system. They “are certainly not concerned with the poor woman who did not bear offspring, barrenness being the deepest shame for her. They further objectify her by speculating who she would ‘belong to’ in the afterlife (Myers, 315).” This contradicts the radical equality for women within the community that Jesus taught about in the discipleship catechism: Mark 10:1-16.

Jesus dismisses their complicated equation, attributing it to their failure to understand both scripture and the power of God. He returns to the story of Moses, but this time cites Moses’ encounter at the burning bush. The claim that God is God of the living is a strong statement of how God can transform death into to life in this world. The God who delivers the people from the death of slavery in Egypt is the living God of the ancestors, who still live in the promises God made to them, and to the people of Israel.

Jesus also switches terms for the rising of dead. He uses the term resurrection, the same one introduced by the Sadducees, anastasis, and switches to a form of hegero, the term we have encountered six times already in Mark’s story, and will encounter again at the tomb, when Jesus raises people to new life.

“Jesus conceives of the resurrection not as a static doctrine but a living hope for the transformation of the world…The Sadducees, on the other hand, have a vested interest in denying any other ‘world’ except the present one, which they control (Myers, 316).”

The ministry of Jesus has already raised people to new life, resurrected them for life in this world. The new social reality called the kingdom of God has the power to help us see the world around us as transformed through this raising to new life. In this transformed reality women have equal status in the community and the kingdom is perpetuated by faithfulness to what God is doing and not through the status of name and land. God is the one who gives, sustains, and creates life, not the passing down of a name or the ownership of land.  

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples


  • How do we encounter God’s living presence in our lives?
  • How do we encounter our world transformed through the power of Jesus’ raising us to new life?
  • What "equations" for status perpetuation get in our way of experiencing the new life promised by Jesus?

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Mark 12:13-17

4/1/2015

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Mark 12:13-17 (NRSV)

Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said.  14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?  15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.”  16 And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.”  17 Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

Notes

After the parable of the vineyard tenants, Jesus’ critique of the Jerusalem leadership, another way of those same leaders approaches Jesus. This is the second wave of attacks. The Pharisees have been intermittent characters in Mark’s story. The Herodians are making their second appearance.

The trap is set with lavish words of honor. The double use of “truth” in their statement - sincere in verse 14 could also be translated as true - heightens Mark’s accusation of hypocrisy in verse 15. The trap set by these leader’s is meant to make Jesus state his allegiance. Will he be truthful to God? Or will he uphold the law of the land?

In the political turmoil of being an oppressed nation, Israel’s loyalties to God are compromised by the imperial state. They have been forced to pay taxes to the empire in exchange for limited sovereignty as a religious group. The tax, paid with a denarius, is blasphemous because it contains heresy against God. “As Mark’s audience would have been well aware, the coin bore the head of the current Cesar, extolling him as ‘August and Divine Son.’ Such an ‘image’ itself would have settled the matter for patriotic Jews, who regarded the mere circulation of Roman currency as an issue of idolatry (Myers, 311).”
 
The question of allegiance is thrust into the spotlight. Jesus, the leader of a movement, is asked where his loyalties lie, with the state or with God.  

Jesus sees the trap and asks them to produce the coin in question. The ironic twist in the narrative is that these leaders of the Jewish people are able to produce the blasphemous coin in question. By carrying the coin, they betray their own allegiance to the status-quo, the empire, who allows them to maintain positions of power. The truth is that they are merely puppets of the state, allowed to lead on a short leash for the sake of pseudo-peace. These religious leaders have compromised their allegiances to God.

“Jesus’ opponents began the discussion with reference to the way of ‘God’ and the tax of ‘Caesar;’ Jesus ends it by considering these two claims. The imperative commonly translated ‘render’ (apodote) is widely used in the New Testament to speak of payment of debt or recompense, but occurs only here and Mark, and his best read as ‘repay.’ The sense of the dictum is: ‘repay the one to whom you are indebted’ (Myers, 311).”

The religious leaders are indebted to Rome. Their allegiance, to their own power, has been bought and paid for. Their attempt to trap Jesus has revealed their leanings. But this cannot be taken out of context of the previous stories.

The question about Jesus’ authority from the Sanhedrin, the parable of the vineyard tenants, and the question about paying taxes all flow together. The political overtones of this story cannot be dismissed. Mark is reflecting on the tension of political captivity and how to navigate the tricky waters of bringing about the new social reality called the kingdom of God.

Though not mentioned here, the political ramifications of Jesus’ teachings about a new social order built on equality and sharing is in opposition to the political, economic, and social underpinnings of the current world order - Rome. Jesus’ teachings also do not conform to the call to revolt. Jesus does not take up the revolutionary call to overthrow Rome through force.  


These three stories together demonstrate Jesus’ commitment to this new social order as a political, economic, and social reality in the present. The religious leaders, their power consolidated in Jerusalem, have maintained their authority through heavy taxation of the poor and by consolidating land and resources for their benefit. They have been poor tenants of the land, owned not by Rome, but by God, as the parable states. The issue of paying taxes demonstrates the leader’s allegiance to Rome, to the oppressors, and opens up the door to questioning their commitment to the Jewish struggle for liberation.

“In terms of the narrative world, their strategy of pursuing the tax question is shrewd. Whichever side Jesus takes will facilitate his downfall: if he refuses to endorse tribute payment, the colonial government can move against him; if he cooperates, he stands to lose the very popular support that is protecting him from the Jewish leaders (Myers, 314).”

Jesus avoids declaring allegiance to the state and to the active liberation movement. He does not answer the question directly. He simply raises the issue of allegiance to the leaders who, while not answering directly, seem to betray their answer by carrying the coin in the first place.

At it’s heart, this story is no mere allegory about church and state, its about commitment to the new social reality called the kingdom of God. This new social reality is not aligned with the ideologies of worldly powers. When allegiance to worldly systems of power supersedes the following of Jesus, the question of "rendering" becomes potent.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • Where have we placed our allegiances?
  • Where are we beholden to worldly systems of power?
  • How does Jesus liberate us from these systems for the sake of the Gospel?
  • When does our "rendering" to worldly powers get in the way of our spreading of the Gospel?
 
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Mark 12:1-12

3/30/2015

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Mark 12:1-12 (NRSV)

Jesus spoke to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip.  2  When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard.  3  But they grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.  4  Again the landowner sent another servant to them, but they struck him on the head and treated him disgracefully.  5  He sent another one; that one they killed. The landlord sent many other servants, but the tenants beat some and killed others.  6  Now the landowner had one son whom he loved dearly. He sent him last, thinking, They will respect my son.  7  But those tenant farmers said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  8  They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.  10  Haven’t you read this scripture, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 11  The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?”

12  They wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

Notes

In between the trapping questions of the religious authorities Jesus has time to tell a parable. He returns to this allegorical method of teaching that he used with the series of agricultural parables in chapter 4. This parable is not about sowing seed, “yet it is similarly set in the concrete life with Palestinian agricultural production, and again intends to subvert the social relationship between tenant farmer and landowner. For Jesus here tells a story in which the Jerusalem leadership, who are in fact the absentee land owning class, appear as tenants of an absentee landlord – that is, Yahweh (Myers, 308).”

The Vineyard

The location of the parable is a familiar one for the people. “The ‘vineyard’ was a well-known metaphor for Israel (fenced around by the law)(Myers, 308).” Isaiah 5 captures this metaphor.
Isaiah 5:1-4
Let me sing for my beloved
        my love-song concerning his vineyard:
    My beloved had a vineyard
        on a very fertile hill.
2     He dug it and cleared it of stones,
        and planted it with choice vines;
    he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
        and hewed out a wine vat in it;
    he expected it to yield grapes,
        but it yielded wild grapes.
 
3        And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
        and people of Judah,
    judge between me
        and my vineyard.
4     What more was there to do for my vineyard
        that I have not done in it?
    When I expected it to yield grapes,
        why did it yield wild grapes?

The vineyard of God, the land and people of Israel, was supposed to be a fruitful vision of God’s gift and abundance. The sheltering of those in need, the protection of the widow and the orphan and the stranger, was all written into the Law as a guide for the people to follow and demonstrate God’s vision of community. Israel was supposed to have been a beacon to the world of the blessings of God.

But the leadership had failed. The temple, a symbol of God and a storehouse for God’s abundance, had been taken captive by the very leaders who were called to be stewards of its bounty. The judgment of the parable is upon those leaders, the ones who are trying to trap Jesus. Jesus has come to demonstrate the gift of God and the blessings of the community God builds and he is being opposed by the wicked tenants. Its no wonder they plot to kill him at the conclusion of the parable.

“Mark is making a thinly veiled allusion to the greed of the ruling class – which Isaiah's vineyard song also condemns (Is. 5:8)! Not only have they mismanaged the ‘vineyard’ (i.e. the temple cult); they have connived to ‘own’ it (i.e. turned it into a profitable commercial interest) (Myers, 309).”

Isaiah writes with stunning precision the reality that has unfolded before the people:
Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
        is the house of Israel,
    and the people of Judah
        are his pleasant planting;
    he expected justice,
        but saw bloodshed;
    righteousness,
        but heard a cry!

This parable gains energy from Jesus critique and clearing of the temple and will continue to unfold in the following encounters between Jesus and the “tenants” of the vineyard.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • Are we able to hear Jesus’ critique of our misuse of the resources God has given us?
  • I wonder who we are in this story?
  • How do we engage systems that seek to perpetuate their own power instead of supporting the needs of the larger community?
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Mark 11:27-33

3/30/2015

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Mark 11:27-33 (NRSV)

Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking around the temple, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders came to him.  28 They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?”

29 Jesus said to them, “I have a question for you. Give me an answer, then I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.  30 Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”

31 They argued among themselves, “If we say, ‘It’s of heavenly origin,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  32  But we can’t say, ‘It’s of earthly origin.’” They said this because they were afraid of the crowd, because they all thought John was a prophet.
33 They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.”

Notes

After Jesus’ critique and clearing of the temple and withdraw out of the city. Upon their return they are met by the very people who Jesus said would be responsible for his trail and death, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders. This is the first of a series of encounters between Jesus and the powers of the Jerusalem. What will unfold is not just a religious conflict. Just as his ministry has previously demonstrated, Jesus will critique the political, religious, economic, and social systems that effect the life of the people.

In this first wave, Jesus encounters the entire “priestly aristocracy,” the Sanhedrin. Myers cites Jeremias: The Sanhedrin,
“Was in origin and effect the first authority in the land, and so it's competence extended throughout the Jewish world…After Judea became a Roman province in AD (CE) 6, the Sanhedrin was its chief political agency. A committee of the Sanhedrin was in charge of finance in the eleven Jewish toparchies into which the Romans had divided the land. Furthermore, the Sanhedrin was at that time the first communal court of justice in the province, and finally it was the highest Jewish court of law in all Judea [Jeremias, 1969: 74] (Myers 307).”
This is the group that will eventually arrest Jesus and put him on trial. Their presence will be constant throughout the next few chapters of Mark as Jesus teaches in the temple, but they will not be present in their entirety. They break into smaller groups and launch wave after wave of attacks against Jesus.

Whose Authority?

The first attack against Jesus is leveled at his authority. The Sanhedrin’s authority was derived from the institution of the temple and thus from God. Jesus has also claimed authority from God, so had John the Baptism.  The conflict arises over who has the true authority.

Jesus returns their question with another, leveraging the popular ministry of John the Baptist into the situation. Mark gives us their debate in a side conversation. “Inasmuch as John was killed by political authorities who were threatened by his preaching of repentance, the question is a loaded one, and the answer is moot. Jesus maintains the prophetic action is sanctioned either from ‘outside’ or from ‘within’ the present social order; inasmuch as the Sanhedrin has not granted Jesus authority, it must come from God (Myers, 307).”

The Sanhedrin know they have been trapped. The fear of the crowd, a reoccurring theme in this part of Mark’s story, becomes a powerful tool. They will return over and over gain to attempt to leverage the crowd against Jesus. But they are unable to do so in this encounter.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples


  • To what do we give authority?
  • Do we give earthly powers more authority than God?
  • How do we recognize this common form of idolatry?

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Mark 11:12-25

3/26/2015

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Mark 11:12-25 (NRSV)

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.  13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

15  Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves;  16 and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.  17 He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,
    ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
        But you have made it a den of robbers.”
18 And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.  19 And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.  21 Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”  22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.  23 Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.  24 So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

25  “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

Notes

The story of the curse of the fig tree frames Jesus’ actions in the temple and interprets what Jesus does in his confrontation with the temple system. Mark is again using symbolic action to  demonstrate Jesus’ nonviolent way of engaging system of power. While Jesus’ actions in the temple may seem violent, they do not seek to harm individuals. He is being critical of a system that is taking advantage of the poor and oppressed.

The Fig Tree Cursed


This may seem like an odd story if we just try to understand the biological and physical manifestations of Jesus’ encounter with a fig tree. But the symbolic is more powerful and communicates a deeper meaning.

Trees are symbolic to the people of Israel and their history. The tree of life from Genesis contains enough symbolic overtones to get us thinking more imaginatively about how trees can be more than just trees. The fig tree is no different.

Ched Myers cites William Telford:
    “The fig tree was an emblem of peace, security, and prosperity and is prominent when descriptions of the Golden Age of Israel’s history, past, present, and future, are given - the Garden of Eden, the Exodus, the Wilderness, the Promised Land, the reigns of Solomon and Simon Maccabaeus, and the coming of the Messianic Age [The Barren Temple and the Withered Fig Tree: 1980, 161f] (Myers, 297).”

The fig tree bearing no fruit for a hungry Jesus (even though we are told it was not season) represents the opposite of what the symbol of the fig tree points to; peace, security, and prosperity. This will serve as a critique of the temple system.

Jesus Clears the Temple


Jesus returns to the temple after his brief glimpse from the previous day. In this visit he moves to swift and decisive action. He drives out those selling and buying in the temple. He overturns the moneychangers tables the seats of those who sold doves. He stops anyone from carrying anything through the temple. He teaches. These actions interrupt the flow of usual temple activity.

The idea of Jesus being upset by commerce in the temple has been dismissed by scholars. We know that the mechanics of temple - the changing of money and buying of animals - was a necessary reality during the time of Jesus. “The Jerusalem temple…was fundamentally an economic institution, and indeed dominated the city’s commercial life. The daily operation of the cult was a matter of employment for curtain makers, barbers, incense manufacturers, goldsmiths, trench diggers, and countless others (Myers, 300).”

The practices are not what Jesus is critiquing, it is how they are used and who controls them that upsets Jesus. The temple was meant to be a beacon of hope for the needy, the poor, and the oppressed. The grain offerings and sacrifices were collected to by redistributed to those in need. The priests were in charge of this process. But the mechanics had broken down.

Instead of a place of resource redistribution, the temple and its economi mechanics were being used to maintain the power of the religious leaders and the ruling class, who control the economic practices. This is what Jesus is critiquing.

The money changers serve as a prime example. “Given the fact that Jerusalem was extremely cosmopolitan, with revenues pouring in from the Jewish diaspora all over the Mediterranean world, we must see the money changers as street level representatives of a banking interest of considerable power. Mark considered these moneychangers suitable symbols of the oppressive financial institutions he so fiercely opposed (Myers, 301).” The critique then is of a system that does not aid and support those in need. The money changers represent a system that has gained power by leveraging the interests of the poor. The poor are driven further into debt while the financial institutions gain power. It is this blatant misuse of power and influence that Jesus attacks.

“They (money changers and those selling doves) represented the concrete mechanisms of oppression within a political economy that doubly exploited the poor and unclean (Myers, 301).” It is this system that Jesus critiques on behalf of the poor and marginalized. The overturning of the tables and seats of those selling doves is a symbolic statement against the brokenness of the temple systems.

The symbolic curse of the fig tree becomes clear: the temple as a symbol of peace, security, and prosperity has not born fruit for those who need it most.

Faith to Move Mountains

After the disciples notice the withered fig tree, Jesus launches into discussion of the power of belief. Jesus tells the disciples, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.” This is the power of imagination at work.

Jesus has just overturned the temple mechanics. The temple can symbolically understood as a mountain. In a sense, Jesus has just cast a mountain into the sea. He has altered how people encounter the temple, and thus how they encounter God. This was world changing for his people.

“The modern reader must remember that in the social world of the first century Middle East, a temple was closely identified with the deity’s existence. This was supremely true for the Jew; one cannot simply repudiate the temple without provoking the most fundamental crisis regarding Yahweh's presence in the world (Myers, 304).”

The idea of the mountain being thrown into the sea recalls the heard of pigs in the healing of the Gerasene demoniac in chapter 5.

The casting of the “legion” of demons into the sea can be understood as a critique of Roman military might. “As impossible as it may seem, Mark insists that the overwhelming power and legitimacy of both the Roman “legion” and a Jewish mountain will meet their and – if the disciples truly believe in the possibility of a new order. That is to say, faith entails political imagination, the ability to envision a world that is not dominated by the powers (Myers, 305).”

Prayer has the power to help us envision a new world. Prayer can inspire our imagination, helping us to encounter how God sees the world, and all the potential opportunities that God’s vision brings to life. The new social reality called the kingdom of God is this vision unfolding in our midst. The overturning of broken systems of power is a reality. Prayer empowers us to see this and use our lives accordingly.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples


  • What institutions in our midst, that are meant to give life, need to be overturned and critiqued?
  • How does a community of faith participate in this overturning?
  • How does our faith help us to shape the future after an overturning?
  • How does prayer empower us to imagine a new future?
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Mark 11:1-11

3/24/2015

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Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)

 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it.  3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’”  4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it,  5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”  6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it.  7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it.  8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.  9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
    “Hosanna!
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10         Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
    Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Notes

With the entrance into Jerusalem, Mark’s passion narrative begins. Chapters 11, 12, and 13 recount the ebb and flow of Jesus’ teachings in Jerusalem and his challenges to the authorities in power. It would be easy to overlook Jesus’ entrance into the city, but Mark has set a rich stage to challenge the assumptions of the audience. The question that will be posed through the entrance and unfolding chapter is not “will Jesus be king,” but “what kind of king will Jesus be?”

Victory Parades


Jesus audience knew a good parade when they saw one. They knew how Rome paraded into cities, spreading news of military victories and displaying plunders of captured cities and peoples. They knew the declaration of those gospels.

 They were probably well aware of the promised victory parade of God as told by Zechariah. 
Zechariah 14:2a,3-4a
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken …3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives…
They may even have been aware of the parade led by Simon Maccabaeus of the Maccabean revolt:
1 Maccabees 13:51-54
On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. 52 Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men lived there. 53 Simon saw that his son John had reached manhood, and so he made him commander of all the forces; and he lived at Gazara.
The way Jesus enters Jerusalem mirrors these events. Could they have been anticipating the parade of a conquering like Simon?

Mark, potentially writing in the late 60s CE, is also familiar with processions into Jerusalem. “Mark was well aware that the image of a march on the city amid Davidic acclaim would have connoted for his first readers the military procession of a triumphal nationalistic hero (Myers, 294).” He potentially knew of Menahem, a Sicarius leader who took charge in the first months of the Jewish revolt that began in 66 CE. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recounts this story in his work The Jewish Wars:
“[Menahem] took some of the men of note with him, and retired to Masada, where he broke open King Herod's armory, and gave arms not only to his own people, but to other robbers also. These he made use of for a guard, and returned in the state of the king to Jerusalem, and became leader of the sedition, and gave orders for continuing the siege [Wars, II, xvii, 8] (Myers, 294).”
Myers cites the New Testament scholar Richard Horsley for further explanation:
“Menahem’s procession from Masada to Jerusalem ‘like a king’ and his messianic posturing in the Temple appear as striking comparative material for interpretation of Jesus’ ‘Triumphal Entry’ and ‘Cleansing of the Temple.’…The brief ‘messianic’ episode among the Sicarii in 66 might legitimately be used in the interpretation of how the gospel writers shape certain traditions [Menahem in Jerusalem: A Brief Messianic Episode Among the Sicarii - Not ‘Zealot Messianism.’; 1985, 311] (Myers, 295).”

Mark’s narrative, with these ideas in the background, becomes more politically loaded.

The opposite is also the case. By presenting Jesus as entering on a donkey, another narrative undertone takes shape, one of humility. Another tradition from Zechariah is being alluded to:
Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
    triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The Gospel of Matthew used this citation in greater detail, but the allusion should not be missed in Mark. Again, the question posed by this narrative is not “will Jesus be king,” but “what kind of king will Jesus be?”

“This parade, then, is filled with conflicting signals, as if it intends to be a satire on military liberators (Myers, 295).”

A King like David?


The cry of Bartimaeus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me (10:47),” is already ringing in Mark’s narrative. The return of the cry in 11:10 cements this image in the story. The question could shift to - will Jesus be a king like David?” Will the glory days of Israel be restored and Rome overthrown in a great victory?

This is the narrative that will unfold in the teachings of Jesus in the temple. Jesus’ nonviolence will clash with the militaristic expectations. “In fact, Jesus will repudiate this ideology of restorationism. Consequently, after Jesus is arrested, a different cry will come from the crowd. They will clamor for the release of a ‘genuine’ revolutionary - Barabbas - and demand the execution of the imposter, Jesus (15:13) (Myers, 296).”

After Jesus enters Jerusalem he stops briefly at the temple. If there were any expectations of immediate action, they are dashed with Jesus' quick withdrawal to Bethany.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • What kind of king would we expect Jesus to be?
  • Do we expect Jesus to act like our modern day leaders?
  • Do we allow our cultural assumptions to dictate how we understand Jesus?
  • What would Jesus do if he processed into our towns and cities?
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Mark 10:46-52

3/24/2015

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Mark 10:46-52 (NRSV)

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside (by the way!).  47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”  50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.  51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.”  52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Notes

The story of Bartimaeus is a story about what it looks like to be a disciple. “This is the last healing in the ‘blind/deaf’ series and in the Gospel as a whole. Unlike the Bethsaida episode (8:22-26), this symbolic statement is decisive; it is well known as a paradigmatic story of discipleship (Myers, 281).”

This is the climax of the discipleship catechism. The action of Jesus to empower the crowd to "raise" Bartimaeus points to our call to participate in the on-going power of God's raising people to new life in this world.

The Way

At the beginning of the encounter Bartimaeus sits beside the way. Using Mark’s phrase of “the way” as a metaphor for the practice of discipleship we can understand Bartimaeus to be a non-disciple at the outset. Bartimaeus is not engaged in the practices of a disciple.

At the end the of the encounter Bartimaeus joins Jesus on the way. He engages life as a disciple. Bartimaeus shows the audience what it looks like to follow Jesus. This is the exact opposite of the wealthy landowner in chapter 10. “Bartimaeus, like the rich man, encounters Jesus ‘on the way’ (10:17, 46). The rich man could not liquidate his fortune, but poor Bartimaeus throws away his garment, his sole element of livelihood (beggars spread out their cloaks to receive alms (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 282).”

The healing of Bartimaeus’ sight can be understood on a metaphorical level. Sitting beside the way, not engaged in life as a disciple, left Bartimaeus blind to Jesus. He could not see and follow. Bartimaeus regains his ability to see Jesus and follows, thus encountering the world as a disciple.

"Only if the disciples/reader struggles against the internal demons that render us deaf and mute (keep us beside the way), only if we renounce our thirst for power - in a word, only if we recognize our blindness and seek true vision - then can the discipleship adventure carry on (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 282)."

Social Resurrection

We have traced the idea of social resurrection through several healing stories in Mark - 1:31; 2:11; 3:3; 5:41; 9:27.

In each of these instances Jesus raises someone to new life from a state of being socially dead. This metaphor points us to a reality that sometimes people can be  physically alive but have no means of participating in life-giving practices, thus socially dead. They cannot participate in the life of the community, they cannot fill their role in society, they cannot provide for a family, or they cannot contribute to the community. They do not experience the fullness of life which the promise of God for the world.  

Jesus raises these people to new life and gives them the ability to participate in the life of the community. In all of these encounters, Jesus is the catalyst for the moment of social resurrection. He raises the people up.

When social resurrection happens for Bartimaeus, it is the crowd who does the raising. For the first time in the Gospel Jesus empowers the crowd to participate in social resurrection. This becomes another aspect of following Jesus. We too are empowered to do this!

Verse 49 could be translated in this way - “Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; be raised (egero), he is calling you.’”

Jesus empowers the crowd to help raise Bartimaeus to new life. Upon hearing the crowd, Bartimaeus casts off his cloak, his social marking as a beggar, one who does not fully participate in the life of the community.

This is our role as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to help raise people to new life. We are called to draw people back into relationship, back into community, so that all experience the fullness of life.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples


  • When are we sitting beside the way (blind to Jesus in our midst) - not engaged as disciples?
  • How does Jesus help us to “see” the world as his disciples?
  • How do we raise people to new life (participate in social resurrection)?
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Mark 10:32-45

3/17/2015

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Mark 10:32-45 (NRSV)

32  They were on the road (on the way!), going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him,  33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;  34 they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”

35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”  37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”  38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”  39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;  40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.  42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.  43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,  44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Notes

Third Passion Statement

The journey has progressed over the last few chapters and now Jesus reveals the destination - Jerusalem. Jesus final conflict with the authorities and rulers - the powers of the world - will take place in Jerusalem.

Again, Jesus is quite forward about what will happen. And we wonder if the disciples get it, based on their on going conversations.

The Request of Brothers Zebedee


James and John approach Jesus with a request to sit on this right and his left. They want seats of power in the kingdom of God. Jesus’ response points to the idea that they have not fully grasped the radical nature of the kingdom of God and how the powers of the world will react. Jesus just told them, for a third time, that the powers of the world will kill him as a result of his ministry. James, John, and the other disciples who get angry do not fully understand this statement.

Jesus responds by asking - “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” The first statement could point forward to the cup Jesus raises at the table in the upper room (14:23) and the cup he references in the garden (14:36).  The second statement could point backwards to his baptism and testing in the wilderness.

James and John respond that they are indeed able to take on the cup and baptism. The metaphor to remember here is that both of these moments point to Jesus’ conflict with the powers and the suffering that follows. After being baptized Jesus suffered the testing in the wilderness, and the many testing by the religious leaders. At the table and in the garden Jesus is beginning to experience the suffering of his trial and death. Ched Myers states - “The cup and baptism Jesus can ‘grant’ - the disciples in time will indeed suffer before the powers (see 13:9ff) (Myers, 278).”

The irony about sitting at the right and left of Jesus will unfold at the moment of crucifixion when two criminals take their place at the right and left of Jesus.

All of these statements point to the nonviolent, direct action foundation of Jesus’ ministry. He confronts the fallen systems of political domination, economic abuse, patriarchy, and family systems in a nonviolent method. He confronts these systems with the alternative social reality of the kingdom of God. In the discipleship catechism he has been shaping the disciples as leaders for this reality. We, having experienced the narrative, have been uniquely shaped as well. This rhythm is about servant leadership, not about dominating others.

“In any case, Jesus here does repudiate the vocation of leadership, but rather insists that it is not transferred executively. Leadership belongs only to those who learn and follow the way of nonviolence - who are ‘prepared’ not to dominate but to serve and to suffer at Jesus’ side (Myers, 278).”

Jesus elaborates this idea in his reflection on how the rulers of the Gentiles lead.

“We can capture the tone of Jesus’ criticism  of ‘politics as usual’ in this free rendering:
    You know how it is:
  •     the ‘so-called’ rulers of the nations dominate them,     
  •     the ‘great ones’ tyrannize them;
  •     but this is not so among you! (Myers, 278).”

The new social reality called the kingdom of God will not function using the patterns of the rulers of the world. He is adamant about this in his teaching.

Jesus as “Ransom for Many”

The idea of Jesus as a ransom has been subjected to many theories of atonement. Mark does not go into detail to support these claims. The idea of ransom, the Greek word lutron, has a particular meaning. “The term referred to the price required to redeem captives or purchase freedom for indentured servants. Jesus promises then that the way of ‘servanthood’ has been transformed by the human one into the way of liberation (Myers, 279).”

Connected to this idea of ransom is the liberation narrative of the Exodus from the Old Testament. The Exodus narrative was the great redeeming story of the people of Israel. Mark is connecting the ministry of Jesus to that redeeming moment. Jesus has come to set the world free from the domination of the powers and sets this liberation in motion through the new social reality of the kingdom of God. The nonviolent way of Jesus and his death on the cross unmasks the fallen systems of power and exposes their false promises of life. The way of servant leadership continues this momentum. It is into this rhythm of life that we have been called as disciples.

Questions for Modern-Day Disciples

  • How do we take on the “baptism” and “cup” of Jesus?
  • How do we suffer for the sake of the Gospel?
  • How do we continue to shape ourselves as servant leaders?
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    The Gospel of Mark

    Notes from the study of Mark's Gospel - Sunday School class, fall 2014/Spring 2015.

    Picture
    Icon written by Dr. Isaac Fanous in 1964 for St. Mark"s Church. This icon is part of a set that includes St. Matthew, St. Luke and St. John. All four icons were part of an Orthodox liturgical travel exhibit to Alberta in 1971.

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