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Mark 6:1-13

12/16/2014

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Mark 6:1-13 (NRSV)

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Notes

Jesus Rejected in his Home Town

After Jesus heals two daughters, he returns to his home town and continues his rhythm of entering the synagogue on the Sabbath and teaching. The hometown crowd does not respond with positive energy. They question Jesus’ ministry and speculate about his wisdom and power. He is not met with the same eagerness and openness that he had received during other stops his ministry.

In this encounter he is rejected by his family. This echoes the re-framing of kinship dynamics that we witnessed in 3:31-35. In that instance, Jesus rejects his family’s attempt to restrain him and re-frames the kinship dynamics as loyalty, trust, and participation in the kingdom of God. In this hometown episode, Jesus family rejects him, an issue of shaming and “derogation of Jesus’ honor from his own people - the ultimate put-down (Myers, 212).”

Jesus is unable to minister among the people of his hometown. He was “amazed at their unbelief (v. 6).” Here it is helpful to translate the apistis (unbelief) as “lack of trust.” The folks in Jesus’ hometown, amidst their questioning and speculation, do not trust in Jesus’ ability to heal and bring wholeness. They do not trust the in-breaking kingdom of God and are unwilling to participate in the ministry of Jesus.

After this rejection, Jesus withdraws with his disciples and shifts his ministry into a new stage.

Jesus Sends the Disciples

Upon being rejected in his hometown, Jesus gathers his disciples and sends them out on their own for the first time. This completes the “calling, naming, sending” cycle that was started in chapter 1 when Jesus walks along the sea of Galilee and calls his first disciples. Each move of this cycle - calling, naming, sending, takes place after a moment of conflict. The calling movement (1:16-20) takes place after Jesus’ temptation by the adversary and John’s arrest. The naming movement (3:13-19) occurs after his rejection get the synagogue by the Pharisees. This movement, the sending of the disciples, follows the same pattern.

Mark does not focus on where Jesus sends the disciples, or what they do while they are on their journeys. There is only one concluding line about their actions and the results of the mission. The focus for Mark is how Jesus shapes his disciples for the journey ahead.

There is a clue from Mark that this is no ordinary journey. Mark attaches this mission to the journey of discipleship. The word translated as “journey” in verse 8 is actually the Greek word hodos, the way, the metaphor for discipleship that Mark weaves through the narrative. Jesus instructions to the disciples are meant to be understood as instructions for the rhythm of discipleship. We will return to this theme with more frequency in the next chapters of Mark’s Gospel.

The instructions that Jesus gives to his disciples point to how we receive the hospitality of others. The disciples will be vulnerable to the generosity of others with on their journeys. It could be an allusion to the parable of the sower that we read in chapter four. Where there is “good soil” along the way, there will be a yield of “thirty and sixty, and a hundred fold (4:8).” This yield includes the resources shared with the disciples by the willing participation in the kingdom of God by those who trust that God is at work.

Ched Myers has two thoughts on this episode that I find helpful.

“It could certainly be conjectured that these instructions reflect an actual social strategy by which the early movement procured a network of ‘safe-houses’ around the countryside for purposes of mission and travel (Myers, 214).”

The movement of Jesus and his ministry would need safe places to safe and access to resources in order to continue, especially under increasing scrutiny by the authorities.

“This (shaking the dust off; “Jesus forbids retaliation in the event of rejection) makes the missionaries completely vulnerable to, and dependent upon, the hospitality extended to them, and obviously precludes them from being able to impose their views by force (Myers 214).” 

One aspect of being a disciple is the ability to receive hospitality. The disciples (and us) will be vulnerable on the way, and will need the hospitality of others to continue. Jesus shapes us to be open to receive the hospitality of others. This can be difficult for disciples in the north american context. We sometimes feel a strong pull to "have to" contribute something - be it for a holiday party, or even an invitation to share a meal. Following Jesus shapes us in a way that shatters cultural norms and pushes us into a new way of life.

Questions for Modern Day Disciples

  • How do we recognize moments when we may be rejecting the ministry of Jesus in our midst?
  • How do we recognize our own “lack of trust” in the journey of discipleship?
  • How do we receive the hospitality of others on our journey of faith?

We will gather next week, December 21st, and review the what we have covered so far in our reading of Mark. On December 28th we will not have class.

We will pick up with the rest of Mark 6 on January 4th.
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Mark 5:21-43

12/10/2014

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Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” 24 So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Notes

Jesus crosses over to the other side, this time journeying back to familiar, Jewish territory where his ministry began. He is among his own people for the double healing story in this ministry encounter.

Socio-Cultural Dynamics: Honor, Shame, and Status


We can explore this ministry encounter through socio-cultural dynamics as Jesus extends the radical inclusivity of the kingdom of God. This is a similar to his re-framing the table fellowship and meal sharing practices earlier in the Gospel.

It is helpful to understand the cultural dynamics of honor and shame, a person’s status within the community, that guided the social life of people in the time of Jesus and Mark. Ched Myers references the work of Bruce Malina, citing his book The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology (1981):
“From a symbolic point of view, honor stands for a person’s rightful place in society, his social standing. This honor place is marked off by boundaries consisting of power, sexual status, and position on the social ladder….Honor is a claim to worth along with the social acknowledgement of worth. The purpose of honor is to serve as a sort of social rating which entitles a person to interact in specific ways with his or her equals, superiors, and subordinates, according to the prescribed cultural cues of the society….For honor has both individual and corporate or collective dimensions. Relations within the natural grouping are sacred, blood, or pure relationships the tie persons directly together....Relationships within voluntary groupings are focused on posts and functions (Malina:1981, 47f).”
Your status in the community affected every aspect of your life. It influenced relationship opportunities, job prospects, social mobility, and potential access to resources. This dynamic is difficult for us to understand in our own time and place. “The formalistic of honor culture are difficult for modern North Americans to understand, not least those who assume certain cultural dynamics of egalitarianism (Myers, 199).”

This social understanding can help us to recognize the radical way the Jesus interacts with those he encounters. “In the process of his symbolic construction of the new social order of the kingdom, Mark’s Jesus was subverting the status quo in order to create new possibilities of human community (Myers, 199).”

The Healing of Two “Daughters”

Jesus is met by Jarius, the ruler of the local synagogue. Jarius, a rare named character in Mark’s story, is a person who has power and influence in the community. He is a person who has honor. His approach to Jesus, falling at Jesus’ feet, is a use of his honor in order to extract a favor. He greats Jesus as an equal in order to ensure the favor is granted. He appeals to Jesus on behalf of his daughter.

Their movement to Jarius’ house is interrupted by an unnamed woman who reaches out to touch Jesus from the large crowd gathered around him. The unnamed woman is a person who has been shamed by the community. She is ritualistically unclean because of the flow of blood. She is an outcast, not able to participate in the normal rhythms of community life. She has also drained her resources trying to find healing. She is not only an outcast, she is poor. To put it metaphorically, she is socially dead.  

The nature of Jesus’ ministry, his radical inclusivity, stops the procession to Jarius’ house in order to heal the unnamed woman. Jesus is again purposely upsetting the established status quo in order to give life.

The moment that initiates the healing is one the creates a problem for Jesus. The purity code has been breached. Having been touched by an unclean person, Jesus is now unclean himself. But there is a reversal. Has we have already witnessed in the healing of the man with the skin disease (1:40-45), Jesus chooses to violate the purity code for the sake of healing. In a sense, Jesus takes a moment of social death and chooses to give life. The touch that could contaminate becomes a touch of new life.

Jesus also changes the status of the woman within the community. He names her daughter, drawing her into kinship of the community of Jesus’ inaugurating. No longer is she at the bottom of the honor scale, she is a part of the family of the kingdom of God.

After this radical reversal news reaches the procession that the daughter of Jarius has died. The group is troubled as suggests that Jarius no longer bother Jesus. Jesus overhears the conversation and tells Jarius, “Do not fear, only believe.” This phrase can also be translated as “Do not fear, keep on trusting.” This is a mantra of discipleship that the disciples will need. A mantra that is important for our own journey of faith. Keep on trusting!

Jesus proceeds to the house where he is greeted by weeping and wailing. When Jesus tells them that the girl is not dead, only sleeping, they laugh at him. Jesus then throws them out of the house. It’s interesting to note that Mark uses the same work, ekbalon, to describe the action of Jesus. It’s the same word he uses to describe Jesus casting out demons. Jesus is literally casting out the opposition to his ministry from the house!

Jesus takes only the girl’s family and Peter, James, and John with him into the back room where the girl is located. He tells her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” What we translate as “get up,” is the word ἐγείρω - to be raised. It’s the word Mark uses for resurrection. Jesus raises the girl to new life. Mark connects this event to what happens at the tomb.

Mark also tells us that the girl is twelve, the same number of years that the unnamed woman had been bleeding. This could also be an interesting commentary on status and access to resources within the community. The daughter of Jarius has had access to resources because of the status of her father. The unnamed woman as left at the merciless hands of those who controlled the purity code and access to healing. Jesus breaks down these obstacles with his ministry and creates a place for all in the kingdom of God.

Questions for Modern Day Disciples

  • What are the cultural barriers in our midst that keep healing at bay?
  • How do we still embody a culture of honor/shame?
  • How do we follow Jesus in breaking down the barriers that keep people from healing/wholeness?
  • What are some ways the discipleship mantra of "keep on trusting" can be used in our lives?
Next week we continue with chapter six. Patterns are emerging in Mark's story that invite us into the rhythm of discipleship. As we continue to explore these patterns, my hope is that we can begin to understand how they play themselves out in our lives as modern day disciples.
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Mark 5:1-20

12/1/2014

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Mark 5:1-20 (NRSV)

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12 and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Notes

We have reached the “other side.” Jesus and his disciples are in new territory on their journey and Jesus mission of spreading the news of the kingdom of God. As with his initial movements in Galilee and Capernaum, Jesus is immediately met by someone in need.

This story from Mark is steeped in metaphors and symbolism. It is a story of Jesus critique and nonviolent direct action against the powers, this time the powers of Rome.

Symbols of the Unclean

Mark tells us that the man comes from the tombs and that there is a herd of pigs present for this episode. Both of these are unclean for the Jewish people. Not only are Jesus and the disciples on the other side, they are in unclean space and their ritual purity is threatened. The boundaries of Jesus’ ministry are being pushed into new space.

Military Terminology

Mark uses words in this story that allude to military engagement. Jesus is confronting the powers of a military state, the ultimate power of Rome.

“In 5:9 Jesus wrests from this powerful demonic horde its name: Legion. A Latinism, this term had only one meaning in Mark’s social world: a division of Roman soldiers. Alerted by this clue, we discover that the rest of the story is filled with military imagery. The term used for ‘herd’ (agele, 5:11) - inappropriate for pigs, who do not travel in herds - often was used to refer to a band of military recruits (Derrett, 1979:5). Derrett also points out that the phrase ‘dismissed them’ (epetrepsen - 5:13: translated as “he gave them permission in the NRSV) connotes a military command, and the pigs charge (ormesen - 5:13: translated as ‘rush’ in the NRSV) into the lake suggests troops rushing into battle (Myers, 191).”

These two themes Mark the narrative. Jesus encounters someone in need in a place of  death and militarized destruction and responds by giving new life to the demoniac.

Nonviolent, Direct Action

In our symbolic journey through Mark’s story of Jesus, and an understanding that Jesus is confronting the fallen powers of the world, this is the moment when Jesus takes on the power of Rome. Here Jesus sets the kingdom of God over and against the kingdom of Rome. The kingdom of God brings true peace into the world through the life-giving power of Jesus. The kingdom of Rome orchestrates peace through violence and domination. Jesus has come to confront this fallen power and break its strangle hold on the world. 

In this encounter we can understand the demoniac as a person who has internalized the military occupation of the empire of Rome - “The demoniac represents collective anxiety over Roman imperialism (Myers, 193).” This militarized occupation has captured him, possessing his mind and body. He lives in a state of metaphorical death, making his home among the tombs.

The demoniac knows Jesus, as do the other demons in Mark’s story, they know that he holds the power to defeat them. Jesus casts out the “legion” - the metaphorical militarized power of the Roman fighting force. He drives them into a herd of pigs who rush over a cliff and into the sea. “Enemy soldiers being swallowed by hostile waters of course brings to mind the narrative of Israel’s liberation from Egypt (Exodus 14), as Moses victory hymn sings: ‘Pharaoh’s chariots and his army Yahweh cast into the sea; his elite officers are sunk in the Red Sea (Ex. 15:4)’ (Myers, 191).”

Jesus demonstrates power even over the greatest fighting for of his time. Again it is important to take note of the nonviolent means Jesus uses in his encounter. He does not rise up in violent revolution, he confronts the system that holds people in a state of death: in this moment the power of militarized occupation.

Jesus continues to demonstrate his power to give life in the face of death, pointing to the true power of the kingdom of God.

Questions for Modern Day Disciples

  • What holds us captive?
  • How do we support/critique a society that is “possessed” by military dominance?
  • How do we model a nonviolent way of life in a society that promotes violence?

These are tough but important questions for our time and place.

Next week we continue with the second half of chapter five.
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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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