Mark - The First Gospel: wilderness

Showing posts with label wilderness. Show all posts

Monday, August 11, 2014

006-Mixed Reactions

Gospel proclamation is not just words. It must free the oppressed and captives. If it doesn’t it isn’t the gospel.

In this passage Mark wraps up the account of Jesus’ first ministry tour around the Galilean region. Responses to Jesus are mixed, but rare is any kind of genuine faith and repentance that is expressed. The crowds are merely curious, the disciples are confused, and the establishment is hostile.

Healing and Killing (3:1-6)

Jesus returns to a synagogue, probably in Capernaum, where the story began. The environment is decidedly hostile by this time. Jesus is given the silent treatment by all: by those who wish to snub him and by the rest who are fearful of expressing any opinions of their own in case they too, are targeted.

Jesus could have avoided all the controversy if he merely waited until after the Sabbath to heal. But the Kingdom of God does not wait. The Sabbath is a weekly invasion of the Kingdom into the world. Healing and restoration to wholeness of body, spirit, and relationships is most appropriate to take place on the Sabbath.

This story does not give any indication as to the man’s spiritual condition or his faith. Jesus’ compassion trumps all—he heals without question. There is nothing recorded of the man’s thoughts and actions afterward. Was there any kind of gratitude or repentance? The text does not say. Yet Jesus still healed.

This story is a challenge to us as modern Christians. Will we offer help to those who appear undeserving, who might merely be there to take advantage, to those who won’t express gratitude, to those who might even turn against us?

Doing good, caring for neighbor, trumps all regulations. What does that say to us today, whether we protest rules and regulations within the life of the church, or advocate for change in culture and politics? What trumps what? What priorities matter? Jesus’ fierce testimony silences the critics. Either they have decided already and do not seek debate, or they have nothing to say—or both. Either way, their silence both angers and saddens Jesus. Again, to what suffering and injustice is the church silent today?^[1]

The irony is that the guardians of spiritual tradition go to plot the destruction of Jesus on the Sabbath day.

A Tour Summary (3:7-12)

Motifs from the opening stories are condensed in these few verses: withdrawal, wilderness, sea, the crowd, healing, exorcism, confrontation.

The news about Jesus’ deeds have spread far beyond Galilee and people arrive from a very large area to hear about him and experience his manifestations. Once more there is no mention of repentance, yet Jesus continues to heal, exorcise, and restore people. Jesus asks for nothing in return.

Jesus demonstrates what genuine compassion does.

Jesus’ compassion is not merely a feeling of pity; his compassion focuses on wholeness and justice on behalf of those in need. Real compassion entails actually getting to know people, understanding their needs and concerns, and sharing resources even at personal cost. Compassion may also mean shared suffering.^[2]

Jesus demonstrates what the Kingdom of God looks like. The Kingdom is not primarily about a place, but about shared relationships in an environment of mutual acceptance.

Healing carried great weight in a society that viewed illness as punishment from heaven. The healings set off a chain reaction as word spread among the villagers of Galilee. Remember that healing touched more than the individual; it restored the family and kinship relations.^[3]

Selection of The Twelve (3:13-19)

I see this as kind of a closing of the first unit and an introduction to the next. Jesus opened his ministry by announcing the arrival of the kingdom, calling people to repent and believe the gospel, and by calling some disciples to follow him. In this passage Jesus selects twelve to further the discipleship process: to observe Jesus in action and to imitate him in proclamation and exorcism. In the following chapters we are given snapshots of more of Jesus words and deeds.

It is important to understand that Jesus desired every disciple that is named here, including Judas Iscariot who would later betray him. But in a sense, all the disciples betrayed Jesus to one degree or another.

In whatever way Christians may theologize about Judas, then and now—predestined pawn, kingdom-hastening agent, mistaken militant, would-be powerbroker—even the earliest apostolic community included the presence and the reality of the demonic, a timely reminder for those who would attribute some mythic purity to the first-century church.^[4]

Summary

Disciples of Jesus are to first learn what the gospel is. And they are sent out to proclaim and live it. The gospel is that the kingdom of God has arrived. It can only be entered through repentance, that is, by choosing to turn one’s steps toward drawing nearer to Jesus and to follow him. The kingdom of God is good news because it is a community in which all are accepted, where oppression and addictions finally end, where relationships are restored, and where wholeness is found.

But this kingdom is not yet fully here. We live in an in-between time where we experience some of what the kingdom promises but the evils of the world still affect the church.

Christ has great expectations of us and has no intention of lessening them. We disciples often fail to meet them, but that is no reason for despair, because all things are possible for God.^[5]

[1] Feasting: Mark, location 3082.

[2] Feasting: Mark, location 3340.

[3] Feasting: Mark, location 3404.

[4] Feasting: Mark, location 3506.

[5] Feasting: Mark, location 3654.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

004-Signs of Conflict

In order for God to reign, all other powers must abdicate or be defeated, even the powers that claim to represent God.^[1]

The next three episodes begin a series of conflicts and confrontations that will accompany Jesus throughout his ministry. These include:

Conflict between people’s expectations of a Messiah vs. one that is true to God’s will,
Conflict between social and cultural traditions vs. what restoration to community will require,
And conflict between religious traditions and laws vs. the reality of God’s kingdom.

Moving On

After the people of Capernaum see Jesus at work they clamor for more. But it is not faith that they exhibit. The disciples, too, are unaware of Jesus’ mission. How can a leader lead if he rejects popular acclaim? But that is exactly what Jesus does.

He has come to bring judgment. Judgment, in this context means that the people are confronted with the message and demonstration of God’s power, and they are forced to make a decision about their priorities and who/what they will give their lives over to; i.e., repentance.

Jesus does not see repentance and faith so he must move on. He goes to prayer because he is tempted to stay and accept the “easy way.”

Our church folks need to hear about how Jesus faces and rejects the temptation to live for himself, rather than for God. They face these same temptations for fame and glory and power, which can corrupt even the most faithful.^[2]

It is interesting to note that Jesus’ ministry is summarized by preaching in synagogues and casting out demons, quite likely in the synagogues following the pattern found in 1:21-27. What does this say about the so-called “sacred spaces” that people have created and defined? What does this say about our churches?

Restoring the Untouchable

In the next episode Jesus encounters one that society has ruled unclean, untouchable, literally outside the normal relationship patterns. Even though from a strict regulation standpoint, a leper is not completely cast out of community (something that was a new revelation to me during this study^[3]) in practical terms the social stigma is great. One could liken it to a public drunkard or drug addict in today’s society: they are typically shunned from association with “respectable folks” and regarded as someone with less than full human dignity.

Jesus’ attitudes and words are a bit strange in this story. There have been different interpretations in regards to it, but one that I found intriguing and making sense rhetorically is that this may have been transmitted originally as a second exorcism story. (See discussion outline for more on this.)

At one stage in the transmission of the final story in this panel the leprosy afflicting the man whom Jesus heals may have been thought of as a demon.^[1]

“Demons” in mark need not be seen as literal demons but anything “society demonizes or regards as God’s punishment.”^[5]

Jesus touches the leper, directly acting against social traditions regarding the unclean. By this act Jesus shows that restoration to full human dignity and relationship is of primary concern in the “gospel of God.”

The former leper, rather than following Jesus’ instructions begins to immediately announce the healing. I believe Mark includes this act of direct disobedience to show that this man too, has failed to repent.

The Authority to Forgive

Jesus returns to Capernaum and tries to remain quiet but soon he is found out. A crowd gathers at “his home,” quite possibly Peter’s mother-in-law’s home. The crowd is rarely a good thing in the Markan account. They don’t repent and they often block access to Jesus from the very people that need him most.

I’ve often heard sermons and such focusing on the personal sin and guilt of the paralytic, the faith of his four friends making up for the lack of his, and the failure of the scribes to recognize Jesus when he “clearly” demonstrates who he is. But each of these may be misinterpretations, or at the very least there are other ways to interpret the story.

In regards to Jesus declaring that the paralytic’s sins are forgiven, it need not be understood that Jesus is speaking of any specific sin or guilt. The “lack of faith” on the paralytic is premised on the interpretation that his guilt was interfering with his faith. If we take away personal sin and guilt, then we also remove his personal lack of faith.

The story neither names a specific sin committed by the paralytic nor mentions anything at all about guilt; there is no specific connection between sin and sickness. Jesus does not say that sin causes the paralysis. It may be helpful here to look beyond what Jesus says (“Son, your sins are forgiven,” v. 5b) to what Jesus does.^[6]
While Jesus does tell the paralytic that his sins are forgiven, he never once implies that he is sick because he sinned.^[7]

Verse 10 reads “’But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ —he said to the paralytic— …” (ESV)

Translations typically include these words in quotations, meaning it is interpreted as Jesus saying this to those present in the house. From this it is interpreted that the scribes should have known by the end of the episode that Jesus was more than just a man. But that is not how the text ought to be read.

Verse 10 is Mark’s commentary. He is writing an aside for his audience, the readers of the gospel account. He is telling us what this story means for us. The crowd, including the scribes, do not understand who Jesus is. But as readers we are being given an inside look into evidence of Jesus’ authority – here the authority to forgive sins. (The discussion outline contains more on why the scribes would not have come away from this encounter with the knowledge that Jesus was divine.)

For us it is important to note that the man nor his friends ever asked Jesus for forgiveness. There is also no record of confession or repentance. Jesus simply forgives and heals as proof of his authority.

… One can see that this story is about the house meeting—that is, the early Christian liturgy—as a locus of forgiveness. That is to say, this episode calls upon the assembly to forgive.^[8]

Our church communities are called to declare forgiveness just as Jesus forgave. When people around us, outside the church, are suffering because of guilt feelings (rightly or wrongly, that is not our concern), we are to offer forgiveness in the name of God. We offer forgiveness whether or not we think there is any confession or repentance. We do this to bring wholeness and restoration to the world around us.

But What About the Broken Roof?

Sermons on this story often dwell at length on the broken roof. Here are a couple brief points that I found that I hadn’t heard before:

Mark’s story implies that when Jesus is home, the house itself is vulnerable to the collateral damage of those who relentlessly seek him, his healing, and his forgiveness. The word is a word to the church.^[9]

Perhaps the roof in Mark 2 is a way of keeping the Other at bay. The walls and roof of a house are designed to keep out anything unwanted. Yet this house is special, because Jesus is visiting it. He has shown up at the meeting in the house, and therefore the purpose of this house meeting is forgiveness, and if those who need forgiveness cannot fit through the door, they might just have to tear a hole in the roof. Suddenly the barrier is gone, and those inside must acknowledge those outside.^[10]

Are the roofs and walls of our churches “broken”? If not, why not?

[1] Reading Mark, "Controversies - 2:1-3:6"

[2] Feasting: Mark, location 1987.

[3] NICNT: Mark, 1:40. “Lepers were allowed to live unhampered wherever they chose, except in Jerusalem and cities which had been walled from antiquity. They could even attend the synagogue services if a screen was provided to isolate them from the rest of the congregation.”

[4] Reading Mark, 1:21- 27 (A) and 1:40- 45 (A').

[5] Feasting: Mark, location 2198.

[6] Feasting: Mark, location 2381.

[7] Feasting: Mark, location 2468.

[8] Feasting: Mark, location 2324.

[9] Feasting: Mark, location 2329.

[10] Feasting: Mark, location 2340.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

002-What’s So Great About Repentance?

Unlike Matthew, Mark seems to have no difficulty with Jesus undergoing John’s baptism of repentance even though Jesus had no need to repent.[1]

As we read Mark, we can make assumptions about the traditions about Jesus that he knew. If he was recording Peter’s knowledge, Mark certainly knew that Jesus was personally sinless. Yet in these opening verses, Mark chooses to deliberately omit those parts of the tradition that object to Jesus being baptized. Jesus is baptized with a “baptism of repentance.” We, as the audience, are left to wrestle with Mark’s choices of inclusion and exclusion.

Repentance and repenting are not exactly popular concepts within modern Christianity. I’ve noticed one of two ways of dealing with it. One is for churches to not talk about it – to church ignore it. It is too embarrassing, too uncomfortable, it evokes too much in the way of guilt and shame. Don’t talk too much about sin, and don’t talk too much about repentance – seems to be the first way of dealing with it.

The second way is to talk about it all the time. The world is lost in sin and the Christian has been commissioned to identify that problem and bring people to repentance. Sermons frequently identify different types of sin and exhort listeners to repent and be saved. The constant focus, conscious or not, is on the ongoing failure of humanity to measure up to God’s standards and thus our need of repentance. The question is always there: have we sufficiently repented of our sins? For many this constant reminder of sins and guilt and shame leads to fear and in some cases, abandoning Christianity.

Both approaches to repentance – ignoring it and dwelling on it – are based on the premise that “repent” is defined primarily in its relationship to sin and more specifically, personal sin. But is this what Mark (and Peter) had in mind when the gospel opens with both John the Baptist and Jesus calling on people to “repent”, and when Jesus himself undergoes a baptism of repentance?

Sin Infects the Entire Community

The biggest mistake Western Christians make about sin and repentance is to see it primarily through our individualistic culture. For decades and even a couple of centuries now, Christianity has spoken primarily of personal salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus and/or God. But such a notion would have been rather foreign to Mark and his audience.

Do not forget that Metanoeite! [Repent!] is a plural verb. Over the years, in English, we have downsized this powerful Greek verb into a singular, private affair. Of course, a person’s decision whether or not to follow Jesus is deeply personal, but Metanoeite! is a plural imperative that extends beyond one’s personal decision. Mark refuses to reduce Metanoeite! to a privatized response, as though the invitation of Jesus involved “just me and Jesus.” Mark will have none of that. “Believing the gospel” is a group effort. Christian life is lived in community, always in community, no matter how many blemishes or scars.[2]

Sin has infected the entire human community. It doesn’t matter if just one individual sins or all of them. All have sinned. When Jesus chooses to become incarnate as a human, he chooses to take upon Baptism himself sin. He does not have personal sin, but that is of little consequence. He has placed himself under the curse of sin, and to exit the curse, to defeat it, requires that he too, repent. Therefore, Jesus must undergo a public demonstration of his repentance.

But for Jesus (and Mark as he writes) turning away from sin is a very tiny part of repentance. For Jesus repentance is turning to God, committing himself to God’s will and purposes, and making the decisions all through his life in line with a journey toward God. Jesus rejects the temptation to sin of self-preservation. He rejects the basis of power and empire of this world and reveals a different kind of kingdom, one based not on self-preservation but on self-sacrifice.

To prepare for participation in the reign of God means a complete reversal of mindset (metanoeite is usually translated "Repent!" but this is much more all-encompassing than mere regret or admission of fault). This reversal of mindset amounts to putting unreserved trust in the good news from God and about God that will unfold in the course of the narrative. That is all the Markan Jesus asks- a complete reversal of humanity's values, priorities, and ground of security.[3]

Testing Continues Through This Life

Unlike the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, there is no “finish” to the period of testing/temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. There is no decisive victory. By this lack of a “finish” Mark tells his audience (Christians undergoing crisis and persecution) that like Jesus, the testing and suffering will continue through their entire lives, that they may well not experience any respite from it in this life. But the encouragement is that a “wilderness experience” is not a sign of God’s abandonment but quite to the contrary, God’s will can be accomplished through it. Not only that but heavenly ministers will minister to them during this trying period. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark writes that angels minister to Jesus throughout his testing period.

The Kingdom Is Here – Repent!

The Kingdom of God is vastly different from the kingdoms of the world. The two are based on diametrically opposed systems of power and governance. All human systems are based on hierarchy and power that leads to tyranny and corruption as those more powerful attempt to retain their positions and privileges through manipulation, deceit, and force.

Human history is a continued record of one kingdom conquering another, to be conquered by yet another. In many cases the conquering kingdom has noble vision and high ideals, but as it is established it falls to the same temptation that caused its predecessor to fall.

The same can be said not just of political powers but business and religious groups.

Therefore, repentance is the good news of the kingdom of God.

“The kingdom of God” here means the rule of God, and Jesus' message signifies that God has begun to establish his rule in a world viewed by many religious Jews as under the tyranny of Satan and evil.[4]

Jesus' action in confronting Satan, sin, disease and death, and subduing nature is the sign that the end stands as the next act of God in man's future. Provision has been made for men to repent, but there is no time for delay. Only through repentance can a man participate with joy in the kingdom when it does break forth… Either a man submits to the summons of God or he chooses this world and its riches and honor. The either/or character of this decision is of immense importance and permits of no postponement. That is what repentance is all about.[5]

We do not have to repeat the past. We can have a new beginning and enter into a new way of life. This is the meaning of Jesus’ opening announcement in Mark’s gospel account.

Without question, Metanoeite! carries with it the notion that we have some changing to do, some new directions to take; its primary orientation, though, is toward God’s future rather than our past. In Mark, Metanoeite! is an invitation to trust in a future made possible by the grace of God. The first word Jesus speaks in Mark’s Gospel is “Metanoeite!” Why? Because in Jesus, God makes it possible for God’s people to do more than rerun the past. That is the gospel, the good news, the glad tidings toward which Jesus invites us to stop, turn, or turn again, and hold on to for dear life. Metanoeite! says our Lord; things do not have to stay the way they are now! In fact, to follow Jesus means that things cannot stay the way they are…[6]

[1] Exploring Mark, p.43.

[2] Feasting: Mark, location 1284.

[3] Reading Mark, 1:1-13.

[4] UBC: Mark, 1:14-20.

[5] NICNT: Mark, 1:14-15.

[6] Feasting: Mark, location 1260.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

001-Background and Introduction

How can the one “crucified in weakness” (2 Cor. 13:4) be the Mighty One of divine power? This tensive question drives the plot of Mark’s Gospel.[1]

"Colosseum in Rome, Italy - April 2007" by Diliff - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

The author of Mark’s gospel account redefines what euangelion (i.e., gospel) means to its audience. To its Roman audience the gospel is about a new royalty that supplants Caesar. To its Jewish audience the gospel is transition between the Present Age and the Age to Come – it is the promised Day of the Lord.

The word “gospel” (euangelion), “good news,” refers to the church’s message of God’s saving act in Jesus, the message proclaimed by the church of Mark’s day and ours. It does not here refer to a book representing the life and teaching of Jesus, a meaning the word did not attain until the middle of the second century.[2]

The opening of the gospel account is a recounting of an invasion; an invasion of God and his power into the realm of sin and darkness.

Mark is the story of an invasion, an invasion of this world by God and God’s reign… This is an invasion that is going forward without any invitation. This is an invasion that neither expects nor requires any real receptivity on the part of those for whom the invasion is planned.[3]

Mark was written to a church in crisis; a church facing persecution, martyrdom, and even death. How does the story of a crucified Jesus give strength and hope to a suffering church? Mark invites his readers to place themselves in Jesus’ place, to experience his trials, and to take strength and encouragement in his story of faithfulness, even to the cross. Mark introduces the “wilderness” as a place where God is most present, where he draws closest to his people, where the exodus and salvation takes place.

The biblical concept of repentance, however, is deeply rooted in the wilderness tradition. In the earliest stratum of OT prophecy, the summons to "turn" basically connotes a return to the original relationship with the Lord. This means a return to the beginning of God's history with his people, a return to the wilderness.[4]

Summary Points

Mark’s gospel account: written for Christians facing crisis with all the questions of theodicy and the like that suffering and persecution raises
“The gospel,” for Mark, is the explanation and meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and how that speaks to Christians
Mark’s gospel account is not primarily for evangelism, but for encouragement and exhortation to those that already believe
Mystery surrounding Jesus and who he is figure prominently in Mark’s gospel
It might be seen as midrash (commentary) on the second half of Isaiah
The Exodus and wilderness wanderings figure as prominent motifs of salvation story
The gospel is not static – it continues with every generation of the Church

What could it mean for congregations to believe that we, here today, are part of this ongoing story of good news, that the end of the story has not yet been written?[5]

[1] Feasting: Mark, location 658.

[2] Feasting: Mark, location 617.

[3] Feasting: Mark, location 522.

[4] NICNT: Mark, 1:4-5.

[5] Feasting: Mark, location 674.

Pages