Mark 6

What is this story about John the baptist doing here? It helps me understand a bigger picture - how people were reacting to Jesus. They are hearing about him and wondering who he is and where his power comes from. Herod is full of fear and curiosity. The conditions are set for the crisis that is to come - for more questioning, for fear, for impulsive, erratic behavior, for suffering.

Herod - acts out of fear of his wife or what is it? Is he afraid she won't love him if he doesn't do what she wants? His actions get him into a lot of trouble- first he has John the Baptist imprisoned, then beheaded. I cannot imagine the inner torment he suffered because of his choices. He let someone else dictate his actions and wasn't true to himself. When do I let others or culture determine my actions?? Sometimes the influence is so subtle.

Mark 3

Jesus' enemies were full of fear and anger. They were so sure of what the Messiah would look like and afraid of how this trouble maker Jesus would upset the equilibrium. What do I miss because "I know" and am sure. The man with the shriveled hand - I wonder what he was doing in the synagogue? Jesus calls him out of his hiding place and asks him to stand in front of everyone. Show them your deformed hand. If it had been me would I have had the courage to stand in front? Would I have turned and run from this one who had found me?? What was it about Jesus that people responded to him with either complete trust or great fear?
Mark 6: day 2: Jesus gave the disciples what they needed - authority over evil spirits not stuff, clothes, food, packed bags. Their message was the same - repent. They did just what they had seen Jesus doing and healed many sick people. What am I doing that is like Jesus?

Relationship not Rules

Just thinking about what I shared on Tuesday about faith. I tend to focus on the relationship we are invited into with Jesus and try not to make it about what we do. However, what we do is important!! As I shared, it was my regular time in Scripture, worship, prayer and Bible study that gave me the foundation of faith I needed when life got hard. Thus the challenge to read Mark 6 every day over the next two weeks. First time through: The people in Jesus' hometown seemed to move from amazement to offense so quickly. The story moves from the incredible faith of the woman and Jairus to the lack of faith of his hometown.
I'll go back to the chapters I haven't covered in the days to come. Keep reading!!

More on Law and Rules

"What is the good of telling the ships how to steer so as to avoid collisions if, in fact, they are such crazy old tubs that they cannot be steered at all? What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behaviour, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them? I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think, and think hard, about improvements in our social and economic system. What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realise that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system: but as long as men are twisters or bullies they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society. That is why we must go on to think of the second thing: of morality inside the individual."



Mere Christianity by CS Lewis p.72

Is there a solution? Think about what Jesus offers - relationship, transformation, new life.

The Law and Us

A quote from Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson

Every human heart is always and ever drawn to the law. In the same way that iron filings follow a magnet, our hearts chase after rules - not because we ever really obey them but because we think they make life manageable. Rules elevate us to the position of lawgiver; they help us avoid the humiliation of prostrating ourselves before a bloody, despicable cross. We love to try to approve of ourselves and control others by generating more and more rules. p81

What do you think? Why do we choose rules over relationship?

Mark 2

Jesus is home in Capernaum. The house is full of people who want to hear Jesus speak the word. What does he do? He declares that a man's sins are forgiven. The experts in the law respond "only God can forgive sins." v7 Who is Jesus? I wonder what those listening are thinking about this claim.
What is faith? Jesus sees the faith of those who bring the paralytic. Faith in action, "not knowledge about Jesus but active trust that Jesus is sufficient for one's deepest and most heartfelt needs." Edwards p76 Am I bringing my hurting friends to Jesus with trust that he will meet their needs? Or am I trying to meet their needs and when all else fails ask Jesus for help?
Fasting, weddings, patches and wineskins Mark 2:18-22
"Although not a legal requirement except for the Day of Atonement, fasting had become in Jesus' day a prerequisite of religious commitment, a sign of atonement of sin and humiliation and penitence before God, and a general aid to prayer." p89 Fasting was an outward sign of true piety. We want those outward signs - that way people can tell we are good Christians. Troubling...
Jesus isn't against fasting. He says the day will come when his followers will fast - but not now. Not when the bridegroom - God himself- is with them. I wonder what they thought of that statement by Jesus. He doesn't stop there. "Jesus is the new patch and the new wine. He is not an attachment, addition or appendage to the status quo. He cannot be integrated into or contained by preexisting structures, even Judaism, Torah, and the synagogue.The question posed by the image of the wedding feast and the two parables is not whether disciples will, like sewing a new patch on an old garment or refilling an old container, make room for Jesus in their already full agendas and lives. The question is whether they will forsake business as usual and join the wedding celebration; whether they will become entirely new receptacles for the expanding fermentation of Jesus and the gospel in their lives." p92 How did your journey with Jesus begin? Did you add or become something new? I began life as a believer by adding Jesus to a strong Puritan work ethic. In my family, accomplishment and achievement was everything. So I applied that way of living to God. I worked hard to impress God with all I could do in the Christian world. A new patch on an old garment and it eventually ripped everything apart. I wondered if this was all there was to the Christian life. Empty, weary, and unable to do any more "for God", I began a new journey. This time I let go, opening myself to Jesus, joining the celebration and discovering the love and grace God had for me.

A New Topic

I am helping lead a study of the gospel of Mark. As I have been reading and interacting with the story, I thought it would be great to engage in a conversation as we study this good news together. So hear goes!!
All quotes are from a commentary on the gospel of Mark by my dear friend James Edwards. He is smart and deep and sheds great light on this book. So I am letting him help me along the way.
Mark 1
"The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." v.1 The gospel which Jesus proclaims is in fact the gospel - the good news about himself. (from the NET Bible)
"In Mark's understanding, therefore, the gospel is more than a set of truths, or even a set of beliefs. It is a person, "the gospel of Jesus Christ." The kingdom that God inaugurates is bodily present in Jesus of Nazareth." p.25
Jesus is the good news. As I read and study Mark, I want to come to know Jesus in a deeper way. This isn't about knowing about him but about knowing him in such a way that the good news spills out of me in an attractive, compelling way.
I  love the story of Jesus' baptism. The sky splits apart much like the dividing of the Red Sea, the Spirit descends into Jesus, and "a voice came from heaven: 'You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.' v.11 God declares to all present and all who read who Jesus is. Do I believe Jesus is God's Son? It is where this journey begins. Being like Jesus means I humble myself and am open to and listening for whatever word God might speak.
Follow me - v. 17 I am invited to follow Jesus, a person - not a religion or a set of rules. Rules are easier. This journey into knowing Jesus demands more of my eyes, heart and mind. "Only as Jesus is followed can he be known." p. 50 I follow as Jesus teaches with authority - am I listening? jesus casts out demons - can this be real? Jesus heals the sick - I have much to learn about healing in Jesus' name. Jesus spends time alone in prayer - quiet, stillness, listening. I return to my practice of centering prayer. Jesus responds with compassion to those who ask for help. What is my response?
I have much to learn from Jesus. thank you Mark for your gospel that is Jesus.