Readings from Mark – M - 2:18-28; T - 3:1-19; W - 3:20-35; Th - Mark 4:1-20; F - 4:21-41
The theme of the opening section of the Gospel of Mark (1:1-8:22) is “Who is Jesus?” You, the reader, have been given insider information but you are invited to evaluate your relationship with Jesus through watching the characters of these stories wrestle with who Jesus is. Jesus is God returning as King to reclaim his Kingdom, redeem it, and reconcile it for good. What kind of citizen are you called to be in his kingdom? What kind of King do we have? Mark’s Gospel invites us to follow Jesus along the way. This is a journey of transformation that brings us to the cross, through the cross, and into new creation. The journey is salvation where we continue in the process of relinquishing control of our lives and allow God to be the rightful king. Do we want to be made into the image of the King we see in scripture or will we keep trying to make Jesus into our own image?
I love the final story in this week’s reading and want to begin there. When you get to this story at the end of the week, sit with it and all of the other readings up to this point. “Who is this?” is the question on the lips of those who just asked Jesus to wake up and do something. Asking God to “Wake up!” is a common theme in the Psalms (7:6; 35:23; 44:23; 59:5) and it is a prayer worth getting comfortable with. May we be so bold! When we ask God to awake, we realize that it is we who have been asleep all along. If we are honest with ourselves, we are more comfortable with the God who is asleep on the boat while we run around in chaos rather than being moved to awe struck fear and wonder at the God who has absolute authority. When we wake to our own sleepiness and realize God is fully in control we have to respond by relinquishing all control we think we have. If you want to be woke, you have to realize you’ve been asleep all along.
“Who is this?”
Monday, Mark 2:18-28, Jesus announces that fasting is good for developing the discipline of expectation and connecting with the need for renewal. Fasting is the focus of the season of Lent. We are part of a broken creation still in need of redemption. He and his disciples do not fast because the anticipated has arrived! I once heard the Christian worship service likened to a funeral where we put on our funeral clothes, sing our funeral songs, because we are there to mourn the death of Jesus. I’ve been in a lot of churches where that wasn’t the feel but I’ve also been in a lot of churches where that was the best description for the experience. The season of Lent is to reconnect with the brokenness of the world but more so to reconnect us with the redemption and reconciliation brought about by Jesus’s resurrection. What about Jesus’s work of reconciliation in the world causes you to celebrate? Is celebration and joy a marker of your Christian walk?
Tuesday, Mark 3:1-19, Jesus puts his authority on display by establishing a new Government, a New Israel if you will, by calling into existence a new representation of the twelve tribes. This section is dripping with imagery of God calling his people into existence. Many receive new names like Abram did (looking forward to new names in Rev 2:17). Jesus is being really bold in calling the twelve. The northern tribes were carried off and dispersed by the Assyrians and are now “lost tribes.” One of the expectations of the coming Messiah is that he would gather the tribes back together. Calling the twelve makes Jesus at least a “New Jacob” but perhaps he is going further. It is God who called the people of Israel to be his people. Jesus puts his authority as God and King on display early in his ministry. Read through the list of names slowly. Place the names of people from our congregation in this list. Don’t just list your friends. List those who are different from you. Do this in such a way that brings you into a place of prayer where you hear the voice of Jesus call you to follow him, calling your in your baptism, and calling you to join with those he has called to be part of this new government, this new project of Kingdom and renewal.
Wednesday, Mark 3:20-35, Jesus’s authority over the dark forces of the world is on full display. The work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus brings accusation. People do not like when something new comes along and their first reaction tends to lean toward eliminating it. When the people, even his own family, see that Jesus has authority over the dark forces of the world, they believe his is either out of his mind or from the darkness himself. The Holy Spirit is breathing new and fresh ways of doing things and Jesus has authority over the darkness. Throughout history, there have been Spirit led movements in the church, movements of renewal and change, but they are almost always met with hostility and accusation. There have also been movements in the church that were not led by the Spirit. God’s authority over the dark forces of the world is on full display in this passage. How do we know if movements of renewal are led by the Spirit? They move to fulfill the will of God. What is the will of God? Renewal of his creation back to its intended goodness.
Thursday, Mark 4:1-20, the prophetic message of the return of the King is that God would bring a fresh harvest to the land. This new harvest would be the result of a fresh act, a renewal of the covenant.The people were excited for this harvest! But, Jesus issues a warning with the good news. Just because you are in a special position (God’s people, nation, etc.) doesn’t mean you will be part of what God is doing in the world. The church will continue to have new movements of renewal as it breathes the good news into an ever changing world. The warning this parable has for us today is that we have to make sure we are rooted deeply in the gospel and God’s mission for the church. As we follow Jesus in his Kingdom renewal movement, what rocks and birds (to borrow the parabolic metaphor) do you see in the church that keep us from being rooted in mission? Ask the Spirit to examine your life to reveal where soil needs to be cultivated in your own life. Where do you double down on tradition and comfort rather than allowing yourself to be moved by gospel and mission?
Friday, Mark 4:21-41, we find Jesus on a boat asleep in the middle of a storm. This passage becomes the focal point of the week. “Who is this?” Is the question in which we all return and examine ourselves with. Are we willing to call on Jesus to wake up and act? When he does act in our lives and in the church, are we ready to be in awe of who he is, the authority he has, and therefore change our lives to line up with what it looks like to follow the one true King?