On Jesus, racial prejudice, and healing

Gospel Matthew 15:21-28.

  ²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

When you experience pain or illness in your body or mind, what do you do?  Hope it goes away for a while.  Take an over the counter pain reliever.  Generally avoid going to the doctor, until you can’t.  When you can no longer avoid it, you go and seek a diagnosis and a cure.  The doctor may run some tests to confirm a diagnosis and then a course of treatment is administered, with the hope that the pain or illness is completely abolished.    

In Jesus’ world, an illness, a disease, a demonic possession were all the same thing.  A malicious enemy at work in the human body or mind, threatening to take life.  There is a sickness, a disease, a demonic power at work here that must be named.  It is racism.  It is the social construction that the color of one’s skin determines one’s value.  It is both overt, like a visible wound, and covert like a virus.  It infects every one of us.  There is no immunization from it.  It’s not an allergy that some have and some don’t.  I’m not saying that every person is a racist.  I am saying that everyone of us as affected by the systemic power of racial injustice that comes from racial prejudice.  Because some of us benefit from that system, experience privilege we often fail to acknowledge, because of our skin color.  And others are adversely affected daily because they are black or brown.  Prejudice is not new or American.  Though one could argue that the American story is illustrated by racial injustice. From the doctrine of discovery and slavery to Jim Crowe segregation and mass incarceration, the legacy of the American story is one of racial violence against black and brown and native peoples.  It is, as some have suggested, America’s original sin.  And a sin for which we have not collectively repented.  The results of that unrepentance are visible in Charlottesville and Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston and Ferguson and thousands of other acts of violent disregard for human life.  In our history whenever minorities and people of color have made gains toward greater equality, a white backlash has occurred.  Some of us feel threatened by black lives matter and civil rights and abolitionism.  That loss of power and privilege frightens whites with superiority complexes.   

Now I know this is uncomfortable. I know some of us would rather not have this conversation.  Some of us think this topic is too political and therefore out of bounds for friendly discussion, and certainly inappropriate for church.  Some of us feel powerless, others indifferent and unaffected.  It’s not a problem here.  Except that we look around a room of white people and realize that we do not reflect the beautiful diversity God has made. Why is that?   Peter’s Porch reflects more of that diversity.  The ELCA is the whitest church in America, with the fewest members of non-white racial composition.  After over two decades of intentional concern and activity, we are the whitest.  Are we that Eurocentric?  That out of touch with our changing, more racially diverse neighborhoods?   Are we that unaware?  This is our dis-ease.    

Today’s gospel is a story about racial prejudice and healing.  Jesus is confronted by a Canaanite woman.  For the Jew, the Canaanites were the native gentiles dwelling in the land God promised to them.  Today, they are Palestinians, or for us Native Americans.  These people were the enemies of the Jews.  They were an ethnic minority.  And they were despised.  Jews did not have relations of any kind with Canaanites.  Jewish men would not even acknowledge a Gentile woman.  They were invisible.  But this one is loud and crying out to Jesus, Lord, have mercy.  She comes as a mother on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter. 

Now we see a truly human Jesus, a product of his Jewish worldview.  At first he ignores her.  The disciples are so bothered by her that they insist he send her away.  So he verbally rejects her.  “I have come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  I don’t heal gentiles.  But she persists. 

Finally, he calls her a dog.  A little yippy scavenger.  This is no term of endearment.  It is a biting slur.  I hear laughter from the disciples. But she persists.  She does not cower from him.  She crawls on her knees and begs for scraps from the master’s table.  She wants her daughter to be made well and she has come to the doctor for healing.  And she will get it, even if she has to be humiliated, mistreated, and devalued by this Rabbi.  It is her persistence, her insistence that Jesus change his mind and heal her daughter, that Jesus calls faith.  A faith that heals her daughter.  And I dare say opened Jesus up to God’s mission---a mission we heard in Isaiah---a post-tribal, post-racist world, in which all are valued as sister or brother worthy of love, respect, and equal treatment.  

This is not the Jesus we expect or want to see.  Its frankly, embarrassing.  I wish Matthew and Mark had deleted this story.  I wish we could skip it in the lectionary.  But, it matters now.  Because we can identify with this Jesus.  He is converted from a deeply embedded prejudice by a woman who refuses to give up on love and justice for all.  And it speaks to our moment.  We are being confronted by the demon of racism, of white privilege and supremacy, of hatred and bigotry.  Bigotry in the name of free speech is hateful and must also be condemned.  This is not Obama’s fault or Black Lives Matter or Civil Rights or King’s.  King was murdered to stop the movement.  Like Jesus we may choose to silently ignore it.  We may reject or dismiss the problem of racial prejudice.  We may say this is their problem, let them solve it.  We have nothing to offer.    

Or we may say this is our moment, when we are confronted with our own demons of racial privilege, prejudices, and pain. We may say this is a time for confession, for healing, for reconciliation, for real peace.  We may seize this moment to grow, to step out of the darkness and into the light.  We may become part of God’s vision in Christ, of diversity and harmony.  We may be converted, too.  

Because there is healing for us all.  It comes in the form of a hard conversation in which we must confront and acknowledge that the demons of prejudice and privilege persist.  We can learn to dismantle racism and build a community of peace with justice for all.  We must insist publicly and aloud that hatred in the form of bigotry and white supremacy and neo Nazism is always wrong and unacceptable.  Those who perpetuate it are endangering God’s kingdom, and, frankly the American promise that all people are created equal. We must insist on another way.  A way of love that sees the other as a person, a beloved child of God.  A way of love that never belittles or diminishes another brother or sister.  A way of love that hears the cries for mercy and justice and joins their cries.  A way of love that crushes the demons and gives life to all God’s children.     

Mark 11. Jerusalem

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ²and 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. ³If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ’ ⁴They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, ⁵some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ ⁶They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. ⁷Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. ⁹Then 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!’
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing 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. ¹⁴He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

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; ¹⁶and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷He 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.’
¹⁸And 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. ¹⁹And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ ²²Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. ²³Truly 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. ²⁴So 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.’^*

Jesus’ Authority Is Questioned

27 Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him ²⁸and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ ²⁹Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ ³¹They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” ³²But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. ³³So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’

Reflection questions:
Why is Jesus in trouble with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem?  What problem does he cause?
What does Jesus teach about prayer?
How does Jesus address questions of his authority to act and speak the way he does?
What would cause you to make a public demonstration, to take a public stand?

Mark 10. Let me see again

Mark 10 is hard core teaching on relationships.  What shall the Christian community be like?    How will to be different from the world?
Male privilege in patriarchy allowed men to divorce women without grounds.  She could simply be dismissed.  Women were at a deep disadvantage in that society, economically and socially.  Though they contributed significantly to the household, they were considered subordinate to men.  Subservient.  Vulnerable. Weak. Disposable.  Jesus' prohibition of divorce does two things:  First it places marriage within the context of the divine covenant. It is part of God's grace/love act, placing men and women in relationships.  Therefore, men and women are accountable to God and each other for their marriage.  A marriage is meant to reflect God's love, God's blessing, God's fruitfulness.
Second, Jesus' prohibition protects women from neglect and abuse.  Because faithful men were supposed to avoid sin.  Jesus' rule on divorce was more or less a slap in the face of patriarchy.  Jesus sees women as precious bearers of God's image, not as instruments of male domination or satisfaction.  Divorce is prohibited on the grounds that God joins people together, because God is love. No love, no marriage.  Jesus would have been a good husband.  A Christian community protects marriage and protects those who are vulnerable in relationships.
Then Jesus welcomes children and blesses them.  He elevates their status, too.  Children are meant to be seen and heard, loved and nurtured.  Children possess an innocence, awe and wonder, a healthy respect for things that are bigger than they are, courage to try new things, imagination and a mind eager to learn.  They are all qualities of someone who will "enter the Kingdom of God".  This is not a literal term, as in to go into a place.  It means to be open to the presence of God in our lives.  It means to trust God and move forward in that trust.  Children are less inhibited, less prejudicial, less judgmental, and more inclusive.   They are not burdens or problems.  They are divine blessings.  Jesus would have been a good father.  A Christian community looks to its children for guidance and inspiration.  A Christian community looks to protect them, to nurture and teach them.
Jesus saw wealth as a potential hazard or obstacle to one's relationship with God.  Possessions can possess our hearts and souls in ways that prevent us from obeying God with our lives.
Discipleship is surrender, relinquishing a sense of control and security we feel that money gives us.  Money does not guarantee a better life, a good life, a memorable and meaningful life.  But a relationship with Jesus can bring these things.  Along with hardship.  No life is perfect. But to be fully alive does not require wealth.  Jesus calls for a simple life, unencumbered by stuff.  A Christian community is generous and care free with its material possessions.  A Christian community is non-competitive.  The first will be last and the last will be first.  Because the kingdom of God values equality and justice.
Jesus' mission is to die in Jerusalem.  The church's mission is to go with him, to die with him.  We do this when we act as servants of the world.  When we are more concerned about the welfare of the poor, the women, and the children than we are about ourselves then we are the church.  Acts of selfless generosity set the Christian community apart.  Many people appreciate the church in service to the world.  Many people want to be part of that kind of a community, making the world better by serving vulnerable people.  We can do this personally and informally.  But we can also organize to do this on a bigger scale.  Our church is most effective at fighting hunger, both locally and globally.

Jesus restores sight to the blind.  Those who want to see the truth, the way, the light are given that opportunity with Jesus.  There are people who think they see, but they are really blinded by prejudice, patriarchy, power, or privilege.  Jesus says that faith gives us sight.  Women, children, the poor, the servants (slaves), the ones who suffer---these are the ones closest to Jesus and, therefore, closest to God.  If we want to know God, we need to know the way of suffering in the world.  Those who are comfortably in charge cannot see God.  We do not see God from above, from an exalted place, but from below, from a place of humility.  This is, ultimately the invitation and challenge of discipleship. How low are we willing to go to see Jesus?  To the prisoner?  The homeless man?  The hungry child? The single mom on food stamps?  The disabled senior living in the broken down trailer?  If we're too busy tending to ourselves to see them, we could lose sight of the king and the kingdom we've been invited to serve.  
Notice the many Kairos moments in this chapter.  From beginning to end.  Pharisees.  Children. A rich man.  James and John.  A blind man.  These encounters with Jesus happen today, if we recognize them.  They happen in our marriages.  With our children.  Among leaders and neighbors.  With the suffering, the disabled, and the vulnerable.  And when we are self-absorbed and self-focused we might miss the moment.  Faith is awareness.  Be aware this week.

Mark 10. Let me see again.

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ ³He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ⁴They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ ⁵But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” ⁷“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’
10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

The Rich Man

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ ²⁰He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ ²⁴And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ ²⁶They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’
28 Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ ²⁹Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, ³⁰who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’

A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

32 They were on the road, 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, ³³saying, ‘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; ³⁴they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’

The Request of James and John

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.’ ³⁶And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ ³⁷And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ ³⁸But 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?’ ³⁹They 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; ⁴⁰but 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. ⁴²So 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. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus

46 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. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ⁴⁸Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ ⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then 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.’ ⁵²Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Reflection Questions:

Blindness and sight are analogous to other things:  ignorance and knowledge.  Doubt and faith.  Injustice and truth.  Innocence and guilt.  In what way does Jesus "restore sight"?  What forms of blindness occur in this chapter?  
How does privilege, wealth, and status blind us?  What is the remedy for this kind of blindness?
Who are the ones who "see" God's face in the face of Jesus?  Who is unable to "see"?

Mark 9. I believe. Help my unbelief

In Mark 9 we see Jesus teaching Peter, James, and John; Jesus teaching the 12 disciples; Jesus addressing crowds; Jesus personally engaging one family.  We hear the voice of God, a voice we have not heard since the 1st chapter and the baptism of Jesus;  We see Moses and Elijah on a mountain.  We hear Jesus speak about his death, about the power of humble service, and about threats against the human community.  Jesus mission is relational.  We see and hear, in this chapter, Jesus practicing UP, IN, and OUT.  He reveals some holy mysteries (resurrection) to his closest disciples.  He takes the three with him on a holy retreat, where he is seen in the presence of Moses and Elijah, liberator/ lawgiver, prophet/healer. Jesus transcends them both as son of God. It is on the mountain that Jesus' relationship with God the Father is reiterated.  That experience changed him and Peter!  They had an epiphany, a moment of clarity and identity that will shape the rest of their life together.
It was certainly a Kairos moment for Peter. So significant that he wanted to capture it and prevent it from coming to an end.  Nevertheless, Kairos moments end.  We don't get to stay "on the mountain",  and life in the trenches continues.  
We learn that prayer is sometimes the only effective work one can do to confront forces of opposition and resistance.  Jesus suggests here that the power to heal is God's alone and that we are often powerless to change other people.  This is good news.  We do not have to fear personal failure, only trust God.  Faith is honest, vulnerability before God.  Trusting in invisible powers of goodness, rather than our own willing attempts to do the right things .  We learn that faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive.
Jesus navigates between crowds and personal needs.  He is not so distracted by the crowds that he cannot see and hear one suffering father.  He is mission focused.  He listens.  He acts.  How many people are not helped or healed by Jesus?  More than he actually, personally helps or heals.  
Jesus offers up core teachings about discipleship, too.  Its not about achievement or greatness.  Its about service.  Its about hospitality and welcome.  And its about doing justice by showing mercy toward those who are suffering.  In fact, Jesus boldly says that if you are not against him, you are for him.  What might this mean?  Even indifferent or ambivalent onlookers who don't stand in the way of justice are part of Jesus' mission team.  An agnostic physician is indirectly on Jesus' side.  Secular nonprofits that feed the hungry are on Jesus' side, even though they do not express their mission religiously or spiritually.  This is freeing for us. There may be a lot of people outside of 'the church' who are not opposed to our mission, may even contribute to it.  Jesus says, let them do what they do.
Jesus sees the mission of God as a big, grassroots movement of change that does not end.  We get to be part of it when and where we are.  We get to be merciful, to confront injustice, to pray against suffering and for healing.  We get to be part of Jesus' extended family on mission.  And we see allies in that mission in and outside the church.  How joyful to see God's work in the world, in places we may never go and with people we may never touch.  How freeing to trust and know that God is good.
Disciples are learning to balance UP, IN, and OUT like Jesus.  Disciples stand in the privileged place of having seen and heard Jesus.  And we are challenged to share that in our everyday lives.
Perhaps you will be part of a crowd this week.  But, will you see or hear the one person in need of your attention, your time, your compassion or help? You will, if you spend time abiding "on the mountain" with Jesus first.  Take a moment everyday to hear God speak. Listen to Jesus.  Maybe the word you will hear is this one:  "You are my beloved child.  I am pleased with you."
       

    

Mark 9: I believe. Help my unbelief!

And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’

The Transfiguration

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ ¹²He said to them, ‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.’

The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit

14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. ¹⁶He asked them, ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ ¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; ¹⁸and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.’ ¹⁹He answered them, ‘You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ ²⁰And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ²¹Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. ²²It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ²³Jesus said to him, ‘If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.’ ²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You spirit that keep this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!’ ²⁶After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. ²⁸When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ²⁹He said to them, ‘This kind can come out only through prayer.’^*

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ ³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

Another Exorcist

38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ ³⁹But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Temptations to Sin

42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^{*,* 47}And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,  where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?^* Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

Reflection questions:   Define power.  How do people use it?  What powers exist in the world that we are unable to control?  If you had the power to change something, what would that be?
What power does Jesus have and how does he use it?

Mark 8. Deja vu all over again

Caesarea Philippi

Mark eight is the middle of the gospel story.  It is also a hinge or a turning point in the ministry of Jesus.
First, we see compassionate Jesus feeding a crowd of four thousand hungry people with a few loaves and fishes.  Again.  If this sounds familiar, its because Jesus performed a similar feeding miracle only a couple chapters earlier.  Did all this happen in the same week or month or year?  We don't know the exact timing, but we can assume that the disciples were present at both feedings.  Somehow they still don't understand Jesus' compassion power and its implications for those who are vulnerable.  Afterward, he travels on by boat.  Pharisees, the skeptical religious leaders, question Jesus' ministry. They demand a sign.  (What do you call two miraculous feedings of thousands of people?)  Jesus is frustrated with them.  He expects them to understand, to accept, to welcome him.  Instead he encounters resistance and ignorance.  The spiritual blindness of the disciples and the Pharisees (who just don't seem to see Jesus clearly) is embodied in a botched healing of a blind man.  It takes two attempts for Jesus to restore sight to the blind man.  Jesus spits in the man's eyes and all he sees are walking trees. A second attempt clears his vision.
High invitation/High challenge learning cultures create frustration.  Frustration is necessary for learning. Frustration reveals an emotional investment that is required to learn a new thing that challenges.  As a teacher, Jesus is emotionally invested in the learning community.  His teaching is demonstrative and he demonstrates more than once.  And he reflects with the disciples about the meaning of the action he takes.  He knows that consistency and practice are necessary for learning. And he is personally invested in them, spending time with them in the boat, going to engage in conversation with both Pharisees and disciples.
Jesus is invested in his followers.  He is invested in the well being of the crowds, too.  He is committed to those who are hungry.
The pivotal part of this chapter, however, comes in their journey to Caesarea Philippi.  In the mountains, north east of Capernaum, this little village was Roman.  A temple to the god pan is found there.  The Jordan River finds its beginnings there, flowing out of the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon.  They travel there, not to do ministry, but to reflect on the life of Jesus to this point. The first half of the gospel has been like going up a mountain, climbing, ascending.  His reputation grows, his powers to heal expand, his ministry multiples.  His reaching the summit.
He asks a central question for disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"  His reputation among others suggests that he is a prophet, a holy man, a representative of God.  Peter responds, "You are the Messiah (Christ, anointed one, long-promised King).  This revelation is subversive.  To announce Jesus' Messiahship is to pledge allegiance to a rebellion against Caesar and Rome:  In a Roman town named after Caesar!  Peter is bold in his response about Jesus.
Jesus began to teach them that the son of man must suffer and die and be raised.  And Peter rebukes him.  And Jesus rebukes Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan. Your mind is on human ways not God's ways." Peter goes from bold rebel aligned with King Jesus to Satanic opponent in a matter of minutes.  Why?  The threat of suffering and death enters into the story.
Jesus will surrender to the powers and political will of those who thrive on revenge, hate, and violence as means of control.  He will not save himself.  He will not use his power to protect himself. What we now realize, is that Jesus' movement is not a campaign to get elected to public office.  he does not do what he does for personal gain, recognition, or power.  He does not act out of self-interest.  He acts out of compassion for the vulnerable and out of devotion to God.
Finally, Jesus wants his disciples to know him and trust him.  He wants us to know him and trust him.  He wants to open our eyes to see his compassion at work.  He wants us to join him.  In the crowds.  In the boat.  In the mountains.  In the valleys.  Among the opposition and among the needy.
Where do you see Jesus?  What do you think of him?  What about his life is worth imitating?  What about his life challenges you?  Maybe it is the idea that someone so great, so powerful, so close to God should suffer and die.  Before the age of 40.  How could this be God's doing?  God's plan?  God's will?  How is Jesus' death accomplishing anything good?  Stay tuned...the story continues.  The descent begins.  Down he goes.  Will you go, too?    
  
 
   

Mark 8. Who do you say that I am?

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ²‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’ ⁴His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ ⁵He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ ⁶Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. ⁷They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. ⁸They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. ⁹Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.^*

The Demand for a Sign

11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. ¹²And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ ¹³And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

14 Now the disciples^* had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’^{* 16}They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ ¹⁷And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ²⁰‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ ²¹Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’

Jesus Cures a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people^* brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’ ²⁴And the man^* looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ ²⁵Then Jesus^* laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Then he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’^*

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ ²⁸And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ²⁹He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’^{* 30}And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel,^* will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words^* in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’

Reflection Questions:

What do you think of Jesus?  What is he like?  How does he treat his disciples?  How does he relate to the other teachers and religious leaders (Pharisees)? 

Why does it take two tries to heal the blind man?  Why does Jesus feed a second crowd of 4,000 people after feeding a crowd of 5,000?

What does Jesus teach about his mission and future?  Why does he order their silence?  Why does he ask his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"

Who is Jesus?   

Mark 7. Losing my Religion

The category, "spiritual but not religious" has been an emerging, growing trend among younger adults for about a decade now.  Much has been written about it and discussed.  Whole books have been dedicated to the subject. Just Google "Spiritual but not religious" to see what I mean.  The suggestion is that there is something wrong with organized religion, but that spirituality might define someone who is seeking a deeper connection with the invisible God.  We know that a deep skepticism toward institutions has infected the west, and that both government and the church have been affected by it.  Religion is about morality and rules that restrict and exclude.  Religion puts certain people on pedestals, only to have them abuse power by abusing the people they were called to serve.  Catholic priest sex scandals and evangelical pastors affairs merely confirmed what many westerners already thought of Christianity.  And we know from a recent Pew Research poll that about 25% of Americans consider themselves unaffiliated with any religious tradition or group.  They are called the "Nones", because of the category they checked next to their religious preference. 
What can we say about Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Jewish Rabbi?  Though he worshiped in the synagogue, he flouted customs and rituals of purification specified in the Old Testament law.  he broke Sabbath law to heal the physically broken and to feed his hungry disciples.  Breaking cleanliness laws included association with notorious sinners---women, lepers, demon-possessed people, immoral men, the sick, and the disabled.  His contact with them and with the dead make him ritually unclean, according to Jewish law.  He became a religious outcast in order to be in community with religious outcasts.  His behavior excluded himself in order that he might include the excluded in his life and teaching.  He brought hope and healing from God to people who were told that God had rejected them.  He sees the hypocrisy of the religious elders in his community.  And he says that it is not what is outside a person that defiles, but what is in one's heart and mind. 
Jesus' own radical inclusion of religious outsiders is put to the test by a Syrophoenician woman---a gentile and former enemy of Israel.  (Think Lebanese woman).  Her daughter is demon-possessed.  (Must have been a teenager):) She challenges his reluctance to help her.  Why is he reluctant?  Because Jesus was raised within a context of prejudice and boundaries. Discrimination and segregation was a part of Jewish law, meant by God to demonstrate holiness, but used by people to divide and hate.  But his ministry of hospitality and inclusion expands over these 7 chapters of Mark. The circle of inclusion widens. This is the most radical inclusion scene yet.  A gentile woman whose daughter is demon-possessed.  This woman might as well be a Zombie!  And she is brave enough to challenge Jesus' prejudice and invite him into her suffering.  And he sees faith in her, faith enough to heal her daughter.  For Jesus, faith is not a religious category.  Being a Lutheran or a Christian or a jew does not make one faithful.  Faith is a relationship of trust between God and us. 
I think many people see Christianity as divisive, hateful, and prejudicial.  Moral issues divide Christians.  Homosexuality has been the moral issue of the last 30 years.  Jesus is silent about homosexuality.  But we cannot be.  Jesus abandons moral boundaries to walk in solidarity and love with marginalized people.  He looks at religious traditions that exclude as distortions of God's intentions.
"Spiritual but not religious" is a way that some people reject the prejudicial, exclusionary aspects of Christianity.  Unfortunately, they often throw the baby out with the bathwater.  How can we invite and challenge people back into gospel community, where the marginalized are welcome and all are loved back to life?  How do we embody Jesus' mission and embrace the "nones" or the "dones" (those who have left the church in protest)?  Perhaps we begin by examining and confessing our own prejudices or ways of excluding.  And then move toward authentic relationship one day and one person at a time. 
     
   
  
            

Mark 7. Losing My Religion

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ²they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,^* thus observing the tradition of the elders; ⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it;^* and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.^*) ⁵So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live^* according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ ⁶He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’
9 Then he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! ¹⁰For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” ¹¹But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God^*)— ¹²then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, ¹³thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’
14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’^*
17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ¹⁹since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. ²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.^* He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ ²⁸But she answered him, ‘Sir,^* even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ ²⁹Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Cures a Deaf Man

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then Jesus^* ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Reflection Questions:

What were the exclusionary rules you learned as a child? What were you taught about gay people, the racial other, the mentally ill, law-breakers? 

Are there 'untouchables' in the U.S. today?  Who are they?  What are we taught about 'them'?  What keeps us away from 'them?'

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being very open and accepting, and 1 being very cautious and selective about others where do you put yourself? 

What does it mean to be open to new things, to diverse relationships?  How inclusive ought Christians to be?  Are there good reasons to exclude people? 

Jesus rejects conventional religious behaviors  What religious behaviors have you rejected?  Why? 

Mark 6. Community Conflict and Multiplying Mission

I still remember the first time my dad let me mow the lawn on my own.  I guess I was 12.  I think I wanted to try it for about 2 years.  It was a riding mower.  I had seen him mow hundred of times.  He showed me how everything worked, talking to me about the gears and throttle, the mower deck and blade.  I knew how to be safe before I ever sat in the seat.  I had even driven it in his presence several times.  He corrected me more than once as I failed to turn off the blade or missed a spot of grass.   Then one day, he handed me the keys.   
Jesus' rejection in his hometown causes a shift in his ministry strategy.  Did  you see it?  First, he becomes more itinerant, traveling to more villages.  Second, he sends the twelve out to do what he has been doing.  They become spirit-filled practitioners of his gospel work.  He is not so interested in growing a single community of believers or followers.  He sends them out like a scattering of seeds in the rich soil of Galilee.  What they do in those villages and homes and communities brings life and hope to people that one man couldn't possibly accomplish alone.  His mission spreads like an infection.  It is passed on through person- to- person contact.  It seems like his rejection there motivates him to move in a new direction. Why?  His movement is bigger and broader in scope than he can build alone.  He is building a culture of disciples, a culture of shalom, of life and health and peace.  And he is not a one-man show.  He knows that the mission's long term sustainability must not depend on him.  Because he will die.  So, the movement must be passed on to others, who can learn to do what he does.        
Just when this new strategy unfolds, we hear the story of John the Baptist's death.  The significance of which we can begin to understand in retrospect.  John's movement in the wilderness, like the Essene community of desert dwelling ascetic Jews of which he was likely a part, dies with him.  There is no longstanding Jewish community observing baptism for the forgiveness of sins, even after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.  What does this teach us?  Jesus practiced a discipleship that apprenticed people into his ministry and mission.  John did not.  His mission was to identify Jesus and to prepare the way of the Lord.  Jesus mission is to change the world by making disciples who make disciples. When faith communities become leader dependent, they live or die with that leader.  When faith communities become leadership schools, the mission long outlives its founder. 
The story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is more than a feeding miracle.  The real miracle is that the disciples become agents of God's divine power and grace.  They get to become part of God's daily feeding miracle, as the creator provides food for the earth and all its creatures.  They get to be part of God's grace economy.  And, their work does not end with one day's feeding.  Twelve baskets of leftovers remind them that their work, the mission continues. They are invited and challenged to join the mission of God to take, bless, break, and feed, the hungry world.  They are called to bring the healing, to bring the peace, to bring the kingdom to a suffering world.  This whole chapter reveals the intention of discipleship---to multiply the mission, to feed more hungry people, and to strengthen our faith in Jesus.  He is not absent.  He is observing us to correct us.  He has not abandoned his followers.  He did not abandon them then.  He has not abandoned us now.  He has just given us the keys and said, "You do it.  Keep going.  It's your turn."    It may be that, like the 12, we fail to understand our role in God's just and peaceful rule.  But we have one.  We must discover it.  Our calling.  Our gifts.  Our tasks. The good news is that we get to discover together and see the Jesus movement unfold before us. 

Mark 6. Commnity conflict, Multiplying Mission

He left that place and came to his home town, 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 offence^* at him. ⁴Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, 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.

The Mission of the Twelve

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.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’^* name had become known. Some were^* saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ ¹⁵But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ ¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’
17 For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod^* had married her. ¹⁸For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ ¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, ²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed;^* and yet he liked to listen to him. ²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. ²²When his daughter Herodias^* came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ ²³And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’ ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ ²⁵Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ ²⁶The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s^* head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Feeding the Five Thousand

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; ³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.’ ³⁷But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii^* worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?’ ³⁸And he said to them, ‘How many loaves have you? Go and see.’ When they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ ³⁹Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And all ate and were filled; ⁴³and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. ⁴⁹But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; ⁵⁰for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ ⁵¹Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Healing the Sick in Gennesaret

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. ⁵⁴When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, ⁵⁵and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Invitation/Challenge Matrix.
What culture did Jesus experience in his hometown?  What did he do about it?  Why was he rendered powerless there?
Jesus sends the twelve out to multiply his ministry. When he does, we learn about the death of John the Baptist.  Why are these two stories connected?  How does John's death affect Jesus and the 12?
What culture does Jesus create with the hungry crowds?  With the disciples at the end of a long day?
Why does it matter that Jesus "walks on water"? 

Jesus goes there

The Gerasenes on the other side of the lake take Jesus and his disciples to new territory, gentile territory.  This is the first time Jesus intentionally crosses a boundary.  He has healed in synagogues and among the Jews, but now he extends his healing ministry beyond the borders.  He breaks Jewish holiness laws to do it.  He is found among the pig farmers, among the dead, with a demon-possessed outcast.  This scene would have turned the stomachs of the Jewish leaders in his day.  They would've been horrified that he, a rabbi, would enter this place.  Are there such places in our world?  Unsafe, unclean, dangerous, deadly places?  Places where you wouldn't take your children?  Jesus goes there.
He goes there with a singular mission:  To meet and heal this man.  One man.  Demon-possessed by 'legion'.  Everyone knew what a legion was---about 5,000 Roman soldiers.  As a people experiencing a powerful military occupation, the implications of this healing are more than personal.  It is political, too.  Driving a legion of demons out of the man is to drive a Roman legion out of Israel.  Its as if Mark is calling a legion of Roman soldiers "a bunch of pigs that we wish would fall into the sea and drown!"  Imagine how Roman soldiers would have taken this story!   Jesus' ministry has broader implications.  It calls into question the systems and structures that prevent people from thriving, that kill our bodies and souls.  This reveals that the confrontation Jesus brings goes from the bottom to the top of the food chain!  He's setting individuals free as a sign of God's intention to set all people free.
In our world, healing has become scientific and individual.  And yet, we see communities rally behind causes like breast cancer awareness.  People come together to find a cure, to support people who are suffering, and to encourage health.  Fundraising walks for Lupus, heart disease, cancer, and ALS bring communities together to fight illness.  The Race against Racism fights the disease of prejudice. This is what Jesus is doing when he brings his disciples to Gerasa.  He is exposing them to the dehumanizing effect of illness, mental and physical, and invites them to become part of the healing. 
Jesus is anti-incarceration! Because he sees that it does not work.  When the man is set free, he begins to tell others about Jesus.  A man others gave up on is a changed man because of Jesus.   He is the first evangelist, telling the public about Jesus.  Notice that Jesus encourages him to tell others what God has done for him and he tells others about Jesus?  This man experiences the power and presence of God in Jesus!  For people of faith, the work of Jesus is the activity of God in the world.

The next scene is a Markan sandwich, a writing method Mark employs to tell two stories at once.  The story of the daughter of Jairus and the bleeding woman are connected and must be interpreted together.  After all, the woman has been bleeding for 12 years and the girl is 12 years old. 
This story conjures up concern for sexual abuse of women and girls, human trafficking, child marriage, inadequate women's health care, and the unequal treatment of women.  Neither of these two people were afforded adequate and effective health care.  Doctors couldn't help them.  Rather than provide help, a community gathers to mourn.  Even before the child dies! 
There is empowerment in this story, too!  The woman approaches Jesus and touches him.  Her action immediately draws Jesus' power to heal, without his consent or choice.  He says that her faith has healed or saved her.  Salvation and healing are the same word in Greek! And she initiates it!  Go to Jesus and be healed/saved. Salvation is both physical and spiritual. 
The crowds laugh at Jesus when he suggests that Jairus' daughter, presumed dead, is sleeping.  Laughing mourners?  He is exposing their falseHe encourages Jairus to not doubt but believe.  When Jesus commands the girl to get up, she does!  He does not help her up.  She sits up and Jesus commands them to give her something to eat.  Eating is a sign of life! 
Jesus confronts the enemy, death.  It takes many forms.  Illness, isolation, imprisonment, misogyny, abuse, neglect, suffering, bleeding, dying.  Jesus confronts gender inequality.  In our world, 1 in 4 women experiences sexual abuse in their lifetime.  Jesus brings healing to them.  In so doing, he breaks cultural taboos.  He is touched and touches a woman and a girl---property of another man or household.  This was unlawful and exposes Jesus to public shame. 
In this chapter, Jesus joins a dirty, sick, dying, sinful world by becoming one of us.  He becomes a sinner by breaking cultural taboos, by breaking cleanliness laws, and by defying death itself.  He rejects the Roman military occupation, viewing it like demonic possession.  He goes where he is not supposed to go to bring God's goodness, mercy, and healing.
Notice how little the disciples do at this point.  They are learning by exposure, and likely shocked by his actions. 
If church follows this Jesus, where and to whom would we go?  What message would we send?  Anti-military occupation; pro-women's health, pro-girl; joining those who suffer with mental illness in isolation; anti-incarceration; defying death by providing people access to what they need to free them from their suffering.  He goes where others won't go.  And his disciples go with him.     





  

Gospel of Mark 5

They came to the other side of the lake, 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. ³He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; ⁴for 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. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; ⁷and 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.’ ⁸For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ ⁹Then Jesus^* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ ¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; ¹²and the unclean spirits^* begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ ¹³So 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 lake, and were drowned in the lake.
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. ¹⁵They 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. ¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. ¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus^* to leave their neighbourhood. ¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹But 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.’ ²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat^* to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet ²³and 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.’ ²⁴So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ ²⁹Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ³¹And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ ³²He looked all round to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴He 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?’ ³⁶But overhearing^* what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ ⁴⁰And 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. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Questions for reflection:

Jesus pushes boundaries.  Jew/Gentile; male/female; clean/unclean (moral/immoral); dead/alive.
Jesus increases the intensity of his actions---driving out 'legion'; raising the dead.

What is Jesus facing/confronting in this chapter?  What challenges must he overcome?  What are the barriers he has to cross, literally and figuratively?
What are the results, realized and suspected, of Jesus' actions? 
What does Jesus teach about healing and the power of faith?
What do we learn about Jesus' power?