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.