Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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At this point in Mark’s Gospel, to say that Jesus has become a celebrity is an understatement; people are coming from more than 100 miles away to see him!

Fueling his fame and mystique is the fact that unclean spirits are literally collapsing before him, crying out, “You are the Son of God!”

So, why does Jesus silence them?

Interestingly, no one is allowed to call Jesus the “Son of God” in Mark’s Gospel without being rebuked or silenced until he is crucified. 

After Jesus cries out, “It is finished!” and breathes his last, the centurion proclaims, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 

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But, again, why does the Lord shy away from this title until his death?

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In the ancient world, kings and emperors would often refer to themselves as a “son of God.” They believed it was their divine right to conquer, rule, and possess. 

There were enough Jewish nationalists at that time willing to fight for their freedom that, if a rumor started spreading that Jesus believed himself to be an earthly king by divine decree, then a riot would’ve ensued as people fought to crown him.

If that happened, then his entire life and mission would’ve been wildly misunderstood. 

This is why the demons praise him using the title “son of God.” Not because they want to praise the Lord of glory, but because Satan wants to confuse people about who Jesus really is, something that’s happened throughout the centuries.

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How many wars have been started falsely in the name of religion? How many people have replaced a Crucified Christ with the prosperity gospel? How many have mistaken God for a divine vending machine, or worse, an impersonal Being?

Getting God wrong can be a terrible thing.

Truly, Jesus is the Son of God. But, as Saint Paul reminds us, “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

May Jesus grant us the grace to love and understand him for who he really is – humble and obedient, powerful and compassionate.

One who came, not to be served, but to serve.

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Image credits: (1) The Bible App (2) Biblword.net (3) Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, Ford Madox Brown

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Gospel: Mark 3: 1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In ancient Palestine, most men made a living through manual labor. For example, Joseph was a carpenter. Paul was a tent maker. Peter was a fisherman. Tradition states that this man in today’s Gospel was a stone mason.

Like many other professions, masonry required the use of both hands. Thus, his withered hand not only prevents him from working; it’s also symbolic of his state in life. He’s paralyzed; all income and opportunity have dried up. 

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His injury also represents the withered hearts of the religious authorities, who’ve become paralyzed, deadened inside through a harsh interpretation of the Law.

The fact that they aren’t moved by this miraculous healing, or wish that Jesus would simply have done it on another day, implies they’ve placed legal boundaries around compassion.

It’s okay to be compassionate six days a week, but don’t dare lift a finger on the Sabbath; that’s God’s day, as if God could ever rest from charity. 

This is what angers Jesus so much, because love is the highest law.

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Today we’re all invited to reflect upon our own personal limitations. 

Do we place a boundary around charity? Do we miss opportunities to love, to give, to forgive, to serve Christ in our neighbor? 

If we have failed, most often it isn’t because we are unwilling to do good; often, we’re too busy to notice the needs of others.

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“Jesus said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was restored.” 

Yes, God worked on the Sabbath, because love is the highest law. May we have that same attentive eye towards our neighbors today.

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Image credits: (1) Petrie Flom Center (2) My Lutheran Roots (3) BOOST Radio

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Gospel: Mark 2: 23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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It’s been said, “There is no fight like a family fight – or as some families call it, Thanksgiving dinner.”

Living in tight quarters, and even sharing DNA, does not mean that we inherently agree with one another. Topics like politics and religion are often lightning rods, which families intentionally avoid, lest there be a blow up at the dinner table.

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In today’s Gospel, there’s a “family fight” between Jesus, his disciples, and the Pharisees over what is lawful to do on the Sabbath.

It’s easy for us distant listeners to imagine the Pharisees as being totally other; enemies of Jesus and his followers from the very start. But that is not the case. All of them present in this argument are Jewish, and presumably of good will.

All of them grew up reading the Torah. All of them understood what was – and wasn’t – considered lawful on the Sabbath.

The fact that Mark cites this argument as taking place in a field of grain suggests that the Pharisees were among Jesus initial followers; they weren’t hiding out in the field waiting to catch him by surprise. They were genuinely curious about who this rabbi was.

Only later in his Gospel does Mark acknowledge the separation between Jesus and the Pharisees as they begin plotting his death. But the argument today over the Sabbath may have been what caused the split.

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The fundamental difference between Jesus and the Pharisees is their starting point. The Pharisees viewed all of life through the lens of law. Jesus, however, starts with the heart. 

What good is it, according to Christ’s logic, to follow a series of rules – washing one’s hands, avoiding work on the Sabbath, or abstaining from certain foods – if doing such things does not lead to a transformation of the heart?

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Thus, it’s not what we do that matters as much as why we do it. Follow the rules. Or don’t. It only makes a difference if we follow them out of love.

May the Lord renew and cleanse us all today so that we may better love and serve him – not just on the Sabbath – but every day of our lives.

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Image credits: (1) Calibre Control (2) Jesus and His Apostles, Wehle (3) Linda’s Bible Study, WordPress