Jesus Last Supper

As we have walked through the last week of Jesus’ life, guided by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan in their book, “The Last Week,” we have seen how carefully Jesus planned his entrance into Jerusalem. While we may have always thought of “Palm Sunday” as Jesus’ triumphant arrival in the holy city, his entrance was meant to be in deliberate contrast to triumphant Roman military parades: Jesus was coming to Jerusalem in the name of a very different kingdom.

Now we come to Thursday of Holy Week, and we see that Jesus also carefully planned his Last Supper with his disciples. As the host at this Supper, Jesus would help his disciples look back to events in his public ministry – and he would also point them forward, beyond his death into the future. So while we may call this meal the “Last Supper”, Borg and Crossan say it is also “the First Supper of the future.”

That Supper has many levels of meaning, for the disciples and for us.

The Last Supper was a continuation of Jesus’ everyday meals. Wherever he went, he welcomed outcasts and sinners to his table, and was roundly criticized for violating the social rules of his day. “He eats with sinners” – how often do the gospels tell us this? (Mark 2:15f)

As the First Supper, what does Jesus’ inclusion of sinners and outcasts mean to us? Who is included in the ongoing Suppers of our own faith communities?

The Last Supper recalled Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 – where he took the bread that was available, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to everyone. Mark’s gospel tells us all were filled – no one was left out. (Mark 6:45f) Mark also tells us that there was another meal for thousands – the feeding of 4,000 in the gentile territories of the Decapolis. (Mark 8:1f) In both instances, Jesus fed everyone who was there, without questions, without qualifications. In both feedings, also, Jesus called upon his disciples to help feed the people, telling them, “You give them something to eat.”(Mark 6:37)

As the First Supper, what does Jesus’ feeding of everyone mean to us? In the ongoing Suppers of our churches, how do we share our meal with others beyond our own intimate communities?

The Last Supper was a Passover meal. Every Passover, Jews around the world and throughout the ages have been commanded to celebrate their release from the domination of the Egyptian Pharaoh. As a Passover meal, Jesus’ Last Supper would remind his disciples that in Jesus’ kingdom they were being delivered from slavery into freedom. The Supper brought the long-ago deliverance from Egypt into the present: God always desires to liberate us.

As the First Supper, what does Jesus’ remembrance of the Exodus mean to us? In the ongoing Suppers of our own churches, how are we being equipped to celebrate and share our freedoms with others?

The Last Supper pointed to Jesus’ coming sacrifice. He took up the bread, just as he had done at the feeding of the 5,000. But he then identified the bread with his own body, which was about to be broken on the cross. As he lifted the cup, he spoke of his blood, which was about be poured out in his death. For the disciples, and for us, there is no escaping Jesus’ meaning: his death was upon him. But what would his death mean? Borg and Crossan believe that his sacrifice would not be a substitution – that is, it would not be a punishment for the sins of others. Rather, it was to be the binding sacrifice, the spiritual communion, that would make God’s love, God’s inclusiveness, God’s empowerment, available to all.

As the First Supper, how do our Communion meals bind us together in sacrifice, in commitment to making God’s inclusiveness, God’s empowerment, God’s love, available to all?

Jesus’ Suppers are about God’s justice. Every meal Jesus shared – from dinner in the house of a tax collector, to the loaves and fishes distributed in Galilee, to the bread and wine distributed in Jerusalem – made God’s justice present. In every meal, Jesus was demonstrating that all of us, rich or poor, family or stranger, religiously observant or not, are guests on this earth created by God – and if we are invited to God’s Table, so also is everyone else in God’s creation. So the Supper is not about who belongs – it is about everyone belonging.

Jesus’ Suppers are about God’s sacrificial love. The Last Supper also pointed to sacrifice: Jesus was about to die a violent death from human injustice. God did not demand that Jesus die as a punishment for our sins; but Jesus was willing to die to show the lengths to which God’s love – and God’s call for justice – will go. Jesus' death was not to bring about a magical wiping away of the world’s sin; it was instead a deadly confrontation with the world’s sin, which would demonstrate the road to liberation from sin. So the Supper is not just about Jesus’ facing death for us – it is also about our facing death for others, in the Name of Justice, in the Name of Love.

In the First Suppers of our own faith communities, what does it mean to share bread and wine in Communion – this sacred meal of inclusion, of service, of sharing and of sacrifice? By participating in this meal, will we find comfort and inclusion, but escape our own sacrifice? No, Borg and Crossan write, we must understand that our First Suppers are not only about Jesus’ sacrifice, but our own. We have been called to participate in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. If we live with him – if we are to live in him, then we must go forward with him.

What do we mean by “going forward” with Jesus?

If we are in Christ, we are embraced in his inclusiveness – and we therefore embrace others.

If we are in Christ, we are served by his love – and reach out to serve others.

If we are in Christ, we celebrate our own liberation – and we reach out to help liberate others.

If we are in Christ, we are included in his sacrifice – and we sacrifice ourselves for others.

From Borg and Crossan, one last time: “It is by participation with Jesus, and in Jesus, that his followers were to pass through death to resurrection, from the domination life of human normalcy to the servant life of human transcendence... The Last Supper is about bread for the world, God’s justice against human injustice, a New Passover from bondage to liberation, and participation in the path that leads through death to new life.” ("The Last Week," p. 120)

Does this understanding of Christianity give you a faith that empowers you to live for the world, as Jesus did?

Jesus and the Cross

As we move through Mark’s story of Jesus, guided by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan in their book, “The Last Week,” we are coming to the last day of the last week, when Jesus will pick up his cross and carry it to his death on Golgotha.

Three times in Mark’s gospel, Jesus predicted his death, and each time he also called his disciples to follow him on the way: 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.... If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:31-34

Christ died for our sins: Most Christians today understand Jesus’ death on the cross as his sacrifice for our sins. First articulated by St. Anselm in the 12th century, this explanation of the crucifixion has been called the theory of “substitutionary theory” of atonement – that is, Jesus substituted himself for us on the cross, taking upon himself the punishment that is justly ours. The substitutionary theory goes like this:

God is perfectly just.

God is also perfectly loving.

Because of God’s perfect justice, God cannot overlook human sins.

Because of God’s perfect love, God provides the necessary sacrifice.

God’s forgiveness is now freely available to all who accept Christ.

But is this image of God – God the impassionate Judge, who sends his own innocent son to pay for the crimes of the guilty – is this the same God whom Jesus proclaimed and embodied?

Christ became like us so we could become like him. There is another, much earlier explanation of Jesus’ death on the cross – we might call it the “mystical theory” of atonement. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus – building on the writings of St. Paul – wrote, Because of his measureless love Christ became what we are in order for us to become what he is. This idea was repeated again and again in early Christian sermons and writings:

In his incarnation, Christ became one with us.

In his life and teaching, Christ showed that he was one of us.

In his death, Christ united with us in our death.

In Christ’s new life, we become one with him in his resurrection.

Come, follow me: In Mark’s story, Jesus asks his disciples, again and again, to follow him – to come with him, to share his ministry, to participate in his mission. Borg and Crossan comment on Jesus’ call to his disciples to “take up your cross and follow me” by writing, “Nothing is said about Jesus’ doing it alone to excuse everyone else from having to follow him...” ("The Last Week," p. 95)

Borg and Crossan use the word “participation” to describe what happens when we respond to Jesus’ call to join him in his mission. The description of “participatory atonement” that Borg and Crossan find in Mark’s gospel is very close to the mystical theory held by Paul and Irenaeus and others in the early church.

When writing about the mystical union, the bond that Christ makes with us, Paul frequently uses the phrase “in Christ.” To the Romans, Paul wrote, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3) To the Galatians, Paul wrote: “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26)

But Mark’s story shows us that the disciples did not understand. As Jesus was shouldering his cross, almost all of them were so afraid they ran away. How could they participate in Jesus’ mission, how could they ever be united with him, if they could not even stay with him to the end?

How did they learn what it means to be in Christ?

How were they transformed into bold disciples who shared Christ’s mission?

Jesus' Unnamed Disciple

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34f)

Over and over again, Jesus told his disciples that following him will call for great sacrifice – on his part, and on theirs as well. In "The Last Week", Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan put it this way: “To follow Jesus means to accept the cross, to walk with him against imperial violence and religious collaboration, and to pass through death to resurrection.”

But Jesus’ disciples didn’t seem to understand what it would mean to follow him. One of the running themes in Mark’s gospel is their continuing confusion – even their obtuseness. Time and time again the disciples don’t understand his teaching, his parables about the Kingdom, or even direct statements such as “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him....” (Mark 9:31).

And twice, after Jesus makes clear statements about his approaching death, they argue among themselves – not about how to find the strength to follow Jesus, but about which of them would be the greatest when his Kingdom was finally established. While Jesus called them to have the humility of servants, at least some of the disciples saw themselves as future rulers, like the lords and kings they knew in the gentile world. But it was that same world of domination and oppression that Jesus was confronting in Jerusalem.

One disciple, Judas, would decide to collaborate with the religious authorities, betraying Jesus. Note that Mark doesn’t give us a reason for Judas’ betrayal but simply records it, in the process pointing to Judas as the model of an unfaithful disciple. In opposition to the choice Judas makes, there is another follower who shows true discipleship: an unnamed woman who, with other women, had also followed Jesus on the way.

This woman came with a jar of costly ointment and poured the fragrant oil over Jesus’ head. The other disciples scolded her for wasting the costly ointment, but Jesus said, “Let her alone... She has performed a good service for me... She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial...” (Mark 14:3f)

This unnamed woman seems to have been the first to understand what he was saying: On the way to the Kingdom, Jesus was going to die. After her anointing Jesus said to them all: "Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” (Mark 14:9).

It is ironic that history has forgotten the name of this woman who was held up by Jesus as the model disciple. Borg and Crossan write: “She is, for us, the first Christian. And she believed the word of Jesus before any discovery of an empty tomb. Furthermore, her action was a graphic demonstration of the leadership model Jesus called for...”

The unnamed woman was a model disciple: trusting in Jesus’ word, fearless of the consequences, and serving not in power but in humility. What would have happened if the early church took this unnamed woman as its model for true discipleship?

If we followed her example, what would the church look like today?

If we followed her example, how could we challenge the domination systems of our own time?

Jesus and Taxes

They sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him... And they came and said to him: “...Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” Mark 12:13f

As we read through Mark’s gospel, we become aware of how many times the Pharisees and others leaders argued with Jesus, trying to trap him into saying something that would cause trouble – with the Pharisees, with the Roman occupiers, or even with the crowds. Their badgering of Jesus reminds me of the press corps which follows every modern political leader – always asking sharp questions, always hoping to catch a politician in a mistake, always looking for a new story to feed a controversy.

Over the centuries Christians have often interpreted these debates between the authorities and Jesus as arguments between the old, rule-bound religion of the Jews and the new, love-centered religion of the Christians. What we frequently haven’t understood is that Jesus was not teaching a new religion, but reminding the people and their religious authorities of what their traditional religion had always taught.

Now the religious leaders sought to trip up Jesus with a question about taxes. No one ever wants to pay taxes, so the problem of taxes remains a hot topic for us today. We still ask the same questions: Why do I have to pay taxes? (It’s my hard-earned money – so why should I share it with the government?) Is it to pay for services needed by the whole society? Does it go to provide support for the needy? Or does it go to line the pockets of our leaders?

Imagine how much more resentment we would feel if our taxes went not to our own elected leaders, but to a foreign occupying power. Now can we begin to imagine how Israel’s people felt, knowing that God called for the poor and needy to be cared for, but seeing their religious leaders currying favor with the occupying Romans instead?

They sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him... Jesus and his disciples were in the courtyard of the Jerusalem temple, the center of Israel’s religion. Faithful Jews came to the temple to worship and make offerings to God, according to the commandments and customs of their faith. Their second commandment told them, You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:4) But unlike the broader commandments to care for the poor and needy, this commandment was strictly observed by the nation’s religious leaders. When Jews came to the temple for worship, they had to exchange their ordinary money (a Roman coin, used throughout the empire) for a temple coin, suitable for a holy offering.

So when the pharisees questioned Jesus about taxes, he asked them to show him a coin. And they did – one of them took a Roman denarius out of his pocket and held it in his palm. To Jesus, and to the crowd surrounding him, the sight must have been striking: Right there in their palms, the religious leaders were holding engraved images of Caesar.

The image of Caesar in the Pharisee’s palm was a sign not only of religious hypocrisy, but of political collaboration with an occupying power. Why were these religious leaders – so scrupulous about their piety, so demanding of correct religious observance – carrying images of Caesar into the temple itself? Jesus had exposed their hypocrisy: they claimed to strictly observe the law, but they themselves were breaking it. And it was not just the little law they were breaking (using the right kind of money in the temple), but the larger law (to care for the poor and needy).

Money is always a powerful symbol. It stands for our accumulated wealth, our current income, and our material possessions. We use money to represent the income we receive – whether that income derives from a job or an inheritance, whether it represents a fair share of society’s goods or an unjust portion. The pharisees and other religious leaders were only a very small minority of Israel’s people, but they had by far the greatest amount of property, possessions, and power within their society. Much of their income came from an unfair distribution of Israel’s resources, and some of it even represented pay for collaborating with the Romans.

Money is always a powerful symbol. Like the ancient Roman Empire, our cities, states and nation require us to pay taxes. What does our tax money go for? And like the ancient Jewish temple, churches today take our money – cash, coin, check, and even (in some places) credit cards. Whether cash or coin, that money bears pictures of our presidents and other political leaders; our churches take the money to the bank without any questions.

The pictures engraved on the money are no longer a problem for the church, but Jesus’ questions are still valid today:

Does the money I think of as “mine” represent a fair share of society’s riches?

Do I use my money to advance God’s kingdom of peace and justice, or do I allow it to be used to support a political and economic system which is contrary to my religious ideals?

Jesus’ Prophetic Acts

Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple..... He 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....” Mark 11:17

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by crowds of peasants, his motley parade made a sharp contrast to the Romans’ military procession into the city in the very same week. We might call Jesus’ entrance a dramatic symbol of “God’s politics” thrust into the politics of the Roman world: Jesus’ procession represented a kingdom that would not allow the few to dominate the many, the rich to exclude the poor, or religion to sanctify an oppressive regime.

When Jesus entered the temple the next day and began chasing out the merchants and the money-changers, he was again engaged in a prophetic action which – by word and deed – thrust the values of God up against the values represented by temple religion.

We need to understand that it was not the merchants and the money-changers who were flouting God’s will. These merchants were necessary for the temple’s normal functioning. The money-changers helped Jewish pilgrims pay the temple tax; other merchants provided animals suitable for the temple sacrifice. What did flout the will of God was the collaboration between the temple’s authorities – the nation’s religious leaders – and the Roman occupation. The priests, and all of Israel’s religious authorities, were responsible to God and to their people for the temple’s worship and sacrifice. But they were also responsible to the Roman authorities to keep the peace and their own people under control. The religious leaders of Israel had divided hearts – their loyalty was not to God’s kingdom, but to their own safety and prosperity.

Half a millennium before Jesus, the great prophets were already protesting the misuse of the temple for ends other than God’s. Jeremiah prophesied,

If you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place.... Has this house, which is called by my name, become of den of robbers in your sight? Jeremiah 7:5f

After contrasting the actions of the temple with the demands of God, Jeremiah goes on to proclaim,

Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently, you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name...just what I did to Shiloh. Jeremiah 7:12f

Borg and Crossan, in "The Last Week", help us understand that Jesus’ cleansing of the temple follows the prophetic tradition of Jeremiah. In Jesus’ day as in Jeremiah’s, the leaders of the temple were not offering true worship to God through care for the orphans, the widows, or the poor of Israel; they were not putting God’s justice first. Rather, they were hoping that the temple’s rituals could take the place of genuine justice. Because they themselves worshiped “properly”, and because they helped their people worship “properly” by the proper words and deeds in the temple, they thought they could escape God’s judgment for their actions (and inaction) outside the temple.

But just as Jeremiah’s words and actions forecast the destruction of the first temple in 586 B.C., so Jesus’ words and actions symbolically forecast the destruction of Herod’s magnificent second temple in 70 A.D.

Borg and Crossan write this about Jesus’ prophetic words and actions in Jerusalem that last week: Those action-word combinations proclaim the already present kingdom of God against both the Roman imperial power and the Jewish high-priestly collaboration. Jerusalem had to be retaken by a nonviolent messiah rather than by a violent revolution, and the temple ritual had to empower justice rather than excuse one from it. What is involved for Jesus is an absolute criticism not only of violent domination, but of any religious collaboration with it. In that criticism, of course, he stands with the prophets of Israel.... but he also stands against those forms of Christianity that were used throughout the centuries to support imperial violence and injustice.

Here is, quite literally, the “crux” of the matter for us today:

Where in our world do religious leaders still help to justify political domination by a minority, or support economic systems which oppress the poor?

Where in our nation, state or county does religious worship help excuse the political domination or economic oppression that exists in our own culture?

Does our own worship empower justice? That is, does our worship encourage us to act justly not just in our personal lives but also as citizens of towns, counties, states and nations?

I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.... Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:21f

The Politics of Jesus

Jesus and politics? Today “politics” is a negative word: a “politician,” my dictionary says, is “a person experienced in the art or science of government.... a person primarily interested in political offices from selfish or other narrow interests....” This definition is so far from our understanding of Jesus’ goals and actions that we find it difficult to see him as active in “politics” or even interested in the political system. Yet although Jesus’ goals, his teaching and his actions, were obviously spiritual, they had great political impact in his own culture – and they still have implications for our political life today.

Jesus’ passion for the kingdom? We have seen that Jesus’ passion was for the kingdom of God. As The Last Week reminds us, Jesus came to incarnate the justice of God by demanding for all a fair share of a world belonging to and ruled by the covenantal God of Israel. But “kingdom” is a very political word – it has to do with how a society organizes itself, how it is governed, and who does the governing. When Jesus spoke of “the kingdom of God,” therefore, he was using a word with great political meaning.

The two processions: Borg and Crossan help us see the political struggle in which Jesus was involved by contrasting two processions into Jerusalem. The first procession – one we are very familiar with – was Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem on what we call “Palm Sunday.” The second procession – one we may not have known about – was a Roman procession into the city. In the same week that Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem (and possibly even on the same day) Pilate and his legions also came to take up temporary residence in the Governor’s Palace. Pilate’s procession was designed to impress the citizens of Jerusalem with the power of Rome (a power very necessary at Passover, when throngs of people came to Jerusalem to sacrifice and to protest). Mark’s gospel (Mark 11:1-11) shows us that Jesus planned his own procession into Jerusalem; that is, it was a political act, and it made a deliberate contrast to the very political act of the Roman governor and his legions.

Roman imperial theology: Pilate’s procession also conveyed Roman imperial theology: the Roman Emperor was called the “son of God,” “Lord and Savior” who brought “peace on earth” through conquering and subjugating the warring peoples around the Mediterranean Sea. The Galilean who entered the city on a humble donkey would also be proclaimed as “Son of God, “Lord and Savior”, whose goal was to bring “peace on earth” – not through warfare and oppression, but through the liberating Spirit of God. So, when the first Christians called Jesus “Son of God” and “Lord and Savior” they were proclaiming their allegiance to an alternate Lord and their true guide to “peace on earth.”

Domination systems: Borg and Crossan use the phrase “domination system” to describe the most common way that societies were organized in pre-modern times. Ancient agricultural societies had three major features: political oppression – the many were ruled by the few; economic exploitation – the laws and customs guaranteed that a high proportion of society’s wealth went to a very few; and religious legitimization – the religious leaders, beliefs and customs supported the political oppression and economic exploitation. (We might question whether the “domination system” is not still alive and well in the 21st century.)

Sin: What is “sin” in a domination system? Is sin a personal failure, or personal refusal to follow God’s laws? Or is sin also corporate failure, and corporate denial of God’s laws – by cooperating with the domination system? Borg and Crossan write, As individuals, the wealthy and powerful can be good people – responsible, honest, hard-working, faithful to family and friends, interesting, charming, and good-hearted. The issue is not their individual virtue or wickedness, but the role they played in the domination system. They shaped it, enforced it, and benefited from it.

Again, we may question whether the “domination system” is not still alive and well today:

* Where in our world today are the many still ruled by the few?
* Where in our world today do the few still receive the benefits of wealth?
* Where in our world today do religious leaders and religious systems continue to justify political oppression and economic exploitation?

The Passion of Jesus

I’m now inviting readers of Living Mark’s Story to reflect more deeply on Mark’s gospel, using ‘The Last Week,’ by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan, as a springboard for our reflections.* In this small but powerful book, the authors examine Mark’s story of Jesus to help us understand his passion for God's justice – his commitment to what he called ‘the Kingdom of God.’

In the preface to their book, Borg and Crossan begin by reflecting on a movie produced by Mel Gibson in 2006:

The movie... reinforced a widespread but much too narrow understanding of the ‘passion’ of Jesus. Mel Gibson called his film “The Passion of the Christ”... understanding the term ‘passion’ in the context of its traditional Roman Catholic and broader Christian background. ‘Passion’ is from the Latin noun passio, meaning ‘suffering.’ But in everyday English we also use ‘passion’ for any consuming interest, dedicated enthusiasm, or concentrated commitment. In this sense, a person’s passion is what she or he is passionate about. In this book we are deliberately playing those two meanings against one another.

The first passion of Jesus was the kingdom of God, namely, to incarnate the justice of God by demanding for all a fair share of a world belonging to and ruled by the covenantal God of Israel. It was that first passion for God’s justice that led inevitably to the second passion by Pilate’s justice. Before Jesus, after Jesus, and, for Christians, archetypically in Jesus, those who live for nonviolent justice die all too often from violent injustice. To narrow the passion of Jesus to his last twelve hours – arrest, trial, torture, and crucifixion – is to ignore the connection between his life and his death.

For many centuries, Christians around the world have participated in Holy Week liturgies and prayers designed to help them experience the second passion of Jesus – his suffering and death. Christian pilgrims still travel to Jerusalem to walk the Way of the Cross, to cathedrals and holy places in their own countries, and to their own local parishes to share in the liturgies of Holy Week.

Those of us who participate in Holy Week liturgies today know that our observance helps us identify with Jesus in his suffering; and our prayerful participation also helps us understand that the Living Christ, still alive, is present with us and shares our sufferings with us.

But what about the first passion of Jesus? How do we identify with his greatest passion?

How could we more fully understand what Jesus meant when he said, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near’ (Mark 1:15)?

How could we so fully understand Jesus’ passion that we might be moved not just to sorrow but to take up his cause? (‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ Mark 8:34)

The first passion of Jesus has called many Christians to take up his cause, and to draw others to join them in their ministries. It is no accident that those acknowledged as the most influential of Jesus’ followers through the centuries – from the first disciples to Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others – were men and women who understood Jesus’ passion for the Kingdom. They shared his passion by taking up his cause – working with the poor and the dispossessed, the enslaved and the imprisoned, and the outcasts and oppressed, serving people everywhere who yearned for justice.

Can we, like them, be so filled with Jesus’ first passion that we, too, can move beyond understanding to sharing his ministry? As we do this together, may we all learn more from Mark about living in – and living for – the Kingdom of God.

As I have before, I’ll post my comments here early each week at http://livingmarksstory.blogspot.com/. And, as before, I hope you’ll add your own thoughts and reflections to the blog as we go along.

* A note on the book: Marcus Borg, who grew up Lutheran, and Dominic Crossan, who grew up Catholic, both taught in separate universities for many years. Twenty years ago, they met as participants in the ‘Jesus Seminar,’ and have grown in friendship ever since. As co-authors of a number of books, they write, Our passion for Jesus has always been more than academic. We have been, and are, passionate about the meaning of Jesus (and of the Bible as a whole) for Christian life today. Our involvement with the sacred texts of our tradition has always been about, “What does then have to do with now?

If you want to have your own copy of ‘The Last Week’ go to Amazon.com – copies are available there for under $5.

The Gospel according to Mark – Easter Week

A note as Mark’s story concludes: The end of Mark’s gospel tells the first story of Easter day. For those of us who grew hearing the Easter story, Mark’s narrative surprises us: it is very brief (only 8 verses long); the disciples do not see the Risen Jesus (they see only a young man – an angel? – seated beside the tomb); and the story ends very abruptly (“They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid”). As early as the second century, other writers added to Mark’s story, using incidents taken from the gospels of Matthew and Luke. But what follows is the earliest ending we have from the writer of Mark:

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’

So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Living Mark’s Story: We, along with Christians as far back as the second century, find Mark’s original ending very unsatisfactory: if the women had really “said nothing to anyone”, then Mark’s story would never have been told! Mark also says that the women at the tomb heard these words: “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” The disciples are being told to go back to the beginning, to the place where they first met Jesus.

If we go back to the very beginning of Mark’s gospel, we read these words: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...” and “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.’”

All along, Mark’s story has been about the Way – the Way of the Kingdom. From your own reading of Mark’s story, how would you describe that Way?

Like the women at the tomb on Easter morning, I’m now going back to the beginning – of Mark’s story, of the gospel of Jesus Christ – to try to understand on a deeper level what it means to seek the Kingdom, and what it might mean to live according to the Kingdom’s values.

The Gospel according to Mark – Holy Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: This week we walk the Way of the Cross in the footsteps of Jesus – and of Mark, the writer of the earliest surviving gospel of Jesus Christ.

+ Jesus is condemned to death

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

+ Jesus takes up his Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

+ The Cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

+ Jesus is nailed to the Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

+ Jesus dies on the Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

+ Jesus is laid in the tomb

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Living Mark’s Story: On Good Friday, from noon to 3 p.m. – the hours that Mark tells us Jesus hung on the cross – St. Benedict’s will observe the events recorded in Mark’s gospel. At each hour and half hour, there will be a brief reflection, followed by a time of personal prayer and meditation. At 2:30 p.m., we will observe the Way of Cross – symbolically walking in the footsteps of Jesus and all of his followers, from the first to the twenty-first century. You are welcome to come and go as you wish during the three hours.

The Gospel according to Mark – 13th week

A note as Mark’s story continues: Mark’s central narrative – the story of Jesus’ passion and death – now begins to unfold. This week’s reading comes from chapter 14, the longest chapter in Mark’s gospel. Before any gospel was written down, this narrative was told and retold until it was memorized. The narrative was then passed on from one person to another, from one community to another. The details of this narrative are still remembered, not only in the Gospel, but in the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter which are still observed by the universal Church today.

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.’ All of them deserted him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” ’ But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power”,and “coming with the clouds of heaven.” ’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!’ The guards also took him over and beat him.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

Thinking about the story: Sometime this week – to experience the full effect of Mark’s story of Jesus’ passion and death – open your own Bible to Mark, and read chapters 14, 15 and 16 from beginning to end without stopping. Then next week (Holy Week) take your own part in the liturgies of the Church, from Palm Sunday through Easter Day, to experience the full weight and majesty of Mark’s story of Jesus.

The Gospel according to Mark – 12th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: This week’s passage, from Mark’s 13th chapter, has been called one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament. Here Jesus discusses ideas and images which would have been familiar to the Jews of his time, but are very difficult for modern readers to understand.

The Day of the Lord: Since the times of the great prophets – Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel – the people of Israel had been expecting a future Day of the Lord; but in the century before Jesus’ birth, there was an explosion of writings about it. The writings are usually called “apocalypses” (from the Greek, meaning unveiling). They were attempts to unveil the future, as well as attempts to describe the indescribable. Far more than fundamentalist Christians today, Jesus’ first disciples would have understood that these prophecies were poetry, not prose; that they recorded visions, not science; and that they described dreams, not history.

Understanding what Jesus says: Several strands of apocalyptic thinking are woven into Mark 13. For our purposes this week, the strands have been separated, so we can see them more clearly. (To see the passages in the proper order, open your Bible to Mark 13.)

Warnings about the future of Jerusalem

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’

‘But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; someone on the housetop must not go down or enter the house to take anything away; someone in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days.

The end of the Temple: the magnificent Temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world; it seemed so magnificent and so solid that it would stand forever. But Jesus prophesies that after the Day of the Lord, not one stone will be left to stand upon another.

The abomination of desolation (from the Hebrew, meaning the profanation that appalls) refers to the time in the second century B.C. when Antiochus, seeking to stamp out the Jewish religion, desecrated the Temple by offering pig’s meat as a sacrifice on the great altar. Antiochus also set up public brothels in the Temple courts. Jesus prophesies that this type of sacrilege is going to happen again.

Warnings about persecutions

‘As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The persecution of Jesus’ followers: As we know from history, the early Christians would be brought before councils, both Jewish and Roman; members of their own families would betray them; and they would be slandered. The most serious slander would be the popular rumor that they were cannibals, a charge supported by Jesus’ words remembered in the Eucharist: “This is my body; this is my blood.”

Warnings about heresies

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished? Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray.

And if anyone says to you at that time, “Look! Here is the Messiah!” or “Look! There he is!”—do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything.”

Heresies: Heresies (from the Greek meaning choice, or chosen) develop when human beings – wanting to fully understand God, wanting to fully define God – find themselves trying to describe the indescribable. Because human beings can never fully comprehend the divine, we may choose to stress one part of the truth to the neglect of another.

Thus, if we are concerned primarily with describing God’s holiness, we may end up believing that human beings are so imperfect that they can never approach God. (What do Jesus’ life and teachings tell us about God’s holiness?)

If we are concerned mainly with describing God’s justice, we may end up believing that God is so judgmental that we are always afraid of God. (What do Jesus’ life and teachings tell us about God’s justice?)

If we are concerned mainly with describing God’s love, we may end up with a faith that is easy-going and even sentimental. (What do Jesus’ life and teachings tell us about God’s love?)

However much we struggle to understand God, we must always come back to Jesus as the guide to our understanding; and however much we want to be independent thinkers, we need to stay in dialogue with the Christian community – because whenever we get off-center, others can help us see the larger picture.

Warnings about prophesies

'When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

‘But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’

Thinking about the story: In our time, the era of “Left Behind” (the fabulously successful series of books imagining the Day of the Lord in great detail), it is helpful to turn again to Jesus, our only guide to deeper understanding of our faith. Jesus himself says he does not know when the Day of the Lord will come – only God knows, and Jesus is willing to leave the matter in God’s hands.

But Jesus does tell us what we can do while we wait for the end of time: Stop being fearful, stop our endless speculating, and get on with the work God has given us to do.

The Gospel according to Mark – 11th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: Jesus has finally arrived in Jerusalem, and as he walks in the Temple, surrounded by his disciples and the crowds, the religious leaders come to question him. They argue with him – about paying taxes to the Roman occupiers, about the possibility of resurrection – and he tells them a parable which pointedly forecasts their ultimate rejection of his message.

Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’

When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.

Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?’ But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.’ And they brought one. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were utterly amazed at him.

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; and the second married her and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.’

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question.

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ” David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’ And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

As he taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’

Thinking about the story: After a series of arguments with the religious leaders, Jesus comments, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.....’ Then, noticing one of those same widows putting two small coins into the treasury he says, ‘This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had...’ Is there anything in today’s news (or this week’s, or this year's) that reminds you of modern “scribes” and “widows”? Why is human society so resistant to the message Jesus brings?

The Gospel according to Mark – 10th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: Still on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus again warns his disciples of what lies ahead of him: suffering and death. But this time, no one argues with him – instead, two disciples ask if he will save them the best seats at his heavenly banquet table. (Are they blind to what lies ahead?) Meanwhile, blind Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus for help; his eyesight restored, Bartimaeus joins Jesus and the other disciples on their climb to the holy city. Once in Jerusalem, Jesus evicts the merchants from the temple courts; now he has challenged the economic foundation of the temple, as well as the theology of its teachers.

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, saying, ‘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; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’

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.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But 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?’ They 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; but 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.’

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So 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. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

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

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and 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. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ’ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ 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.

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

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

In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly 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. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

‘Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’

Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So 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.’

Thinking about the story: The road south from Galilee has led Jesus and his disciples to Jericho on the Jordan River, where Jesus hears Bartimaeus crying out: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” (This cry will become part of a prayer spoken through the centuries: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me.) Jesus then begins the steep climb up the mountain road to Jerusalem, and enters the city in triumph as crowds proclaim: "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (This cry, too, will be echoed through the centuries, as part of every Eucharistic prayer spoken by the church.)

Week by week, and often day by day, Christians around the world echo this part of Mark’s story in their personal prayers and in their Eucharistic liturgies.

The Gospel according to Mark – 9th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: Jesus has just come down from the mountain top, where three of his disciples saw him transfigured by an unearthly light. But while the disciples are still wondering what the experience on the mountain means – while their minds are still filled with awe – they are once again plunged into the traumas and questions of everyday life.

When they came to the (other) disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He asked them, ‘What are you arguing about with them?’

Someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and 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.’

He 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.’ And 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. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. It 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.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.’

Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ When 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!’ After 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.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘This kind can come out only through prayer.’

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for 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.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

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

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.’ But 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. Whoever is not against us is for us. For 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.

‘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. If 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. 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.

‘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.’

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. Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, "God made them male and female." For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But 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. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

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?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You 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; honor your father and mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, 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.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

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!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It 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.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus 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, who 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. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’

Thinking about the story: Jesus is traveling with his disciples, from Galilee in the north to Judea in the south, gathering crowds along the way. Step by step and mile by mile, Mark’s story is leading us to the final confrontation in Jerusalem. Facing into this challenge, the disciples (and we) are forced to wrestle with a piercing question: what does it mean to be a disciple (from the Greek meaning follower)? To begin answering that question, what can we learn from these words of Jesus?

About wealth: ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ ... ‘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.’

About his death: ‘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.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

About children: In this reading Jesus addresses his disciples as "children." Children have a prominent place in this part of Mark's story, from the boy suffering with epilepsy, to the children brought to Jesus for a blessing, to the little child Jesus uses as an example of discipleship: Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ In Jesus' mind, What do children and disciples have in common?

The Gospel according to Mark – 8th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: We are now exactly half-way through Mark’s story of Jesus – and this passage may also point to the heart of Mark’s message. Here again we see Jesus as wandering teacher, a rabbi contesting with the Pharisees, a story-teller, and a healer. But here Jesus also speaks – for the first time – of giving up his life; he defines the hard road that his disciples will also need to walk; and the disciples see him glorified in the light of God.

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And 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.” And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And 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? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He 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?’ And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’

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?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But 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.’
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. For 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those 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.’ 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.’

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, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then 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.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

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. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He 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? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.’

Thinking about the story: Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am? ... Who do you say that I am?” - and the disciples struggle to answer his question. As you read this portion of Mark’s Gospel, who do you think Jesus is to Mark?

The Gospel according to Mark – 7th Week

A note as Mark’s story continues: This section of Mark’s story reveals the strict boundaries that divided Jews from Gentiles in the Galilee of Jesus’ time – rules for eating and drinking, rules for washing and cleansing, rules for separating members of different faiths. But the passage also tells the story of the Gentile woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter – and the surprising change in Jesus’ understanding of his ministry. Finally, the story shows Jesus feeding another crowd until their hunger, too, was satisfied – but these people were living in the Decapolis (that is, the “ten cities”, Greek-speaking cities inhabited by Gentiles).

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and 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.) So 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?”

He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But 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)— then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

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, for a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He 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.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

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. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.” His disciples replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” Then 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. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Thinking about the story: What happens when Jesus blurs the boundaries between Jews and Gentiles? Do you think the story of the Syrophoenician mother – a woman and a Gentile – would have been included in Mark’s gospel if Jesus’ changing attitude towards the Gentiles could have been told in another way? (Why is this story so important that Mark includes it, even if it does show a Gentile woman challenging him?) And what would this story have meant to the Gentile Christians who belonged to Mark’s church in Rome?