Read Mark 8:1-10

It is significant to note where this miracle takes place.  It is Gentile territory.  In yesterday’s reading we were told that “Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went…into the region of the Decapolis” (7:31).  The Decapolis, which means Ten Cities, was a center of Greek and Roman culture.  The cities were just east of Galilee near the Jordan River.  And we read in today’s lesson that “During those days another large crowd gathered.”  This would be a crowd of Gentiles from the Ten Cities.  Many scholars argue that today’s reading is simply a mirror account of the feeding of the 5000 in chapter 6.  However, that first miraculous feeding took place in Galilee, Jewish territory.  And there is one more clue.  Mark uses the word kophinos to describe the baskets used to collect the pieces in 6:43.  A kophinos is a basket of wicker-work used by Jews to carry food, often balanced on a woman’s head.  In today’s reading (8:8), he uses the word spyris to describe the baskets used.  A spyris is a very large reed basket, a kind of hamper, sometimes large enough to hold a man.  Luke uses this word for the basket they put Paul in to facilitate his escape in Acts 9:25.  It is a basket big enough to hold a grown man.  So, why is all of this significant?  

In both cases we are told that Jesus had compassion on the crowd.  That is significant because He did not make a distinction between Jew and Gentile.  It is also significant to note in what manner He fed the respective crowds.  In the previous reading (6:34), Mark said that the Jews were like “sheep without a Shepherd,” and Jesus began teaching.  They had only been with the Lord the better part of one day.  Their spiritual need outweighed their physical.  In today’s reading, the crowd is physically hungry.  They had been with Him three days (8:2).  He fed them.  Mark is reporting that, in His compassion Jesus is capable of meeting all of our needs both physical and spiritual.  We need only look to Him, and He will provide all we need, even with basketfuls of provision left over.

Read Mark 7:24-37

There are two healings described in the reading today.  Both took place in Gentile territory.  Once again, our Lord has traveled to a remote place looking for some time alone, apart from the crowd and their demands.  Mark says that Jesus “entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid.”  A Syrophoenician woman, a Gentile, “whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.”  What follows may sound harsh and unlike the Lord.  Jesus responds to her request by saying, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  It sounds as if He is refusing to heal this little girl.  However, could it be that Jesus did not want to deny the woman’s request, rather He wanted her to make a public declaration of faith in His ability to heal her daughter?  It is not a rejection, rather an invitation for this woman to enter relationship with Him.  And He is not disappointed.

It is obvious that Jesus is impressed by the woman’s response.  She says, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  She calls Him Lord, and she stands firm in faith on behalf of her daughter.  The Lord replies, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”  Even when it appears that, as it were, the tide has turned against us, we can stand firm in the Lord, knowing that in our relationship with Him it matters not from where we come, or what we have done, in Him there is great compassion.

What a wonderful message for the beginning of this fourth week of Lent.  There is hope, and in that we can rejoice.  Laetare, rejoice!

Read John 6:27-40

The fourth week of Lent is traditionally a week of respite from the rigors of the Lenten fast.  This day is called “Laetare Sunday”, from the introit of the Mass.  The word Laetare means “Rejoice”, and the lessons appointed for today reflect our Lord’s ability to provide for His People in all circumstances.  He can feed us, even when we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness.

This past Thursday, Mark related the story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with only five loaves and two fish.  And this coming Tuesday we will read the evangelist’s record of the feeding of the 4000 with seven loaves “and a few small fish”.  But as we have noted, Mark is not presenting a biography or a history.  The purpose of the recitation of these feedings is the proclamation of our Lord’s ability to provide for His people.  This is made clear when Mark contrasts our Lord’s provision with the “yeast of the Pharisees and Herodians”.  

As we are exhorted in the Gospel reading appointed for today, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life…” (John 6:27,35).  And then our Lord leaves us with no doubt about the source and substance of that food.  The source:  “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (6:32).  And the substance:  “I am the bread of life…” (6:35).

The fourth week of Lent is traditionally a week of respite from the rigors of the Lenten fast.  This day is called “Laetare Sunday”, from the introit of the Mass.  The word Laetare means “Rejoice”, and the lessons appointed for today reflect our Lord’s ability to provide for His People in all circumstances.  He can feed us, even when we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness.

This past Thursday, Mark related the story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with only five loaves and two fish.  And this coming Tuesday we will read the evangelist’s record of the feeding of the 4000 with seven loaves “and a few small fish”.  But as we have noted, Mark is not presenting a biography or a history.  The purpose of the recitation of these feedings is the proclamation of our Lord’s ability to provide for His people.  This is made clear when Mark contrasts our Lord’s provision with the “yeast of the Pharisees and Herodians”.  

As we are exhorted in the Gospel reading appointed for today, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life…” (John 6:27,35).  And then our Lord leaves us with no doubt about the source and substance of that food.  The source:  “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (6:32).  And the substance:  “I am the bread of life…” (6:35).

As we pass the midway point in our Lenten pilgrimage, Mark begins to turn our attention toward Jerusalem.  Jesus begins to prepare His disciples for the sacrifice that is yet to come.  They will need encouragement.  He knows that all will fail Him.  One will betray Him.  One will deny Him.  All will abandon Him.  Mark can relate to their plight.  His presentation of our Lord’s preparation is an encouragement for him, and for all of us.

Read Mark 7:1-23

As has been noted, John Mark was probably the son of a Jewish mother (Mary, Acts 12:12) and a Gentile father.  He wrote his gospel in Greek, and it appears to have been written for a gentile community, possibly in Rome where Peter had been martyred.  The Christians in Rome had been evangelized by Paul and were not of Jewish origin.  They would not have been expected by either Paul or Peter to follow the Jewish rituals or traditions.  So the message in today’s reading would have been of some comfort to them.

Questions abounded in the early Christian community about keeping the traditions of the Jews and fulfilling the Law.  The question of circumcision was dealt with repeatedly by Paul; and the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 settled the question of the need to follow the strict legal code of the Old Covenant.  James said at that Council, “my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood (vv. 19-20)”.  Nevertheless, questions were still raised from time to time, and Paul notes that even Peter was occasionally caught up in the controversies.  Paul reports that, “when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party (Gal. 2:11-12)”.

Mark sets his readers at ease with our reading today.  He records that Jesus gathered the crowd and said, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.”  And later, Paul explains the purpose of the law in Galatians 3, and in chapter 5 concludes, “if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.”  That is indeed Good News.

Read Mark 6:47-56

In modern commentaries on Mark’s Gospel, when you get to this pericope you will find many writers who want to dismiss this miracle as fantasy.  For example, George Young says, “Jesus projected an image of himself while remaining on the shore.”  Albert Schweitzer suggested that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the shore, but were confused by high wind and darkness.  And Vincent Taylor said, “perhaps Jesus waded through the surf.”  But Jesus declared to the Father that “Thy Word is Truth.”

What strikes me as contradictory is that men who are Christian writers can accept that Jesus was the Son of God, born of a virgin, was raised from the dead by the Father, and is seated with Him in glory.  But these same theologians and biblical scholars can’t accept that He could walk on water.  Mark, they conclude, was not an eyewitness to the events he recorded in these early chapters, and so we cannot trust that this was a historical event.

But Mark wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  And as we have noted, and has been attested by early Church fathers, he was tutored by the Apostle Peter.  The first century father, Papias, wrote that “Mark became Peter’s interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered.”  This view is supported by other early Church fathers such as, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement, and Origen, among others.  Thy Word is Truth.

For young Mark it was crucial for him to both hear and believe in the all-encompassing power and authority of Jesus.  That is a truth to which all of us must cling in this uncertain world.  An early fourth century hymn beautifully proclaims our confidence in Christ:  “O mighty is the power of God, the power that all things did create, that calmed the waters of the sea when Christ upon its surface walked…”  There is no storm too large for Jesus to calm.

Read Mark 6:30-46

I am writing these meditations during a short sabbatical.  The demands and stresses of ministry had become very heavy for me and I needed some intense quality time with the Lord.  Immersing myself in His Word, taking time to reflect on the Good News, and “wasting time” in prayer was essential to my wellbeing and spiritual health.  That is where Jesus and His disciples found themselves at this point in their ministry.  In today’s reading, Mark says “because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”  

But as so often happens, our times of rest and refreshment can be interrupted, and new demands can shatter the quiet we are pursuing.  Jesus and His disciples “went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.”  It is important for us to recognize that the Lord has the big picture, and that though we may have designs on our time, He may have other plans for us.  For Jesus and His disciples, interruptions were ministry callings.  It is another example of walking in the Grace of God—being willing to be led by the Holy Spirit, and living in the moment.

Living in the Spirit is a moment by moment adventure.  On this, and other sabbaticals I have taken, there have been interruptions, people making demands on my time.  It would be easy for me to get angry, to resent those who, like the  crowd in the story, selfishly pursue their own agenda.  But “when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them…”  Interruptions are ministry opportunities, moments for grace in the Holy Spirit.  Jesus taught and fed the crowd, and then, “After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.”  It is best to leave our time in His hands.

Read Mark 6:13-29

On Monday we talked about the need to deny the crowd the ability to influence us and to plant seeds of doubt and discouragement in our spirit.  But it is easy to get caught up in the opinion of the crowd and to let them sway our decisions.  Mark inserts a story at this point in his Gospel narrative which highlights, as it were, the other side of the Good News.  King Herod heard about Jesus, and wracked with guilt declares that he must be John the Baptist raised from the dead.  The story of John’s beheading illustrates the power of a crowd to negatively influence our decisions, if we allow it.

Herod was in an illicit relationship with his brother’s wife, Herodias.  John reprimanded the king for his unlawful behavior.  This displeased his wife.  Seeking to please her, Herod had John arrested.  Though his wife wanted him to kill John, he would not, “for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe…and he liked to listen to him.”  When Herodias’ daughter danced before the king, he was smitten.  He made a public promise to the girl, saying, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.”  Her mother advised her to ask for John the Baptist’s head.  Herod didn’t want to kill John; he liked him.  But as Mark reports, “because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.”  The power of public opinion won the day.  He didn’t want to disappoint the crowd.  Herod folded under the pressure of pleasing others.

Herod did not know Jesus personally, but he admired John who had paved the way for the Lord.  The testimony of John, and the reports of Jesus’ miracles and teachings were not enough, though, to sway the king.  He chose to follow the crowd.  Ultimately, we must ask: are we going to follow the crowd, ignoring the evidence of Christ’s power and authority, or will we stand in faith with Jesus, even if it is the more difficult place to stand?

Read Mark 6:1-13

Right after I was ordained, my sponsoring priest invited me to come home and to preach in the parish where I grew up.  After the service, one of the matriarchs of the parish came up to me and said, “I remember when you were but a snot-nosed little kid.  Who are you to preach to me?”  Jesus, can relate.  “And they took offense at him.”  It is easy to find fault, especially if we are looking for it.   We can discern from their words that those in Jesus’ hometown were anxious to find fault.  “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?”  Sadly, His family also got caught up in the mood of the crowd.  Who does he think he is?

None of us is immune to the temptation to judge another.  Even the Apostle Paul was unwilling to accept Mark back for a second missionary tour.  He found fault with the young man, and that attitude led to a rift with Barnabas.  In today’s reading, we see that Jesus recognized that there would be people unwilling to accept the ministry of the twelve He was commissioning.  He warned them saying, “And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.”  He did not want the fault-finding they would encounter to discourage His disciples.

How easy it is on the one hand to find fault, and on the other to take offense.  But we can choose.  We can choose to find fault, or seek what is good.  We can choose to be offended by others’ opinions, or we can choose to ignore a slight.   We can choose to “shake off the dust” of the crowd’s doubt and reach out to Jesus.  Jesus “was amazed at their lack of faith,” but He chose to press on, to commission the twelve, and continue ministering “from village to village.”  Let us choose to “shake off the dust” and follow Him.

Read Mark 5:21-43

The two healing miracles we have in today’s reading illustrate Jesus’ authority over both sickness and death.  Though the one is imbedded in the other, let us begin with the story of the woman’s healing, for it speaks to both the individual acting in faith, and the Lord’s sensitivity to that faith being exercised.

The woman knew that Jesus could heal her—she had faith.  But she was unclean according to Jewish law; she could not ask Him to touch her.  Mark says she knew that “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well,” and she acted on that faith.  Mark also points out that, even though there was a huge crowd pressing about Him, Jesus knew that “power had gone out from Him.”  He asked, “Who touched my garment?”  It is easy for us to get caught up in the crowd, to allow seeds of doubt to take root.  If the crowd had known the woman was unclean they would likely have shuffled her off to the perimeter.  And there are throngs today who follow Jesus while pushing others away, scorning those who want to touch Him.  

It is significant that this woman’s story interrupts the story of Jairus’ daughter.  If the woman had not delayed Jesus, He might have arrived before the girl died.  This then became for Jairus a test of faith.  The crowd again could have influenced this father.  “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher…”  How often do we get discouraged when our prayers are not answered in a timely manner?  Mark does not tell us what Jairus said in response to the news of his daughter’s death.  What He does tell us is that Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.”  Jairus did and his daughter lived!

Not even death has the power to separate us from Christ.  Jesus has authority over sickness and death.  Are we going to let the throng discourage us, or will we reach out and touch Jesus in faith? 

Read John 5:25-29

As mentioned in yesterday’s meditation, Paul and Barnabas had a difficult encounter in Paphos (Acts 13:4-13).  This conflict may have frightened the young man, Mark.  Whether from fear or another reason, Mark left the two older evangelists and returned home.  His action was perceived by Paul as an abandonment of the young man’s calling, and created a problem for the Apostle.  Ultimately, Paul’s anger over this perceived failing led to a break-up with Barnabas.  When Paul wanted to return to the cities they had previously visited, Barnabas wanted to take Mark.  Luke records that “Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.  And there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other…” (Acts 15:38-39).  

Mark may have hoped that he could learn through experience at the feet of the Apostle Paul, and his cousin Barnabas may have pushed him a bit too soon.  Nevertheless, Barnabas didn’t give up on him, he “took Mark with him and sailed to Cyprus” and they ministered there (Acts 15:39).  But both Scripture and tradition attest that Peter, whom we noted in the first week knew Mark and his family, took the young man under his wing and mentored him.  At the end of his first Epistle, Peter refers to Mark as “my son” (5:13).  And through the care and mentoring that Mark received from both Barnabas and Peter, the young evangelist was restored to the evangelical ministry of the Church.  Even Paul once again received him into the company of his disciples (Philemon 24).  He also commands Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you; for he is very useful in serving me” (2 Tim. 4:11).  This speaks highly of both Paul and Mark.  The two were reconciled, and that produced good fruit for the Church in every era to follow.  Mark’s experience of Jesus’ redeeming love became the heart of his message in the Gospel he wrote.