Read Mark 1:29-45

This pericope begins and ends with healing and deliverance, and wedged in the middle is our Lord’s escape into a time of prayer.  This sandwich consisting of the meat of prayer between the bread of miracles was significant for Mark, and is instructive for us.

Mark tells us that Jesus “drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak, because they knew who He was.”  And in the conclusion of this chapter, Jesus tells the man who was cured of leprosy, “See that you don’t tell this to anyone…”  Why? Is it ever wrong to proclaim what the Lord has done for us?  It is a two-fold question of motivation and obedience.  Are we testifying to draw attention to ourselves, or are we motivated by love for Christ?  And, secondly, is it an appropriate time and venue for giving witness to Christ?  Are we walking in obedience to Him?

The demons knew who Jesus was, but their proclamation of the Truth was not motivated by love.  St. Athanasius says, “For although what they said was true…yet Jesus did not wish that the truth should proceed from an unclean mouth, and especially from such as those who under pretense of truth might mingle with it their own malicious devices.”  And as for the leper at the end of the chapter, he was openly disobedient.  Jesus told him to not say anything, “But go, show yourself to the priest…”  And Mark records, “Instead he went out and began to talk freely…As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly…”

But let us not forget the meat of this sandwich.  “Jesus…went to a solitary place, where He prayed.”  Jesus looked to the Father for direction and only did and spoke what the Father commanded (John 14:31).  When we testify to God’s work is it for His glory or to draw attention to ourselves?  And have we prayed and are we moving in obedience to God’s prompting?  Let us do only what He directs.

Read Mark 1:14-28

I am a bit of an action movie junkie, which may be the reason I am fond of the Gospel of Mark.  Mark’s Gospel is the action movie version of the Good News.  Mark uses the Greek phrase, kai euthus, “and immediately”, 20 times in 16 chapters.  And he uses the word euthus alone an additional 22 times.  As a comparison, Luke uses the word euthus only once in his Gospel.  There is a breathless quality to Mark’s presentation, much like a good action movie.  For example, Alfred Hitchcock would shoot scenes with an average shot length of 9.4 seconds.  By comparison, the James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace”, has an average shot length of 1.8 seconds.  “And immediately…”  We are first introduced to this phrase in verse 18 of today’s reading, and Mark uses it nine times in the first chapter; four times in this short passage.  Mark is telling us that this is important stuff.  Pay attention!  By His actions, Jesus is revealing who He is.  You need to be alert, ready to respond.  

Look at the things that Mark highlights with this phrase.  In verse 18, Simon and Andrew leave their nets and follow Jesus—Immediately!  James and John immediately leave their father Zebedee in verse 20.  Jesus enters a synagogue and immediately begins teaching (vs. 21), and when confronted, Jesus casts out a demon immediately in verse 23.

Jesus’ proclamation is simple:  “repent and believe” (vs. 15).  Do not delay.  But Mark’s focus is less on the teachings of Jesus than on the revelation of Him as the Son of God in His actions—His healings, deliverances, and miracles.  Recognition of Him as the beloved Son of God requires a response from each one of us.  And Mark declares that this response should be immediate.  As we shall see, Mark is speaking from experience.  He faltered and delayed.  But the Good News, he declares, is that God is merciful.  It is never too late to turn, or return, to God.  Do it immediately.

Read Mark 1:1-13

As with the entirety of this Gospel, the first thirteen verses are packed with action and insight.  Mark lets it be known from the first verse that all he is doing is whetting your appetite for more of Jesus.  He is not presenting the complete message of the Good News; he is writing “the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  It is up to us to accept that Good News and to enter into relationship with God’s beloved Son.

What we can glean from these early verses is that the evangelist is presenting the revelation of God’s love made manifest in the human person of Jesus.  Mark presents the prophetic witness from Isaiah and Malachi (vv. 2-3), the testimony of John the Baptist (vv. 7-8), and most significantly, the witness of the Holy Spirit (vv. 10-11).  

In the harsh environment of incarnate life, it seems somehow peculiarly important that it was a dove that the Father sent as a witness to the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon His Son.  Among the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22f) that are bestowed upon those who walk in the Spirit, is gentleness.  A dove is one of the most gentle of animals.  God did not send a hawk to take us by force; He sent a dove—a gentle invitation.  A dove also hearkens back to Noah who sent a dove from the ark as a sign and messenger of deliverance to the once perishing, but now restoring, world.  Mark shows us the dove as a sign of the true Deliverer, the One who has come to save all who will come to Him.

Mark reveals that life in Jesus is life in the Spirit.  We can receive baptism for remission of sin, as John bestowed, but we must also welcome baptism in the Holy Spirit, given by Jesus, in order to experience fulness of life.  The evangelist also reminds us that the Spirit will provide for us when we find ourselves walking in the wilderness (vv. 12-13).  The Spirit is life.

Read John 12:44-50

The Gospel is occasionally studied as a historical record of the life of Jesus.  And there are others who would want to perceive it as a biography, written that we may know more about Jesus.  But the Gospels were not written for these purposes; they are, as Mark declares in his opening verse,  the written revelation of Jesus Christ—“the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

St. Mark had a dynamic experience of that Good News made real in his personal life.  As we will see in the weeks to come, Mark had a falling away, and a gracious restoration to the faith and ministry.  God never gave up on him, and neither did the Church.  He was mentored by Peter, and much of what we read in the early chapters of his Gospel are the reflections Peter shared with the young evangelist.  What we will see in the Gospel of Mark is his experience of God’s love made manifest in Jesus.  There could be no better reason to write a Gospel narrative.

Young Mark probably did not know Jesus personally during our Lord’s earthly ministry.  He was not one of the twelve, and as a young man (probably no more than a teen) he most likely didn’t travel with the multitude who followed Jesus.  But it is likely that he witnessed the events of our Lord’s Passion.  He may well have been the young man who ran away naked from the garden (Mark 14:51-52), and was thus positioned to see the full extent of our Lord’s sacrificial love in His crucifixion.

What we see in the revelation of Mark’s Gospel is what Jesus declares in today’s Gospel reading:  “I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness…I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world to but save the world.”  Mark experienced that truth and recorded it in his Gospel.  Let us now enter into the young evangelist’s experience.

Read John 17:20-26

One might argue that our Lord’s high priestly prayer was for His twelve disciples.  He says in verse 6, “You gave them to me…” which seems to indicate that He is talking to the Father about the twelve.  However, the first verse in today’s reading sets the record straight:  “My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”  We are inheritors of the Kingdom because we have believed in Jesus “through their message.”  He is praying for us!

And what does the Lord pray for us?  “That they may all be one.”  What does that oneness look like?  “Father, just as You are in Me, and I am in You, may they also be in us…”  Jesus tells the Father about His hope, and prays that the fruits of this oneness may be “that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”  Jesus has  prayed that we might all be set apart in Him, that our identity may be in Christ.  It matters not if we are black or white, Baptist or Catholic, refugee or rich man; our Lord’s prayer is that we may all be one in Him.  That does not happen because we all worship the same way, or vote the same ticket, or look alike and dress alike.  It happens only by God’s grace, when His people obey His Word, and live according to the Truth.  Thy Word is Truth!

Unity, though, appears to have escaped the grip of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.  Sadly, His Body is heavily divided around innumerable man-made lines.  And each time we disagree with someone and separate from them rather than seek reconciliation, we create more division.  Mark’s departure from Paul and Barnabas ended up causing the two apostles to separate from each other.  They could not agree.  But it was the grace of God and humble reconciliation that brought healing to Mark, and restoration of relationship with Paul.  Our Lord’s prayer was answered.  And Mark gladly shares that Good News in his Gospel.

Read John 17:9-19

Jesus prays that the Father will “Sanctify them (His disciples and all who follow in their footsteps) by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.”  To sanctify something is to set it apart for holy purposes.  The thing sanctified then can never be used for anything else.  Holy water cannot be used to wash the dishes.  Consecrated wine cannot be used for the social gathering after church.  A clergyman’s stole cannot be used as a winter muffler.  Jesus is praying to the Father to set us apart for His purposes, for His Kingdom work.  And we are to be sanctified by the Truth.  Jesus is the Truth.  Thy Word is Truth.  Jesus is the Living Word—the Word of Truth!

In His high priestly prayer, Jesus tells the Father that He is not praying that the Father would take us out of the world, but that He would protect us from the evil one.  We are to be in the world, but by God’s sanctification, His setting us apart, we are to live differently from those who are of the world.  Jesus says, “I have given them your Word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world…”  That is a hard place for us to be.  We are set apart, sanctified, but that puts us at immediate odds with others with whom we live and work.  And they hate us for it.

But our separateness from those around us is not to be an occasion for judgment.  Jesus prayed that we may be set apart for Him, that we may be used by Him for the furthering of His Kingdom, bringing those who do not know Him to the knowledge and love of Him.  For He says to the Father, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”  Jesus was sent into the world that the world might be saved through Him.  And now He is asking the Father to sanctify us that His redeeming work may continue to be carried out through us—we who are set apart for Him.  

Read John 17:1-8

It is appropriate for us to begin our Lenten pilgrimage with a prayer.  And what better prayer is there than the one that Jesus Himself prayed to the Father on our behalf.  Over these next three days we will read the whole of our Lord’s high priestly prayer recorded in the Gospel of John.

It is incredibly comforting to know that, as St. Paul reminds us, Jesus Christ did not only pray for us on the last night of His earthly ministry, He “is at the right hand of God, and is interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34).  We can come to Him with all of our petitions.  The curtain is open and we have been granted access to Him.  We can bring all of our concerns and lay them at His feet.  But even when we neglect to call upon Him, His constant prayer is that we will know Him, and continue to live eternally in relationship with Him.

In today’s pericope, Jesus defines eternal life.  “Now this is eternal life,” He says to the Father, “that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  But what does it mean to know Jesus and the Father who sent Him?  To know, in the Biblical sense, is a deeply intimate, loving relationship, in the way a husband and wife know one another.  This is a relationship grounded in both the Word and the Spirit.  Twice in the preceding chapters Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15; 15:14).  Jesus says that those whom the Father has given to Him are “they who have obeyed Your Word…I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them…”  And in his first epistle, John writes, “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them” (2:4-5).  The Word of God is Truth, and those who obey His Word dwell eternally with Him.  Jesus’ prayer is that we may know Him and the Father who sent Him.

Read Luke 18:9-14

Though the focus of these meditations will be on the Gospel of Mark, with a smattering of Johannine passages, we begin with an encouraging and comforting word from Luke.  The story of the Pharisee and publican is found only in the third evangelist’s presentation of the Gospel, and the compilers of the lectionary recognized the importance and relevance of this parable to our day of penitence.  And for our study it is a word that relates well to the message of Mark and his personal experience.  Mark, as we shall see in the coming weeks, experienced a severe breaking.  He came up short in the eyes and expectations of a man he admired and wanted to emulate.  Later, however, he experienced the fruit of humble repentance.

In the parable of today’s lesson, Jesus contrasts two men, and two attitudes.  Luke says, “He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves…but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Mark fell short in his first attempt to evangelize, but under the tutelage of Barnabas and Peter, he humbled himself, and threw himself on the mercy of God.  God redeemed and restored him.  Jesus’ words in the parable could well have been uttered over Mark:  “…this man went down to his house justified…”

On this Ash Wednesday we are reminded that God is infinitely merciful.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us” (Psalm 103:12).  And for those who humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, they will be exalted, they will go down to their home justified.

There is no one more fervently rooting for us to succeed than Jesus Christ.  He died that we might live.  And as we shall see in the readings from John this week, He is continually making intercession for us at the right hand of the Father.

Introduction: Sanctify them by the Truth.  Thy Word is Truth. —John 17:17

“Thy Word is Truth” (John 17:17).  “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).  “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12).  “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).  “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The Word of God is Truth.  It is Good News.  The meditations which follow are based on the Gospel readings in the daily lectionary found in the Book of Common Prayer, and the Simplified Liturgy of the Hours which I compiled.  The weekday readings for weeks one through five are from the first ten chapters of the Gospel of Mark.  The Sunday readings and those during the week of Ash Wednesday are from the Gospel of John.  But the primary focus of our meditations will be on Mark.  Why?  Mark was the first of the Gospel writers.  Mark was enthusiastic about the message of Good News, and yet, his Gospel is the most simple and straightforward of the four Biblical Gospels.  Mark’s focus is the Passion of our Lord—Jesus’ sacrifice that brought salvation to mankind.  Fully one third of his Gospel, chapters 11-16, is dedicated to the events of the final week of our Lord’s incarnate life.  But the first ten chapters describe Jesus’ three-year ministry and preparation for His Passion.  It is upon these chapters that we will concentrate.  Why?  Because Mark has something to say to each one of us.  He is speaking the Word of Truth.  His is a message of hope and redemption.

The message, though, can never be divorced from the man.  God has chosen to make known His revelation to mankind through fallible human messengers.  The Gospels are no different.  The four Gospel narratives we have in our Bible each reflect the personality and experiences of the four evangelists.  Mark was a man who failed in his early ministry, but by grace experienced redemption.  The loving care of our Lord, through the leadership of the Church, informed and influenced Mark’s presentation of the Gospel.  His message has something to say to each one of us.  Both Barnabas, his cousin, and Peter, who himself knew failure and redemption, helped Mark overcome his early failings.  And as we shall see, these first ten chapters of his Gospel are most probably reflections of the stories that he heard from his mentor, St. Peter.  

In the meditations which follow, we will examine not only the Word, but the man who brings us the Word.  Each Sunday we will look at an aspect of the life and experience of Mark.  These early chapters of his Gospel are an expression of his experience of our Lord’s redemption, and have been a hallmark of faith for Christians in every century.  We have much to learn from Mark.

The lessons during the week of Ash Wednesday, as noted above, are from John’s Gospel.  They lay a very good framework for us to enter into meditation upon Mark’s Gospel.  And reference will be made to the Johannine lessons each Sunday.  But our focus will be on the Word of Truth made manifest in the first ten chapters of Mark’s Gospel.  If you want a meditative study of the final six chapters of Mark, I wrote a booklet of Lenten meditations on the Passion in Mark’s Gospel in 2013.  If you would like a copy of those meditations, please let me know and I will e-mail a pdf copy to you.  

Mark presents Jesus as always looking to and journeying toward Jerusalem.  In these readings and meditations, let us join Him as we make our Lenten pilgrimage, journeying to the New Jerusalem.

Meditations on the Daily Lectionary Readings of the Gospel

Lent begins day after tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. The Daily Lectionary may be found in the Book of Common Prayer, in the Simplified Liturgy of the Hours which I compiled, or on the ICCEC web site at: https://iccec.org/prayerandreadings/Prayer-Individual/ In the lectionary, there are lessons appointed for each day from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and Gospel, together with a portion of the Psalter. We will concentrate on the Gospel readings. Each day during Lent I will post a meditation on the Gospel appointed for that day, with a notation of the Biblical citation at the beginning of the meditation.

Tomorrow, Shrove Tuesday, I will post the introduction to these meditations. Please check it out.

I would welcome hearing from you during the season. Any feedback you wish to offer would be appreciated. Please comment, or you can write directly to me via e-mail. I would enjoy the interaction about these Gospel readings.