Introduction to the Reading
Today we will be reading the better
part of three chapters in Mark’s gospel.
Reading the gospel’s text will take up the better part of worship today. The whole worship service is arranged around
it. We’ll read it in segments and then
have some sort of a response to each segment.
There’s a lot of details in these
chapters. I’m not going to begin to try
to cover them all in the short sermon after the reading. However, this week I plan to make four posts
to the blog where I post my sermons. I
invite and encourage you to take a look.
Now, why do such a big chunk of the
gospel all at once? The biggest reason
is so that we can read through the whole gospel by Easter. But there is more. Chapters 6-8 make up a sort of second quarter
of Mark’s gospel. In some ways there’s
not a whole lot new in them. From
reading chapters 1-6 we’ve already learned things like Jesus is a great
preacher and teacher. We know he can
perform miracles of all sorts – over ailments, death, the forces of nature,
demon possession, and so on. We also
know that he can, at least to some degree, be aware of the thoughts and
feelings of other people. Also covered
in the previous chapters is the fact that the religious authorities are wary of
him. If they have the chance they’d like
to get rid of him. And the execution of
John the Baptist that we read last week is a foreshadowing of what will indeed
eventually happen to Jesus.
You’ll also remember that Mark’s gospel
is not to be read as a day to day diary of the life and times of Jesus. While Mark is based in historical reality he
likes to arrange things in patterns. The
other gospel writers tend to do the same.
So Mark will clump together a whole bunch of parables. Then he’ll clump together a whole clump of
miracles, and so on.
There is a pattern in what we’ll
read today too. It repeats itself
twice. The pattern starts off with a
huge feeding miracle. The next scene is
Jesus with the disciples in a boat.
There’s a couple other miracles too.
Then there’s conflict with the religious leaders. Following that is an unusually detailed
account of Jesus curing a deaf man. In
that account we’ll find Jesus puts his fingers in the guy’s ears. He also spits and touches the guy’s
tongue. Again, far more detail than most
miraculous healings.
Then
the pattern repeats. There’s another big
feeding miracle. It’s followed by
conflict with the religious leaders; and another scene with Jesus and the
disciples in a boat. Finally is an
unusually detailed account of Jesus giving sight to a blind man. Jesus again spits. He puts saliva on the guy’s eyes. Then, low and behold – they guy can’t
see! Or more correctly, the guy’s sight
is distorted. Jesus tries again and this
time succeeds.
Again,
there will be more details in the blog posts I’ll make during the week. For today’s brief sermon we’re just going to
look at the overarching theme that Mark is presenting in this section.
Sermon
I
recently came across a Netflix series called Spycraft. As the name suggests it is all about things
like spying and counter spying and espionage.
I still have a few episodes to watch but it’s all very fascinating. It’s also more than a little unnerving when
you realize how much surveillance and tracking is possible on any of us as
individuals.
One thing that is certain about
spycraft is that it is a never-ending game of one-upmanship. If your nation has a technology or technique
it is only a matter of time before your opponent figures it out. You opponent then launches a counter-attack;
all the while trying to outmaneuver you in every way possible. You are doing the same. It seems like no one is innocent in all this
and no one is safe.
I think a similar sort of thing is
going on with the ministry of Jesus in what we read today. Oh, Jesus isn’t playing some James Bond style
super-agent. But yet Jesus is an agent
of the kingdom of God. He has said that
the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. We’ve seen in week’s past that those who
represent the kingdom of this world; those
who have a vested interest in the status quo, aren’t too happy about all
this. The Herod family and their
followers and any number of the religious leaders are keeping an eye on
Jesus. They challenge him secretly. They challenge him openly. He acts.
They react. He acts again in a
different way. They have a different
response. Perhaps it isn’t as thrilling
as an episode of Spycraft, but you see back and forth dynamics start to swirl.
While that is a subtle point in
Mark’s gospel it is one we need to keep in mind. I sense people want a life as a Christian to
be one of safety and stability. For
decades (maybe centuries) the image of a good Christian person in the western
world is one of righteousness and stability.
You do good things. You are then
seen as a good, upright, decent, and stable person. Life is predictable and honorable.
That is not what Mark’s gospel
portrays.
Now I’m not suggesting the life of a
Christian should be chaos. Nor should it
be one of shadowy existence. I do think
though, that Christians tend to give up when the work of the kingdom gets messy
and dirty. Too many people think
following Christ means honor and uprightness.
Too many people think that if you’re doing God’s work you will see
success for your efforts. Too many
people think that if they do God’s work the world around them will blossom into
a better place.
Not so.
The world’s problems are
complex. The world is a very messy
place. The world is a place of spying
and counter-spying.
God’s kingdom wants to be alive and
real in the world. That means that God’s
kingdom is not afraid of the messy places.
God wants his goodness to be everywhere, not just the clean and honest
and upright places. And God is in this
for the long haul.
Truly doing God’s work is an ongoing
effort. Rarely will we see immediate and
lasting effects of our actions. It is
great when we do though! And that does
indeed happen sometimes. But when it
does not, do not shy away. That does not
necessarily mean you are failing or doing something wrong.
The forces opposed to God’s reign in
this world will adapt and adapt and adapt to oppose it. That should not surprise us. We, as God’s agents adapt and adapt and adapt
again too.
I would never want to be in the spy
business. The chances of getting caught
and killed are far too great! Plus most
spies seem to get into some deeply unethical behaviors! However, there is something thrilling about
the dynamics of it all. And working in
God’s kingdom can be a thrilling thing.
God will probably not give you James Bon gadgets but God will give you
creativity and cunning and perseverance.
These are the way the spy game is really won. And these are the ways God’s kingdom wins
too.
God did not call you to a life of
bored righteousness. God has called you
into a life of reality. Embrace it and
all the thrill of seeing God’s kingdom come to life.
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