Mark 6:1-13 (NRSV)

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.  On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this?  What is this wisdom that has been given to him?  What deeds of power are being done by his hands!  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?"  And they took offense at him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house."  And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.  Then he went about among the villages teaching.  He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.  He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.  He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.  If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."  So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.  They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

“Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”  This phrase not only stands out to me, it sums up the context of the passage and speaks an incredible truth.  As a priest, it is not very easy to be heard as a prophetic voice in your own home, in your family’s home, or where you grew up.

Jesus has gone home and he took his disciples with him.  Many were astonished by his teaching and healing.  However, in his hometown he lacked credibility and people challenged him and took offense.  Jesus remains surprised that they still don’t believe.

In the context of this passage, Jesus dispatches the twelve and sends them out two by two.  He gives them instructions with a sense of urgency – take nothing for the journey, no bread, no bag, no money, etc…  They went out proclaiming that all should have a change of heart.  They cast out many demons and healed many who were sick.

Since Mark only gives us brief narrative, we must search deep within the text a bit for the meaning.  By not being of any good or having any respect in the hometown, Jesus must widen the circle in which he travels.   He teaches the twelve to rely on the communities and peoples that he sends them to serve.  Without extra provision, the twelve are not weighted down and are able to go from place to place where needed at a moment’s notice.

The call today that I hear would almost be good for a Boy Scout; “Be Prepared.”  However, the preparation isn’t with “provision” like a scout’s would be.  God provides his disciples with what we need to do the task we are given to do.  We are prepared spiritually, by belief and faith.  The disciples travel in the circles away from their homes, prepared to offer a message of repentance and are able to do works of healing and cleansing.  We, as disciples, are to have faith that God will prepare us.

Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.  Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death.  Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."  So he went with him.  And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.  Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.  She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.  She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well."  Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.  Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"  And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'"  He looked all around to see who had done it.  But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.  He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."  While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?"  But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."  He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep?  The child is not dead but sleeping."  And they laughed at him.  Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"  And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age).  At this they were overcome with amazement.  He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

The scripture says, “they laughted at him.”  It is strange to me that the family, being worried about their little girl, would go so quickly from weeping and wailing loudly to laughing at Jesus.  The leader, Jarius, who went to get Jesus had the faith that Jesus would be able to help.  This obviously wasn’t the case with the rest of the family.  Their tears and their laughs were very quickly overcome with amazement.

This scripture passage is a healing story within a healing story.  Jarius goes to get Jesus so that Jesus can come heal his daughter who is near death.  They are making their way through the crowd and Jesus encounters a woman that has been suffering from hemorrhage for 12 years who comes up and touches his cloak.  She is immediately healed.  Jesus senses the power “go forth from him.”  He asks his followers who touched him and finds out that it is the woman.  He declares her healed of her disease by her faith.

They finally get the home of Jarius and takes in Peter, James, & John (brother of James).  He tells them that she is not dead, but only sleeping.  That’s when the laughing starts.  However, Jesus pays it no mind and tells the little girl in Aramaic, “Talitha cum,” which means little girl, arise.  The ones that were laughing are amazed.

Jesus is busy healing and restoring.  The preservation of the Aramaic words in the scripture leaves us with the mystery and power that surrounds this ancient saying.  We know that it is more than words that brings about the healing power of Jesus, but knowing the words he said makes it that much more awe-inspiring.

The call I hear is to be brave in our faith.  I feel that it was faith and bravery that allowed both of these healings to take place.  The woman who suffered from hemorrhage was brave enough to come up and touch Jesus, knowing that it would make him “ritually unclean.”  However, Jesus doesn’t rebuke her, but testifies to her faith.  The leader of the synagogue, Jarius, has the faith that Jesus can save his daughter.  Jesus raises her up after people think that she has already died.  We too should be brave in our faith.  Be brave enough to not only touch Jesus, but let Jesus touch us and heal us and raise us up.

John 5:25-29 (NRSV)

"Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.  Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

The hour is coming.  We know not when, but it’s coming.  This phrase stands out as Jesus gives instructions about how and when others will participate in the resurrection.

Jesus plainly tells them that the only way to receive eternal life and avoid condemnation was to believe in Him.  He states those that believe in Him shall pass from death into eternal life.  Jesus emphasizes the importance of His words saying "Verily, verily."  Jesus' reference to the "hour is coming and now is" announces himself as the Messiah. Therefore, Jesus was telling them that He was the Messiah and His message was proclaiming salvation through belief in the Himself.

He says that those that hear shall live.  Jesus is saying that all the spiritually dead hear the message of salvation, but those that hear and respond in faith are the ones who will be saved.  His reference to life is not simply being physically alive, but being spiritually alive.  There can be no real “life” apart from Jesus Christ.

This Third Sunday in Lent gives us an opportunity to ponder our salvation and belief that we will (when the hour comes) participate with Jesus in the resurrection.  Our call today is to continue to trust and believe that God’s promises are true, and our intent to please God does in fact please God.  Eternal life will be our eternal reward.

Mark 5:1-20 (NRSV)

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.  And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him.  He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.  Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, 'What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I adjure you by God, do not torment me.'  For he had said to him, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’  Then Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' He replied, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.'  He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.  Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, 'Send us into the swine; let us enter them.'  So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.  The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened.  They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.  Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it.  Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.  As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him.  But Jesus refused, and said to him, 'Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.'  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

The word “tombs” speaks to me in this passage.  I’m not sure if I ever noticed it in prior readings.  The man with the unclean spirit lived among the tombs.  We still associate tombs and gravesites with scary places where spirits are thought to linger.  The man that Jesus encounters doesn’t only have one unclean spirit, but has many.  The man has been tormented by the demon for some time.  The demon knows exactly who Jesus is, and immediately pleas for mercy.

In the passage Jesus performs an exorcism and casts a demon out of a young man.  The manner in which it is done is interesting.  Jesus chooses, at the demon’s request, to be cast into a herd of swine.  I wonder why the poor pigs were allowed to suffer such a fate.  We must realize that the Jewish laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy considered the swine an “unclean” animal, unfit for human consumption.  What a better use for an “unclean” animal then an “unclean” spirit.

After the man has been cleansed, people came and saw him sitting there in his right mind.  They were afraid and begged Jesus to leave.  The man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him that he needed to return to his family and tell everyone how much God has done for him to restore him.  Everyone was amazed.

The call I hear today is to tell the good news.  The swineherds told the good news in the city and the country, and the man proclaimed the good news in the Decapolis.  The good news is what wonderful things God does in order to restore things to the way they are supposed to be.  As hearers and responders to God’s wonderful works, we too are proclaimers of the good news so that others might come to believe and have faith.

Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side.'  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!'   Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  He said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?'  And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'

“Peace!  Be Still! – then the wind ceased!”  This phrase jumps right out in the middle of the passage at me.  I have been around water and boats all of my life, and have been in violent scary storms on the water.  It can be a terrifying experience.

In the passage, as characteristic in Mark’s Good News, Jesus is on the move going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  They have just left the crowd and got in the boat.  It is assumed that it is the 12, but the scripture just says “they.”  Many of the appointed 12 were seasoned fishermen, and knew their way around a boat, and have more than likely been in storms before.  This one was different and violent.  The boat was being swamped (taking on water).

The disciples were scared and Jesus was asleep.  How he was asleep during the violent storm, we don’t know.  I surely wouldn’t be able to sleep in a small boat being tossed about.  They wake Jesus because they are in fear for their life.  Jesus wakes up and rebukes the wind.

After all is calm, he asked them why they were afraid asking if they still have no faith.  The disciples were amazed, and filled with awe and wonder at Jesus’ ability to control the elements of nature; a true act of God.

The call today for me is to “BE STILL” and remember that God is God!  In the world, we are tossed about by all sorts of turbulent waves – stress, calendars, responsibilities, money, etc…  It can really “sink our boat.”  However, we are called in the midst of that sometimes to BE STILL and calm down.  We are always to remember that God is God, and God is still in control.

Mark 4:21-34 (NRSV)

[Jesus] said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'  And he said to them, 'Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.  For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.'  He also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.  The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.  But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.'  He also said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.'  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

“Come to light” is the phrase that stands out today.  Jesus continues to teach in the 4^th chapter of Mark, and makes an argument for the proper use of light, insinuating that light isn’t any good to anyone or anything if it is hidden or isn’t used properly (under a basket or under a bed).  However, if it is put on a lampstand, then it serves it’s purpose.

The passage continues to unfold in the same manner.  Like the light, Jesus tells those he is teaching (we included) that we will be given a measure (Word).  What we do with that measure…  if we serve its purpose, then more will be given.  However, if we ignore its purpose…  if we have nothing, we will loose everything.  More simply put, if we choose to ignore God’s word or if refuse to listen to God’s word, then we will loose an eternity with God.

Jesus continues with the agricultural imagery in his explanation of the Kingdom of God.  He chooses the parable of the mustard seed.  This continues the seed explanation from yesterday’s reflection about the seed cast on good soil.  If the smallest of seeds can produce the greatest of shrubs with great, strong branches, then how much more could we do as receivers and cultivators of the Word.  From the smallest amounts of the received and acted on Word of God, great things can come to build up the Kingdom of God.  The passage says that Jesus continued to speak to his followers in parables, but explained everything to his disciples.

Today, I feel that the call is to make sure that God’s Word is heard and acted on.  It is one thing to hear the Word and it’s another to put it into action.  We can do this in our faith communities, in our families, and in our work places.  I had a friend once that helped me think of my job as ministry, regardless of what it was.  We should figure out how what we do brings glory to God and reconciles the world to Christ.  This will help us bring meaning to our lives as we put God’s Word and God’s love into action.

Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV)

Again [Jesus] began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.  He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 'Listen! A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.  And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.  Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'  And he said, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'  When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.  And he said to them, 'To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that "they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."'  And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.  But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.  And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'

This passage, which immediately follows where we left off yesterday, oddly starts with Jesus teaching them “beside the sea” in parables.  It is interesting that this particular parable is not only a parable, but an explanation of the parable.  This is helpful when reading it 2000 years later.  What jumps out to me is that Jesus teaches them many things “in parables.”  The word "parable" comes from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), that means "comparison, illustration, or analogy.”  It is a succinct story, which illustrates a lesson, or sometimes an instructive or normative principle.

It is worth pointing out that Jesus is teaching using the analogy of a sower in an agricultural society.  This is a great idea.  People new how to plant and harvest, their life depended on it.  Not like today when folks have gardens in their back yard to grow fresh vegetables.  If you didn’t sow wisely, you didn’t reap, and you would probably starve.  One would think that by using this reference, people would more than likely understand what Jesus was talking about, but that isn’t the case.

So, we get a rare opportunity to hear Jesus explain what he is talking about.  He explains how the seed is word (aka Word of God, the Good News, the Gospel, etc…).  Call it what you will.  The path, the rocky ground, thorns, and good soil are all the hearers or receivers of the word.

Jesus relates the Word to the receiver in the agricultural analogy clarifying that good soil bears good fruit.  In other words, the hearer that receives the Word of God, takes it to heart, and acts on it, will in turn do the good work to build up the Kingdom of God.  The call in the scripture today is be good soil!  Be soil on which when the word of God (the seed) falls, it takes it in and acts on it to produce good fruit for the Kingdom of God.