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SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 8:11-21
Having gotten into the boat with his [Jesus’} disciples, they
land at Dalmanutha where the Pharisees are ready to argue with him. Mark is writing
after the temple was destroyed and the Pharisees were no longer organized, and
he continues to use the terms “Pharisees” and “scribes” as narrative types
rather than actual people. They are not, so much, defenders of Judaism as they
are representations of piety standards that we too often repeat. The Pharisees
and the scribes demonstrate how willing people are to put roadblocks in the way
of those who would have a relationship with Jesus and one another in this new
resurrection living.
READING THE BLUEPRINT
Then went out the Pharisees and began to dispute with
[Jesus] seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And having groaned exasperatedly
in His spirit, He says, “Why does this generation seek sign? Truly I say to
you, ‘Not will be given a sign to this generation.’” And having sent them off
again, having embarked, He departed to the across (place).
And they forgot to take bread except they had not but one bread with them in the boat. And He was cautioning them, saying, “Watch out! Beware, from the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.
And they were discussing with one another concerning the bread they did not have. And having known, [Jesus] says to them, “Why do you try to reason about bread you do not have? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? And having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When the five loaves I broke into the five thousand, how many wicker serving baskets full of fragments did you raise up?” They say to him, “Twelve.”
“When also the seven into the four thousand?” How many large, mat container baskets full of fragments did you lift up?” And they say, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Not yet do you understand?”
ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE
The issue of the placement of this passage in time is
crucial. If the argument/dispute with the Pharisees concerning a sign leads to
the cross, then the statement, “no sign will be given to this generation,”
contradicts almost everything immediately preceding the dispute and nullifies
almost everything that is to come. After all, besides teachings and signs, what
has Jesus been doing?
If instead this dispute is a post-resurrection narrative, the request of the Pharisees for a sign, as they continue to hold the line on their own particular piety, is just as ridiculous. The future sign that is requested by the Pharisees is unnecessary—the presence of the resurrected Christ stands before them. Jesus is truly present to the Pharisees of the time just as Christ is truly present to us in the Eucharist. No sign beyond the possibility of new life in the present reign of God will be given.
Unfortunately, although understandable, their need to be in control of how the reign of God is lived out takes precedence over God’s expansive salvation abundance. Indeed, when practices become more important than our relationship with God, those practices must be examined. When the power of government and the prominence of person becomes more important than our relationship with God, then governance and leadership need to be examined.
The argument of the Pharisees echoes down through time to us and reminds us of the many things we, as Church, do and say that restricts the image of God or demands that God be subject to us. We want to believe, but we want to believe on our terms. No wonder Jesus groans in exasperation. Is there a sign for the world greater than the empty tomb?
PUTTING UP THE WALLS
Frequently when I am listening to a radio program, a song, a
talking book, or it even may be a time of silence, I might say something like,
“You know, that wasn’t really fair.” Or maybe, “I wonder why they thought that would
work?”
Some tangential thought has leaped into my head. It seems logical to me to connect it with what I was pondering and to share my conclusions. I have come to realize that I can have long thought processes that take place between a statement in the past and when I have something to say about it. Sometimes, a half hour (or more) can elapse between the inspiring moment and the thought process conclusion.
Thinking those around me are with me, I may just make the statement expecting everyone to follow. Over the years, Susan has gotten better at recounting conversations and asking, “Are you talking about _____ from yesterday?” Or if confused, she may respond with, “I think you left something out.”
Another situation sometimes occurs when we go out to eat. If there is too much to eat, we ask for a box. We put the leftovers in the box. We pay our bill and go home. As we get out of the car, one of us will say, “Don’t forget the leftovers.” Only to discover that each of us thought that the other had them, and the box is still sitting on the table.
If this is a pre-resurrection account, how can the disciples come this far in the Gospel of Mark and remain intransigently clueless? However, if this is a post-resurrection narrative, then the presence of the bodily resurrected Jesus is understandably challenging. So, when Jesus, considering the future of the disciples, blurts out an apparent non sequitur, “Beware, from the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,” one can almost hear the gears grinding, “What the heck is he talking about? Do you think that he noticed we forgot the leftovers on the table? Should we go back?”
In this little boat in the middle of the sea of Galilee, the abundance of God’s care for creation comes into play. We are reminded of the Israelites in the middle of the wilderness grumbling that they should have stayed in Egypt rather than venturing out to follow God. The manna that comes down to them from heaven is enough to satisfy for the day but storing some for the next day leads to rot. We are challenged to wonder at the power of the world that can seduce us from living in the reign of God.
As we have been working our way through Mark’s Gospel, the question of who this Jesus is and what difference that makes in our lives has become progressively more difficult. Will we be shaped by the newly “engaged” reign of God? Or will we continue to be shaped by the world? Or will we recognize that living in faith is both?
If we are going to meet Jesus, we must go into Galilee, into the uncertain world outside of our comfort zones. Each step along the way of meeting Jesus in Galilee calls us to determine whether the “engagement” of God’s reign is real. Does the bodily resurrected Jesus resonate with us? Or will we think that it is a good idea, but we need proof. Will we be argumentative Pharisees, power-seeking Herodians, or will we be disciples who, having left the leftovers on the table, are able to trust in the great abundance that God lays before us?
Beginning with the healings of the leper, the man with the withered hand, and Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, which are amazing, but not shocking, we are learning what it means to be a disciple. The Pharisees and scribes are unhappy but not overly concerned. But Jesus’ time with the Gerasene man among the tombs begins to pinch a little when the locals tell Jesus to leave.
Jesus’s interactions with Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage begin the conversation of “Who can raise people from the dead?” Then we are there as Jesus feeds the five and the four thousand in the wilderness and cares for the many diseased and broken of the world at Gennesaret and beyond. Through all this, we continue learning what it means to be a disciple. Is discipleship nothing more than standing around watching someone performing parlor tricks and the magic of God? Or is discipleship the process of internalizing Jesus’ leading and making the works of Jesus our GPS (God’s Purpose of Salvation) the way we will travel?
When Jesus fed the five thousand, how many serving baskets full were “raised” up? (12) When He fed the four thousand, how many large baskets were “raised” up? (7) In the Sinai wilderness, how many days did God’s abundance feed the Israelites? (40 years) If so many were able to be satisfied with so little, can we depend on being fed with one loaf? Is this then an incident of courage on the way to the cross? Or is this a crisis of faith in the presence of the resurrected Jesus?
HANGING THE TRIM
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.” (Mark 14:22-25 NRSV)
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