This coming Sunday, the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, is taken from Mark 8:27-35. In yesterday’s post we provided a summary of the events/encounters in Mark chapter 6 and 7. All this leads to Caesarea Philippi and one of the pivotal moments in the gospel of Mark. The description of the coming periscope is oddly stated in the Greek, “into the villages of Caesarea Philippi.” Previously Mark had described it as a region (5:1, 17; 7:24, 31; 8:10). In any case, the region was twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The area was built up by Herod Philip to serve as the capital of his tetrarchy. It is perhaps noteworthy that the region is two days’ journey north. Its northern location likely served to separate Jesus and his disciples from the crowds that attended his every move earlier in the ministry. Continue reading →