Sending: context

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Friar Musings

⁷He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. ⁸He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. ⁹They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. ¹⁰He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. ¹¹Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” ¹²So they went off and preached repentance. ¹³They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:7-13) Continue reading →

Rejection: the carpenter’s son

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Friar Musings

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” The rhetorical question, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” deserves careful attention both to the text and its meaning. At least in modern American, small towns generally celebrate the success of their native sons and daughters. In the Marcan, the comments of crowd are generally seen as derogatory. What might be the thought behind such a reaction? Continue reading →

Rejection: miracles

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Friar Musings

Miracles and Unbelief. As Mark’s readers would expect, Jesus responds to what people are thinking about him. The proverbial saying “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown” (v. 4) has been expanded with two clauses: “among their kin” and “in their own house.” The original proverb spoke about the “homeland” (patris). The qualifying clauses narrow the region down to the prophet’s household and relatives. If this retort is understood as an insult, then Jesus has responded to his critics in kind. Since the miracles in the previous chapter emphasize the importance of faith in those who approach Jesus for healing, the conclusion that Jesus is unable to work many miracles in Nazareth is hardly surprising. Continue reading →

Rejection: hometown

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Friar Musings

Jesus left Capernaum and traveled southward into the hill country until he came to the village where he had spent his youth and the early years of his maturity. While Mark does not name Nazareth, he has earlier indicated that this was the village from which Jesus came, and it is undoubtedly in view under the phrase “his own country.” Jesus returned to Nazareth as would a rabbi, accompanied by his disciples. The reference to the disciples is important, for during this period Jesus had been concerned with their training in preparation for the mission which Mark reports in 6:7–13. Continue reading →

Rejection: context

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Friar Musings

¹He departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. ²When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! ³Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” ⁵So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. ⁶He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:1-6)
Continue reading →

Crossing over: a reflection

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Friar Musings

Perkins [590-91], as usual, offers a very interesting reflection on the passage.

The story of a nameless woman who has exhausted her resources seeking medical treatment for a chronic condition strikes a responsive chord with many older adults today. When they were younger, doctors seemed able to provide cures. Now these persons seem to have an ever-expanding list of medical complaints. As one man in his seventies put it, “After a certain age, you are never really well. Just less sick.” The financial drain and emotional difficulty of dealing with the bureaucratic, impersonal, and compartmentalized medical establishment compound the difficulty. Continue reading →

Cross over: one alive

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter: the Subduing of Death. While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”

The interruption of attending to the hemorrhaging women creates a time delay in the narrative, providing space for the girl to die, messengers to report to the father, and mourners to gather at the house (vv. 35, 38). The messengers present an obstacle to the healing by advising the father to leave Jesus alone, since the girl has died. Jesus takes the initiative by telling Jairus to have faith (v. 36). The reference to faith picks up the conclusion to the healing of the woman. Continue reading →

Crossing over: one healed

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Friar Musings

Fear and Peace. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

Why would the woman approach in “fear and trembling?” Perkins [588] provides a wonderful explanation that I will simply offer in whole: Continue reading →

Crossing over: the healer

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Healer. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”

In the controversy stories, Jesus shows himself aware of the inner thoughts and motives of his opponents, yet in the very same moment of healing, Jesus realized that “power had gone out from him” and seems unaware of the woman at all. This is an unusual expression which occurs only in Mark’s Gospel. We are perhaps surprised that Jesus seems to be caught unaware and that this power is not under his conscious control. The idea of dynamis (power) is intrinsic and constitutional in the biblical concept of the personal God. As Lane [192-3] notes: “Jesus possesses the power of God as the representative of the Father. Nevertheless, the Father remains in control of his own power. The healing of the woman occurred through God’s free and gracious decision to bestow upon her the power which was active in Jesus. By an act of sovereign will God determined to honor the woman’s faith in spite of the fact that it was tinged with ideas which bordered on magic.” Continue reading →

Crossing over: encounters

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Plea of Jairus.“When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him…”

Jesus is returning from his experience in Gentile territory and the casting out of a demon from a man in the Gerasene district. The transition to our text is simple and stated in one verse. Jesus returned to the western shore of the lake, perhaps to Capernaum and a multitude gathered around him, immediately upon his arrival, so it seems. No indication is given whether the crowd came together as soon as he arrived or after an extended period of time; it is simply the first fact that Mark records, offering a contrast to Jesus’ experience on the eastern shore where the inhabitants urged him to depart. Continue reading →

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the musings of a Franciscan friar…

Category Archives: Scripture