Commentary

I. Theme –  Looking beyond self-centeredness toward "spirit-centered" relationships.

“Christ Blessing the Children” – Lucas Cranach the Younger (1540)

“ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’” – Mark 9:36-37

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Jeremiah 11:18-20
Psalm – Psalm 54 Page 659, BCP
Epistle – James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Gospel – Mark 9:30-37  

Today’s readings call us to humility, compassion and service. The author of Wisdom  gives voice to the ungodly, who experience the goodness of the righteous as an unwelcome reminder of their selfishness. James reminds us that humility and peaceableness show the wisdom of God. Today’s gospel reading from Mark contrasts the disciples’ battle over privilege with Jesus’ proclamation of his radical approach to the Kingdom of God and discipleship—placing ourselves at the disposal of the lowliest of the kingdom.

Brian Epperly writing in Patheos about this week, "Taken together, these passages are invitations to spirit-centered relationships. They challenge us to see beyond our own or our nation’s self-interest. They convict us of self-centeredness when we place profit over people or success over relationship. They urge industriousness that builds community and well-being that embraces an affirmation of women and men in their many and varied roles."

The Gospel is the second of three efforts to tell the disciples about his coming death and resurrection.  The disciples don’t understand, are angry and are concerned about their role in the kingdom and what will happen to them (somewhat like a company which looks like it will close). 

As Jesus probes the anger and denial of his disciples in today’s gospel, his question comes to us: What concerns are closest to our hearts? Do we, too, fret over status, authority or a lack of perks we think we deserve? Are we engaged in the disciples’ game of comparison?

We envy and can’t obtain, so we quarrel.  From our painful attempts at acquisition, we know the truth of this stark statement. Jesus’ finger points at us as well as at his companions. But by the same token, he offers us the same remedy. Into our midst, he plunks the same disheveled, impish and probably grubby child. And if we’re honest, we ask, “What does this kid have to do with theological discourse? Who invited her?”

Jesus invited her. And if Jesus invited her, then the child must have something to tell us. The child who has no bank account, no learned degrees, no office staff and no expertise has everything. In her total vulnerability, she is wrapped by the arms of Christ. She enjoys a peace for which the contentious disciples would crave.

"God, grant me heavenly wisdom which is pure, peaceable, gentle and willing to yield…"

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From the SALT Blog, Sept 22, 2024

Jesus for the second week as directing the disciples on the path forward as well as teaching about discipleship. The desciples are not engaging with Jesus and are in their own little world.

SALT Blog – “This week’s reading is the second of three successive cycles through a distinct pattern: a) Jesus predicts his suffering and resurrection; b) the disciples clumsily misunderstand him; and c) Jesus offers a clarifying teaching on discipleship.” We saw this last week Mark 8:27-38. Mark knows Jesus is the Messiah but they don’t understand how they fit in. Theis focus should be on the community and not on themselves and rank.

SALT Blog – “The disciples are more worried who is the greatest. They are falling back on traditional thoughts. SALT Blog – ” their argument on the road share a common root: a vision of greatness as marked by the conventional trappings of power and prestige. Associate with the relatively powerful, and thereby gain power. Look down on the relatively powerless, and thereby take up a position on a rung above them. Conquer and win, and you climb. Be vulnerable and lose, and you fall.”

“It’s as if Jesus says: You have heard it said, “Conquer and be great!” — but I say to you, God will redeem the whole world not with a mighty army but through a suffering servant. You have heard it said, ‘Be dominant, and get what’s yours!’ — but I say to you, live your life in gentleness and love, not as a master but as a “servant of all’ (Mark 9:35). You have heard it said, ‘Consort with the powerful, and gain power!’ — but I say to you, welcome the powerless, the outsider, the ones whose supposedly low status offers you no promise of conventional advantage in return. Otherwise your hospitality may well be a thinly-veiled, self-serving maneuver. Take this child, for instance, a person with perhaps the least social status in the neighborhood. ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me'” (Mark 9:37).

I. Theme –  Actions speak louder than words. We must match up our words and actions.

"Christ Carrying the Cross” – Lorenzo Lotto (1526)

"Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."- Mark 8:31

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm – Psalm 116:1-8 Page 759, BCP
Epistle – James 3:1-12
Gospel – Mark 8:27-38  

Today’s scriptures ask us to demonstrate our Christian beliefs through appropriate actions. In Isaiah, God’s servant remains obedient in the face of suffering and remains confident of God’s guidance and support. Proverbs invites us to begin the search for Wisdom. James reminds us of the destructive power of even a few evil words. In the gospel, after allowing himself to be identified as the Messiah, Jesus points out that sharing in his mission means embracing a life of sacrifice.

“Quick, now! Who do you say that I am?” Most of us, if caught flat-footed by the question, would fumble around and wish we had a handy catechism to consult. Quick-to-respond Peter blurts out, “You are the Messiah!”

In Echoing God’s Word, Jim Dunning calls Peter “one of the first Christians to mouth a doctrine without the foggiest idea of what it means.” Peter thought messiahship implied pomp, status, perks and power. Jesus interpreted it to mean “navigating stormy seas, eating with rejects, following down the road that leads to drinking the cup of suffering with our most broken and wounded sisters and brothers.”

Some of us, like Peter, dream of the perks that our association with Jesus might bring. But Jesus points instead to the suffering, the paradoxical loss of life, the hard road that leads to Calvary…a difficult journey indeed, ultimately continuing to Easter.

Consistency, congruency—this leads to authenticity. To be an authentic follower of Christ, we must match up our words and actions. We must remain faithful even in times of struggle. We must turn inward first to God before our words lead us astray—we must think before we speak. And we must remember that our lives and words are witnesses to Christ’s presence in our lives, and if we truly wish to walk with insight, to walk with Christ, we must remember that we can’t be focused on our own desires and need, but on the way of God, which is beyond ourselves and beyond our time.

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From the “Presbyterian Outlook”

“Today’s gospel reading can be compared to the midpoint of a movie. It’s a major turning point that raises the stakes and moves the story in a new direction. Consider the heartbreak you felt when Andy left behind Woody and Buzz at Pizza Planet in “Toy Story.” How sweaty did your palms get when J. Robert Oppenheimer realized his bomb’s devasting potential in “Oppenheimer”? These moments clarify the film’s central conflict, setting up the climax.

“Many believe Mark 8:27-38 heralds a similarly crucial moment in the Gospel. It signifies a shift in Jesus’ journey, moving the focus from his teachings, healings and preaching to his impending crucifixion in Jerusalem. Like all good midpoint moments, it illuminates the tension building.

“The passage opens with a discussion on Jesus’ identity. In Caesarea Philippi, a seat of Rome’s imperial power, Peter proclaims Jesus as the Messiah or Christ. This declaration mirrors the language of the empire, which claimed gods selected emperors. Yet, it also challenges this notion. While the empire governs with authority over the people, the rule of God embodied in Jesus originates from and is shared with the people.

“In the next scene, Jesus reveals his impending suffering. Until now, Jesus has been known for his empathy and commitment to bringing wholeness to individuals and the entire community. Unsurprisingly, Peter had a strong reaction when he heard Jesus discussing his forthcoming suffering. He had just acknowledged Jesus’ liberating deeds as evidence of God’s power and compassion by proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. Now, he struggles with the idea of Jesus facing vulnerability and death.

“Yet, the suffering Jesus speaks of is not a means to an end but rather a consequence of paying attention to the pain experienced by those living under oppressive systems and working to eradicate and dismantle them. Peter’s understanding of power and suffering is centered on dominance and command while Jesus demonstrates his power through service and suffering with others.

“This transformational perspective on power and suffering has a similar implication for Jesus’ followers.”

How do we act with hope, in the face of so much despair and calamity? The role of Christians is very important in the environmental movement. Not only do we bring hope when many are despairing, but we also work in the power of the Spirit – the Spirit of wisdom and the spirit of renewal and re-creation.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; v20

In this passage Wisdom is personified as a woman, one who permeates creation and who holds divine authority. She is shouting out in the streets and the public squares warning us that disaster is coming. She does not spell out the practicalities of what we must do, she presumes that we know the Torah, that we have learned from our ancestors the right way to live.

When calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind v27

We are ignoring the voices that are calling out to us, the climate scientists, the indigenous voices, and we are staring disaster in the face. We are already suffering from the effects of our destruction of forests, our overuse of fossil fuels and yet we still do not listen to those voices. We fail to listen to the voice of God who called us to be keepers of the Earth.

Looming over our planet is a threat of extinction, acknowledged now as a sixth extinction. The Season of Creation is an appeal not only to hope but also to act. The living soil, the seas, rivers, and oceans are being polluted – trampled underfoot by the massive human footprint. Let us not ignore the prophetic voice of Lady Wisdom, let us learn from climate science, listen to the wisdom of our ancestors and indigenous people from around the world.

James 3:1-12

James brings up the evils of unbridled speech. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue– a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

The tongue gets us into dialogue with others. We need to avoid getting into useless fights with people – how do you respond for instance when someone says that climate change is a myth? The tongue operates much as a bridle does to control a horse or the rudder to steer a ship (v 3 and 4). It is small but influential. Negatively it can be destructive. It can be the spark initiating a raging forest fire. For the person carrying the image of God it should not be like this. We need to find ways to disagree and education but with respect for the other person.

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus teaches that a prophetic ministry carries with it the perils of suffering and death. Peter, like many of us, does not really understand. He is hoping to see the restoration of a Jewish king. Jesus on the other hand is focussing on the suffering and death ahead. “Get behind me, Satan!” he says for Peter has made the error of offering the same temptation that Satan offered Jesus in the wilderness (Mark 1.13)

Jesus calls together the crowd and reminds them what it means to be intentional in our Christian discipleship. The imperatives “let them deny themselves” and “let them take up their cross” (v.34) are what it means to follow Jesus. Jesus is seeking in His followers is something more than pious resignation in the face of the ways of the world, but spiritual activism.

Environmental and climate activism requires sacrifices, we are called to sacrificial living to live more simply.
A part of our sacrifice is giving up old habits, such as with plastics. We use plastic straws, consumer plastic coffee cups buy products that use plastic microfibers – such as nylon and polyester. We had to consider substitutes.

We will sacrifice our time, our resources, our energy to move on the side of reducing fossil fueat.. There may be times when we feel that we are burning out because the challenges are so great, and yet we are called to act with hope. It is action that brings hope, and it is hope that inspires action.

I. Theme –  God’s power to heal and restore 

Healing the Blindman – El Greco (1570)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm – Psalm 146 Page 803, BCP
Epistle – James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17
Gospel – Mark 7:24-37  

Today’s readings celebrate God’s power to heal and restore. Isaiah looks ahead to when God will bring healing to God’s people and to the land. Proverbs reminds us that God rewards just behavior. James speaks of God’s gift of inner, spiritual wholeness, a wholeness that results in outward acts of purity and kindness. In the gospel, away from the clamor of the crowd, Jesus transforms a man’s silent world by healing his deafness and a speech impediment.

There is a poem that Johnny quoted last Sunday, “God has no hands but our hands, no feet but our feet.” In the scriptures today, there is a theme of doing good—speaking out for the poor, standing up against injustice—in all of these things, we act out of faith, and we know that God is working through us. We can do nothing apart from God, and we know that God is present in us individually and collectively when we love others. And we cannot love others if we do not care for their needs, if we do not seek to end their oppression and stop injustice against them. We must live out the calling of God and allow God to work through us, and not be in it for our own gain.

If you have ever been ill, you know the relief that sweeps over you when you suddenly realize you are in competent hands. Although you may not verbalize it, there is an almost palpable sense that everything will be okay.

That experience, though incomplete, offers a slight parallel to how people must have felt in the presence of Jesus. Hearing that voice cry, “Ephphatha!” (Be Open) and feeling that touch on the ears must have brought an overwhelming joy. The restoration of sound must sing like a great gift.

The church’s healing ministry must take on global proportions, excluding nothing in our quest to be faithful to God’s vision of Shalom.  Healing cuts across boundaries and takes many forms.   We need to expand rather than contract our vision of healing to embrace the healing of the planet’s atmosphere, endangered species, economic injustice, ethnic exclusion, as well as the healing of bodies, emotions, and spirits. Healing is truly global and indivisible. 

Healing in one place contributes to healing in other places.   Any healing act contributes to the well-being of the part as well as the whole and reflects our commitment to be God’s global healing partners.  We cannot separate injustice from physical distress or racism from infant mortality rates and accessibility to health care and healthy diet.  

Our challenge is to recognize the deaf and voiceless among us–noting that difficulties in hearing and speech are not restricted to the physical sphere–then intervene with the healing presence of Christ acting through us.

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1 Isaiah 35:4-7a

●Isaiah paints beautiful picture of creation renewed; let us catch that vision and go forth to implement (Is 35).

2 James 2.14-17  Focus: “Faith without works.” “siblings naked, lacking daily food”

● Climate change is impacting agriculture. Food is less nutritious and less plentiful. How are we called to respond in order to feed our siblings now and in future generations?

Link to Food issues

● We proclaim a Gospel of salvation that includes all of Creation, not only human beings. Jesus commissioned his disciples, saying, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). As disciples of Jesus, our mission is to bring good news in word and deed to the whole Creation.

● Christian hope is in the renewal (Mat. 19:28) and restoration (Act. 3:21) of all things. Our participation with God in creating a more just and habitable world and living more gently on Earth is how we share in what Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls the “supreme work” of Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to God, one another, and God’s whole Creation. The good news of God in Christ is for all creatures and the whole Earth.

3. Mark 7.24-37 Focus: the boldness of the Syrophoenician woman

● With whom are we called to be bold to promote climate justice? Focus on how Jesus was open to the cries of the Syrophoenician woman.

● How can we open our ears and hearts to the cries and groans of the earth and thosewho suffer due to climate change?

●It is natural to care most for our own people, but God’s children are called to justice without borders (Mk 7).

From the book "Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" – French (15th century)

This is a Gospel story told in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is somewhat unsettling as Jesus response to a request to a woman was at best harsh and worst a racial slur. It is unique in that it’s the only time in the Bible that Jesus changes his mind over his response. This story appears in Mark sandwiched between the Feeding of the 5,000 (Jewish people) and the Feeding of the 4,000 (Gentiles).

Jesus had moved to Tyre and wanted to remain unrecognized. He was undoubtedly tired and needed a rest.  The last thing he needed was a diversion. However, a woman who was not a Jew approached him, "bowed down at his feet" and said her daughter was tormented by a demon. This could be any number of illnesses. In the Matthew version the disciples advocated sending her away.  

Jesus told this Gentile woman that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that it wasn’t’ right take children’s food and feed it to the dogs.    

The woman responded that even the dogs under the table will eat the children’s crumbs. Basically she said "give them to me!" Jesus was moved by her faith and love and healed her daughter.

Many writers focus on Jesus. Did he call her a dog ? Is a better translation "puppy" ? Did he stage this as a scene to show the disciples a better way to treat foreigners ? Was he just having a bad day which he later corrected ? Is this story a transition where Jesus’ mission is enlarged from just a Jewish perspective to a Gentile?

The real focus should be on the woman. She risked making a fool out of herself and insisted on help. The upshot is an example of evangelism – she left paganism and idolatry and followed God. This becomes the setting for the Feeding of the 4,000 gentiles.  

During September we are back to the Gospel of Mark after our excursion through John Chapter 6.

Jesus is on the move this month from Tyre, to Decapolis, to Caesarea Philippi, back to Galilee, and Capernaum.  (He is in a transition as we are typically in September).  While there are dealings with the public in the form of healings, most of the month concerns conversations with the disciples in the form of teachings.  Some are heated.   While they now see him as the Messiah his fate questioned by them.

September  1- Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The Gospel according to  Mark and The Epistle of James are paired for the next several weeks in the lectionary, providing help in how to live as faithful followers of Jesus.   The selection from the sayings on defilement (7:1-23) that constitutes today’s gospel raises the question of the relationship between “the commandment of God” and “the tradition of the elders” and of the real meaning of cleanness and defilement, issues of vital interest to the early Church. All three sections concern ritual purity: the first centering on washing (7:1-8), the second and third on food (7:14-15, 21-23). 

Mark 7 begins with Jesus being challenged by the Pharisees and scribes for how his disciples have behaved. They have not all washed their hands. In those days, the washing of hands was for a purification ritual, not for hygiene. The washing of hands was to purify oneself against what was unclean, specifically in this case, food that might have been handled by Gentiles. The leaders were more concerned with people following the literal letter of the law, the traditions that they held, rather than the spirit of the law, which was to honor God in all that they did and said. Their tradition justified the keeping out of the Gentiles as well as the poor and those they would call “sinners”—people who could not afford the rituals of purification in the temple. Jesus tore down the walls that would divide the “pure” from the unclean, the sinners, the Gentiles, the Others—and declared that what comes out of the mouth—what we say that hurts and harms, that divides and separates—this is what is really sinful, unclean, and against God’s ways. 

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