Sermons on Mark

This section of Mark is known as “apocalyptic” and it points our hearts, minds and spirits to that which God is revealing in our midst.  It encourages us to ponder if and how God is afoot—with life, hope, promise—even in times when things appear to be falling apart.  

As Christians, we speak about love, we sing about love, we pray about love, we talk about love…the word love is so familiar and embedded in every aspect of our faith that it’s possible to hear the Great Commandment and miss the truly radical and life-altering nature of this divine call!

Our scripture reading for Sunday draws us into the world of Bartimaeus, a blind man begging on the streets, whose encounter with Jesus not only changed him but the entire community around him.

Today’s scripture passage from Mark highlights an age old challenge for people of faith…where and how we draw the circle of who is on the inside and who is on the outside. While we might like to believe that our circle is always wide open, the truth is that we struggle at times with “us” and “them.”  

None of us covet “last place” and many of us, understandably, hope for “first.”  But this week Jesus turns that notion upside down, talking in apparent circles…last is first and first is last.

Our reading from Mark’s gospel takes us into the heart of a heated exchange between Jesus and some of the religious leaders. The religious leaders ask a question about Jesus’ disciples that is clearly more of an accusation than a genuine question. They want to know why Jesus’ disciples don’t all wash their hands according to the purity laws before eating. Jesus, drawing on the words of the prophet Isaiah, calls them out for honoring God “with their lips” while their hearts are far away.