In the third of his great tales from the first age of Middle Earth, there is a point in which Ulmo, the god of the sea, a sort of cross between Aquaman, Poseidon and Neptune with a Nordic flare, tells Tuor the main character in the ‘Fall of Gondolin’ tale the following: “in the armor of Fate…there is ever a rift, and in the walls of Doom a breach, until the full-making, which ye call the End.” (p. 165). What... Read more
SUMMER SONG (FOR EMILY ON HER BIRTHDAY) I must go down to the sea Because it clearly calls my name I can’t ignore the constant cry Or I’ll never be the same. I love the sound of wave on wave The roar and then the reach, Rise and fall, and rise and fall Until it covers the beach. The air is warm, the pelicans play In search of endless fish All too soon the day goes down Despite my deepest... Read more
BEN: On p. 152 I had an ah ha! moment when you showed that Mark had juxtaposed a two-stage healing of a blind person with the two stage growth in understanding of Jesus by the disciples starting in Mk. 8. Throughout, one of the things you are showing is how carefully crafted and ordered this Gospel is by Mark—there is nothing haphazard about it. This means that older characterizations of Mark’s work as clumsy, awkward, rough and ready simply do... Read more
43 years ago today, Ann and I got married in the Methodist Church in South Hamilton Mass. We’ve been all over the world together, and still going! Read more
BEN: On p. 152 I had an ah ha! moment when you showed that Mark had juxtaposed a two-stage healing of a blind person with the two stage growth in understanding of Jesus by the disciples starting in Mk. 8. Throughout, one of the things you are showing is how carefully crafted and ordered this Gospel is by Mark—there is nothing haphazard about it. This means that older characterizations of Mark’s work as clumsy, awkward, rough and ready simply do... Read more
BEN: Long ago, Charlie Moule stressed that the persistent use of the definite article before the phrase ‘Son of Man’ must be interpreted to refer to ‘the aforementioned (or well known) Son of Man (i.e. the famous one in Dan. 7). In other words, it’s unlikely to be an attempt at a modest self-reference, and Mk. 14.62 in particular was seen as making this finally quite clear with the reference to coming on the clouds. Given the eschatological and even... Read more
BEN: On p. 128 you quite rightly comment on the lack of use of the title Son of David to characterize who Jesus was in Mark. I wondered if you had considered that in that era the title ‘son of David’ if used in conjunction with a request for healing or some miracle was assumed to refer to someone who was like Solomon, who in the wisdom tradition was believed to have the wisdom for cures. Indeed, even for exorcisms... Read more
BEN: Your discussion of the structure of Mark in Chapter 3, especially at the smaller unit level is quite helpful, but I was surprised there was no discussion of the theological structuring Mark uses (unless the passing remark at the bottom of p. 104 counts), namely Who and Why questions are raised about Jesus and his disciples and their behavior in Mk. 1-8. The who question about Jesus is answered at Caesarea Philippi in Mk. 8, in terms deliberately reiterating... Read more
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