Mark 5:21-43 This morning I’m a woman with a flow of blood. I’ve suffered with this terrible problem for 12 years. It’s funny the stages we go through whenever we have a big problem. First, there is the developing recognition of the problem, and then the hope that it is really nothing. Then comes the growing acknowledgement that this might be a bigger problem than we realize, and then the hope that it will go away by itself. As things... Read more
Mark 5:1-20 Good morning, my name was Legion. So far in Mark I’ve been a fisherman and tax collector, a brother of Jesus Christ, a leper, and a paralytic. Today I am a demon-possessed man. Without Christ, we are like a demon-possessed man, even though very few are actually ever possessed. We lead shattered lives that cause us to torment ourselves and others. We are unable to be controlled by anyone but our own desires. We dwell among the tombs,... Read more
Mark 4:30-41 After several parables about how the Kingdom of God grows, Jesus returns to doing miracles. This time He demonstrates that He is God by rebuking the wind and commanding the sea to be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” The only possible answer is God Almighty. While there have been known cases of false healers throughout history (perhaps with the... Read more
Mark 4:21-29 Today, Jesus continues His teaching on how the Kingdom grows, which is to say the process of discipleship. The secret to the Kingdom of God and its mysterious and wonderful growth is the growth of the Church, which is to say the growth of Christians, which is to say discipleship: “The Kingdom of Heaven = the Church = the people of God = disciples of Jesus Christ” I think that sometimes we misunderstand Jesus’ words: “With the same... Read more
Mark 4:1-20 How appropriate that the parable of the sower and the seed occurs in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent. The Book of Common Prayer collect (prayer for the week) is: “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast,... Read more
Mark 3:20-34 Today’s lesson is a lesson about family. What is a family? We all know the answer to this question, but at its heart a family is a group of people who are related to one another. The most immediate kind of family is, of course, the biological families we live in. But the notion of family is larger than what we often think it is. For example, my brother and his wife have adopted two bi-racial children. Are... Read more
Mark 3:7-19 “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.” In verses 14-16 of Mark 3, we have a picture of God’s work in our lives. Never forget that it is the work of the Lord. It... Read more
Mark 2:23-3:6 Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God incarnated. Though we already know this, it’s good to have an illustration of it from the life and words of Jesus Himself. And that is exactly what Jesus gives us today – a teaching on the meaning of wisdom. Biblically speaking, wisdom is knowing God and doing His will. But there is a secondary kind of wisdom that Jesus deals with here (the two are related) – the human wisdom... Read more
Mark 2:13-22 Most who have read and studied the Bible at all know that the parable of the new wine into old wineskins is Jesus’ teaching on the coming of the New Covenant and the necessity of the Old Covenant being abolished. Because of the radically new nature of the New Covenant (even though there is remarkable continuity as well), the New Covenant manifests itself in new ways that the Old Covenant was not capable of containing. Most importantly, the... Read more
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Wednesday of Advent 3 (Ember Wednesday) – Luke 12:35-48
Luke 12:35-48 Why the sudden change today from St. Mark to St. Luke in today’s lesson? Because today is marked out in the Church year as an Ember Day, more specifically Ember Wednesday before Christmas. Advent is often seen as a “Little Lent” in which we prepare for the feast of Christmas, and so the Ember Days are to be used as days of fasting and praying, and there is also a tradition of it being a time to give... Read more