Notes on Mark: A Parable About Seeds

Jesus scattering seeds of faith, Peter Pöppelmann
Dresden-Strehlen, Christ Church

MARK 4:26-29
This parable about the seeds is so familiar that I never realized it is only found in Mark. Of course we have all heard interpretations of the many meanings within it but I haven't ever heard this one by St. Gregory the Great.

An agricultural parable found only in Mark. Jesus compares the mystery of natural, organic growth to the expansion of the kingdom of God. The kingdom will visibly mature like grain, but the spiritual forces behind it will remain invisible. The parable of the Leaven in MT 13:33 elucidates the same mystery.

Morally (St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Ezek 2, 3), the maturing grain signifies our increase in virtue. First, the seeds of good intentions are sown; these gradually bring forth the blade of repentance and ultimately the mature ear of charitable works. When established in virtue, we are made ripe for God's harvest.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible)

A note for reflection adds what we already know about this parable's larger meaning, but what is good for me to remember.

Despite the many seeds apparently sown in vain, God is at work to produce what will finally be revealed as a stupendous harvest. The parable illustrates the "mystery of the kingdom" that Jesus mentioned in 4:11. The reign of God will not come about through unmitigated success and uninterrupted growth. An unexpected but necessary part of the plan is the setbacks and failures that give Jesus' disciples a share in the mystery of his own suffering.

The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

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Sources and Notes Index  

Notes on Mark: Plowing the Soil

Tomb wall painting in Thebes of plowing the land

MARK 4:1-20
I have always heard this talked about as if the type of soil cannot be changed. However, this commentary gave me much food for thought just by looking at Palestinian farming customs.

In first-century Palestine, it was common for farmers to sow their seed first, and then go back and plow the soil. In this way, the seed could be mixed in with different types of soil, and some hard or rocky patches of soil could be broken up and softened, helping the seed to bear greater fruit. While some of the soil may not be the most fertile at the beginning of the process, by the end, it has a far greater chance of supporting the life and fruitfulness of the seed it has received.

In a similar way, none of us should think that because we see hardness or difficulties in our lives now, that we are beyond hope of change, or that it's too late for us. God can "plow" us up at any time, making us more receptive to the work he has sown in us and more able to bear the abundant fruit that his seed is capable of producing. We should always keep our eyes and ears open, looking for ways that God may be trying to work a greater softening in our hearts, a greater receptivity to his word.

Mark: A Devotional Commentary (The Word Among Us)

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Sources and Notes Index 

Psalm 44 — Prayer for Victory

If you wish to call to mind constantly the benefits of God to the patriarchs, the exodus out of Egypt, the passage through the desert, and how, while God is so good, human beings are ungrateful, you have Paslm 44.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

We've seen a lot of lamentations in the psalms but what strikes me about this one is that it begins with thinking over the past and realizing the God's people didn't succeed by their merits but by God's grace, given in utter kindness. 

It's a truth that I would do well to reflect upon more often because it's definitely true in my own life.

Vassily Maximov, Grandmother's Tales

Family stories are how we first learn who we are, what the world is like, how to live, and what our culture is. Each civilization has those stories too. It is how we know who we are in a larger way. St. John Chrysostom has two wonderful reflections on this psalm that touch on that point.

I also love the question he asks in the second quote we read here — which triumps is the psalmist recalling? I thought of exodus, but Chrysostom gives us an example which happened later in history. Through imaginative reflection, the retelling puts us in the story becomes truly inspirational.

44:1 We Have Heard

Divine Stories. Chrysostom: Listen to this, all you who are heedless of your children, who ignore their singing diabolical songs, while you pay no attention to the divine stories. Those people were not like that; on the contrary, they passed their life without interruption in stories of God's great deeds and achieved a double advantage. On the one hand, it was a good experience for them to keep in mind the divine favors, and they were the better for it; on the other, their offspring gained no little grounding in the knowledge of God from these stories, and were moved to imitation of virtue. For them, you see, books were the mouths of their forebears, and these stories were a feature of every study and every employment, nothing being more agreeable or more profitable. 

44:2 With God's Own Hand

A Marvelous and Extraordinary Sight. Chrysostom: So which triumps is he recalling? Which successes? Some in Egypt, some in the desert, some in the land of promise, but especially those in the promised land. ... They had no need of weapons; instead, they captured citires by a mere shout, and crossing the Jordan they overran the first city that stood in their way, Jericho, as though by dancing ratner than fighting. I mean, they went out fitted with weapons not as if for battles but for a festival and dance, bearing arms for appearance's sake rather than security; wearing sacred robes and having the Levites preceding the army, they encircled the wall. It was a marvelous and extraordinary sight to see, so many thousands of soldiers marching in step and order, in silence and utter regularity, as though no one was about, with tht daunting harmony of trumpets keeping everything in time.

Both quotes from Chrysostom's Commentary on the Psalms 44
Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

An index of psalm posts is here.

Notes on Mark: They See But Do Not Perceive

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Parable of the Sower, 1557
That's the one that made the disciples ask what the heck the story meant.

MARK 4:10-12
I like what Wikipedia tells us about a parable:

The word parable comes from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), literally "throwing" (bolē) "alongside" (para-), by extension meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy." It was the name given by Greek rhetoricians to an illustration in the form of a brief fictional narrative.

Jesus' parables often are illustrations that need extra explanation!

I always thought it was unfair the way that Jesus would explain the parables to the disciples and then say, "But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'" 

The comment below puts the proper spin on that passage by explaining the context of Jesus' quotation, which surely faithful Jews would have understood.

But what about those outside? Jesus describes their predicament with a quotation from Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10). In the context of the passage, God forewarns Isaiah that he would be called to preach judgment ot Israel at a time when the people were mired in sin and injustice, and so his message would meet with stubborn resistance. The forceful language does not mean that God himself will block the people's eyes and ears. Rather, the prophet's message will cause the people to blind and deafen themselves to avoid hearing it, in order to persist in their rebellion. Jesus, likewise, is addressing a wayward generation, many of whom will harden themselves to avoid grasping the implications of his words. His parables, by their hidden depths veiled in simplicity, will cause a separation by the response they evoke in listeners hearts. For those who ponder the parables with sincere openness, the mystery of the kingdom will be gradually unveiled. But for those who prefer to resist in their own rebellious ways, the parables will remain opaque ...

The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

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Sources and Notes Index 

Psalm 43 – Hope in God

If [enemies] persist, and, with hands red with blood, try to drag you down and kill you, remember that God is the proper judge (for he alone is righteous while that which is human is limited) and so say the words of ... [Psalm 43].

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

As we noted for Psalm 42, Psalm 43 used to be a the last part of that hymn until they were separated to be used in the prayer book. They express a longing for restoration by God which is combined by confident trust.

Medieval painting of guitarra latina (left) and guitarra morisca (right)
from the Cantigas de Santa Maria (13th. century)
I like the way that the musicians are watching each other's playing.
Kind of like jamming at a rock concert.

Saint John Paul II has a meditation on this psalm as part of the series he did covering the prayers of the evening in the liturgy of the hours. Read the whole thing here if you like. I share this bit which talks about the Psalmist as a pilgrim toward Heaven, struggling through the darkness of trials but with joy in his heart because of the encounter with God that awaits at the end.

With Confidence on the Road Toward Heavenly Zion

The person praying has not yet reached the temple of God, he is still overwhelmed by the darkness of the trial; but now before his eyes shines the light of the future encounter, and his lips already experience the tone of the song of joy....

The Psalm then becomes the prayer of the one who is a pilgrim on earth and still finds himself in contact with evil and suffering, but has the certainty that the endpoint of history is not an abyss of death, but rather a saving encounter with God. This certainty is even stronger for Christians, to whom the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims: "You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God that judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel" (Heb. 12: 22-24).

An index of psalm posts is here.

Notes on Mark: Broadcasting Seed Upon Soil

Pulpit of the Roman Catholic church in Sarud, Hungary. Source.

MARK 4:1

"The entire crowd was on the land right up to the sea"

"On the land" is literally "upon the soil," (epi tes ges). The same or a similar phrase is repeated frequently in the parables of this chapter, as if the soil upon which the seed (the word) is broadcast is the very crowd which is "on the soil." Jesus preaching from the boat is broadcasting seed upon the soil. That is, telling the parable of the sower, he is engaged in the very activity he is talking about.

The Memoirs of St. Peter by Mark Pakaluk

This comment drives home the idea that Mark was a talented writer who knew how to use language and repetition to make a point if only we have "ears to hear." The mental image this brought up really has captured my imagination.

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

Depiction of the Christian Holy Spirit as a dove,
by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in the apse of Saint Peter's Basilica

MARK 3:28-30
I always wondered why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the only unforgivable sin. This makes it crystal clear.

Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to recognize it "for they had said 'He has an unclean spirit'" (v. 30). They do not want to admit that God is the author of the miracle. In this attribute lies the special gravity of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit -- attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the good works performed by God himself ... That is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven: not because God cannot forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards God, rejects Jesus Christ, his teaching and his miracles, and despises the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him (cf. St. Pius V Catechism, II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, II-II, q. 14, a. 3). CF. note on Mt 12:31-32.

The Navarre Bible: St. Mark

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: Choosing The Twelve

Vocation of the Apostles, a fresco in the Sistine Chapel by Domenico Ghirlandaio

MARK 3:13-19
I like the way the Standard Revised Version says it ... "He called to them those whom he desired." That rings true for my life, much less for anyone who is called to a vocation. Some interesting observations about the choosing of The Twelve. I especially like the point that the Apostles were a group because I always am mystified by people who say that they don't need church. I know that if left to myself I tend to lose perspective. I definitely need the church even if I don't always feel warm and fuzzy toward the people in it all the time.

It is significant that Christianity began with a group. The Christian faith is something which from the beginning had to be discovered and lived out in a fellowship. The whole essence of the way of the Pharisees was that it separated men from their fellows; the very name Pharisee means the separated one; the whole essence of Christianity was that it bound men to their fellows, and presented them with the task of living with each other and for each other.

Further, Christianity began with a very mixed group. In it the two extremes met. Matthew was a tax-collector and, therefore, an outcast; he was a renegade and a traitor to his fellow countrymen. Simon the Cananaean is correctly called by Luke, Simon the Zealot; and the Zealots were a band of fiery, violent nationalists who were pledged even to murder and assassination to clear their country of the foreign yoke. The man who was lost to patriotism and the fanatical patriot came together in that group, and no doubt between them there were all kinds of backgrounds and opinions. Christianity began by insisting that the most diverse people should live together and by enabling them to do so, because they were all living with Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

We also can't forget the significance of numbers, as is always the case when studying Scripture.

The Twelve chosen by Jesus receive a specific vocation to be "people sent out," which is what the word "apostles" means. Jesus chooses them for a mission which he will give them later (6:6-13) and to enable to perform this mission he gives them part of his power. The fact that he chooses twelve is very significant. This is the same number as the twelve Patriarchs of Israel, and the Apostles represent the new people of God, the Church founded by Christ. Jesus sought in this way to emphasize the continuity that exists between the Old and New Testaments. The Twelve are the pillars on which Christ builds his Church (Gal 2:9); their mission to make disciples of the Lord (to teach) all nations, sanctifying and governing the believers (Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:45-48; Jn 20:21-23)

The Navarre Bible: St. Mark

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Sources and Notes Index   

Notes on Mark: Healing on the Sabbath

Christ healing the man with a withered hand, Byzantine mosaic.

MARK 3:1-6
Jesus enters the synagogue and heals a man's withered hand while the Pharisees move toward final judgment. (Read it here.) Once again it comes down to the nitpicking details the Pharisees labeled holiness. Somehow "healing" just doesn't fall under the "work" label for me (although if I were a doctor or nurse that would be a whole other kettle of beans.) The Pharisees had no such qualms. This is easy to see when you know how stringent the rules were about medical care on the Sabbath.

That also makes it all the easier to see why Jesus' pulling that man to the front, asking that question, and then healing him was such an in-your-face challenge. Gotta love it, don't you? He just never backed down from the good fight. He never quit trying to get them to understand what they were doing that was wrong.

Jesus' opponents take for granted that he is able to cure and they guess, rightly, that the sight of the disabled man will move him to do so. But their only interest is in whether he will again violate their interpretation of sabbath law.

[...]

Far from being intimidated by their scrutiny, Jesus ensures that what he is about to do will be in full public view. The verb for come up, egeiro, can also be translated "rise up," and is the same word used for Jesus' resurrection in 16:6. Mark often uses it in healing stories (1:31; 2:9-12; 5:41; 10:49) to indicate that Jesus is bringing about not only physical cures but a restoration to fullness of life.

[...]

Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark gives us a glimpse of Jesus'' interior reaction: he is angry and deeply grieved at their hardness of heart. "Hardness of heart" signifies a stubborn refusal to be open to God (Jer 11:8; Ezek 3:7; Eph 4:18) ...

At Jesus' word, the man stretches out his crippled hand, and in this very act it is restored. The Pharisees' response to this deed of mercy is swift. Ironically, they answer Jesus' question by their actions: rather than choosing to do good on the sabbath, they choose to do evil and destroy life by conspiring to put him to death. ...

George Montague, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Mark

Jewish rules about healing and the Sabbath.

It was the Sabbath day; all work was forbidden and to heal was work. The Jewish law was definite and detailed about this. Medical attention could be given only if a life was in danger. To take some examples -- a woman in childbirth might be helped on the Sabbath; an infection of the throat might be treated; if a wall fell on anyone, enough might be cleared away to see whether he was dead or alive; if he was alive he might be helped, if he was dead the body must be left until the next day. A fracture could not be attended to. Cold water might no be poured on a sprained hand or foot. A cut finger might be bandaged with a plain bandage but not with ointment. That is to say, at the most an injury could be kept from getting worse; it must not be made better...

Jesus knew that. This man's life was not in the least danger. Physically he would be no worse off if he were left until tomorrow. For Jesus this was a test case, and he met it fairly and squarely. He told the man to rise and to come out of his place and stand where everyone could see him. There were probably two reasons for that. Very likely Jesus wished to make one last effort to waken sympathy for the stricken man by showing everyone his wretchedness. Quite certainly Jesus wished to take the step he was going to take in such a way that no one could possibly fail to see it.

The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

Possible historical precedents cited by Jesus.

Jesus may allude to the precedent of 1 Macc 2:41, where the Jews temporarily suspended Sabbath observance to permit defensive warfare. This was necessary in order to save life from military attacks on their sacred day of rest. If Israel could sidestep the Sabbath to preserve life, then surely Jesus can heal a man's hand on the same day.

The Gospel of Mark (The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible)

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Sources and Notes Index  

Psalm 42 — Thirsting for God

If in your intense longing for God, you hear the reviling of your enemies, do not give way to fear but know that such a longing bears an immortal fruit, and comfort your soul with hope in God. When you are uplifted by this, and earthly sorrow has been assuaged a little, say Psalm 42.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

This begins Book 2 of the psalms. Psalm 42 and 43 used to be a single hymn until they were separated to be used in the prayer book. They express a longing for restoration by God which is combined by confident trust.

Relief of Psalm 42
Tympanum above the northern side entrance of St. Thomas Church, taken by Siehe Jotquadrat

The most famous image from Psalm 42 is of the thirsting deer and also of deep calling to deep. The first is of an intense longing for God's life-giving waters. The second is the opposite of life-giving waters, being indicative of all the troubles cascading over the psalmist, tumbling him around. But in the midst of this tumbling, the psalmist notes that God still "sends" or "directs" his love. In the midst of this trouble there is a strong sign of God's presence.

Both images call on the nature imagery that I love and which convey truths about God's love and our trust that strike deep at the soul. Here St. Augustine ponders the idea of pouring out one's soul.

42:4 Pouring Out One's Soul

Transcends All Things. Augustine: I look for my God in every bodily creature, whether on earth or in the sky, but I do not find him. I look for his substance in my own soul but do not find him there. Yet still I have pondered on this search for my God and, longing to gaze on the invisible realities of God by understanding them through created things, "I poured out my soul above myself," and now there is nothing left for me to touch, except my God. For there, above my soul, is the home of my God: there he dwells, from there he looks down on me, from there he created me, from there he governs me and takes thought for me, from there he arouses me, calls me, guides me and leads me on, and from there he will lead me to journey's end. (Expositions on the Psalms 42.)

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

An index of psalm posts is here.

Notes on Mark: About the Sabbath

Jesus and his disciples walk through the corn.

MARK 2:23-28
We looked at this section last time, but this adds more nuance to the whole thing. Recall that Jesus is passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath and the hungry disciples pick and eat grains. The Pharisees are all over this like white on rice. (You can read it here.) 

Here are a few notes that add to our understanding of the nuances of this passage.

The fourth controversy, like the second, involves a meal—but this time it is a meal on the go, the ancient equivalent of fast food. Mark notes several occasions when Jesus and his disciples are so busy ministering to the throngs of people that they have no time even to eat (3:20; 6:31; 8:1).

[...]

In drawing this comparison [between himself and David], Jesus is declaring that the requirements of his messianic mission (here, his disciples' need for nourishment on the road) take precedence over the prescriptions of the law. But he is also saying more than this. Jesus is likening himself to David, and his disciples to David's loyal band of soldiers. David was the "anointed one" who had been chosen by god to lead Israel (1 Sam 16:13), but who spent years being hunted down by Saul before finally taking up his royal throng.  Like David, Jesus is the Lord's anointed one, his Messiah, pursued and persecuted by the leaders of Israel until the day when he will take up his throne. ...

George Montague, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Mark

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"Son of man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy in Dan 7:13, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates 'one like a son of man' coming down on the clouds of heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah -- such as Son of David, Messiah, etc. -- thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time.

The Navarre Bible: St. Mark

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when Abiathar was high priest: The priest who provided David with bread was actually Ahimelech, Abiathar's father (1 Sam 21:1). This apparent discrepancy causes some modern scholars to accuse Jesus of misquoting Scripture, although this conclusion is unnecessary.

Jesus probably mentioned Abiathar instead of Ahimelech to post a warning for the Pharisees. Abiathar is infamous in OT history as the last high priest of his line, who was banished from Jerusalem and the priesthood for opposing Solomon, the son of David and the heir of his kingdom (1 Kings 2:26-27). He thus represents the end of an old order that passes away with the coming of David's royal successor. As Jesus compares himself and the disciples with David and his men, he likewise draws the Pharisees into the story by casting them as figures like Abiathar. The Pharisees, then, represent an old order of covenant leadership that is about to expire, and if they persist in their opposition to Jesus, the new heir of the Davidic kingdom, they will meet the same disastrous fate that befell Abiathar. Jesus' allusion to this OT tradition was a subtle yet strategic way to caution the Pharisees against their antagonism to his ministry.

The Gospel of Mark, The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

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Sources and Notes Index 

Notes on Mark: Fasting

The Disciples Eat Wheat on the Sabbath, James Tissot

MARK 2:23-28

There are good reasons for fasting but I never understood the Pharisees' question to Jesus, as it always seemed to ask why he wasn't copying the "holy crowd." Surely that would be the last reason for doing it ... which is just what Jesus points out. This is especially true when we know more about fasting in those times.

With the stricter Jews fasting was a regular practice. In the Jewish religion there was only one day in all the year that was a compulsory fast, and that was the Day of Atonement. The day when the nation confessed and was forgiven its sin was The Fast... But the stricter Jews fasted on two days every week, on Mondays and Thursdays. It is to be noted that fasting was not as serious as it sounds, for the fast lasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and after that normal food could be eaten...

... The trouble about the Pharisees was that in far too many cases their fasting was for self-display. It was to call the attention of men to their goodness. They actually whitened their faces and went about with disheveled garments on their fast days so that no one could miss the fact that they were fasting and so that everyone would see and admire their devotion. It was to call the attention of God to their piety. They felt that this special act of extra piety would bring them to the notice of God. Their fasting was a ritual and a self-displaying ritual at that...

The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series*, rev. ed.) by William Barclay

You may recall that I brought up the Pharisees questioning the disciples about Jesus' hanging out with sinners. Now, let's take another quick look at how the question about fasting is handled.

Once again, those voicing criticism aim it indirectly, as if seeking to drive a wedge between Jesus and his followers. Where as the previous question about Jesus had been addressed to his disciples (Mark 2:16), now a question about his disciples is addressed to Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture by Mary Healy

Interesting isn't it? What I always saw as fairly straight forward questions, albeit angry ones with ulterior motives, now become something much more planned and sly. The Gospel of Mark has a subtlety that it often isn't credited with and which Healy's commentary helps me to appreciate.

* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound, as are many of his general reflections.

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: Matthew, the Tax Collector

Saint Matthew writing the Gospel
with an angel holding the volume,
an Islamic miniature c. 1530

MARK 2:13-14
Thinking of how we feel about the IRS, we can understand why Matthew was not well liked. Then add on the facts we see below, which is that tax collectors could line their own pockets with whatever they could get away with ... well, I feel the crowd's astonishment when Jesus calls Matthew to follow him.

Matthew was a well-hated man. Tax-gatherers can never be a popular section of the community, but in the ancient world they were hated. People never knew just how much they had to pay; the tax-collectors extracted from them as much as they could possibly get and lined their own pockets with the surplus that remained after the demands of the law had been met. Even a Greek writer like Lucian ranks tax-gatherers with "adulterers, panderers, flatterers and sycophants." Jesus wanted the man no one else wanted. He offered his friendship to the man whom all others would have scorned to call friend...

Of all the disciples Matthew gave up most. He literally left all to follow Jesus. Peter and Andrew, James and John could go back to the boats. There were always fish to catch and always the old trade to which to return; but Matthew burned his bridges completely...

The odd thing is that Matthew's reckless decision brought him the one thing he can least have been looking for -- it brought him immortal and world-wide fame. All men know the name of Matthew as one forever connected with the transmission of the story of Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series*, rev. ed.) by William Barclay

I'd like to note one other thing here. Mary Healy in The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture points out that although the Pharisees disapproved of Jesus, they questioned his disciples. Jesus answers because he overhears. Is this because they lack the courage to confront Jesus or because they are trying to shake the disciples' faith? An interesting point and one to consider when we ourselves are questioned similarly, as is all too common these days.

* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound, as are many of his general reflections.

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: Forgiveness is Active

Miracle of "healing the paralytic in Capernaum"

MARK 2:7

The story of the paralyzed man and his friends which we looked at last time, has a central issue being considered. The scribes ask how Jesus can forgive sins when only God can forgive. To do so is really controversial. It is saying that Jesus is God.

This also brings us to our own understanding. What is forgiveness? What does it mean to truly forgive someone?

Forgiveness, in the full New Testament sense of the term is an act and not an attitude. It is the active and embodied repairing of a broken relationship, even in the face of opposition, violence, or indifference. When a relationship is severed, each party should, in justice, do his part to reestablish the bond. Forgiveness—which of necessity transcends justice— is the bearing of the other person's burden, moving toward her even when she refuses to move an inch toward you. There is something relentless, even aggressive, about forgiveness, since it amounts to a refusal ever to give up on a relationship.

Gospel of Mark (Word on Fire), Bishop Barron commentary

Now we see why it is so startling for Jesus to forgive sin as if he were God (we know that now but they didn't at the time). He's restoring a relationship on behalf of God. It would be really presumptuous if he weren't actually God.

I really like the point about forgiveness being aggressive because it means refusing to give up on a relationship. I need to remember that myself. Forgiveness is active.

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: The Paralyzed Man and His Four Friends

James Tissot, The Palsied Man Let Down Through the Roof

MARK 2:1-12

I really love this story which emphasizes the power of friendship. Of course, there is so much more in it but without the friends' determination to get the paralyzed man to Jesus there wouldn't be this lovely picture from Jesus' ministry. Here are a few observations that struck me.

5 Jesus sees their faith and says …

Faith obviously includes works, if Jesus, in seeing their works, is said by Mark to see their faith. The audacity, ingenuity, exertion, and even willingness to face embarrassment that these men display are the visible measure of their faith. And everyone sees it, not simply Jesus.

6 There were some scribes sitting there and they are thinking to themselves …

Literally, "carrying on a dialogue in their hearts." Thinking was understood as the same as spoken dialogue, but carried on silently, in the heart.

8 So Jesus — who knows immediately in his spirit that this is how they are thinking among themselves— says to them …

Peter, narrating the story, says that Jesus "knew" what they were thinking; it was not a conjecture. He knew "in his spirit," not as an inference from sensed signs.

The description is meant to help us imagine how the scene appeared to those who were there. Jesus says to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forigven," and then, unexpectedly, he turns and addresses some of the others present. Imagine how startling it would be if your friend were standing in the middle of a crowded room speaking to one person and then suddenly turned around, looked at someone else across the room, and said, "You are wrong in what you are thinking."

The Memoirs of St. Peter

I always imagined that the scribes were whispering to each other or at least rolling their eyes (or whatever the ancient equivalent was) so that everyone knew they were in doubt. This commentary not only put me in the scene, but it made me realize just how startling Jesus' words would have been.

It makes me think of when Jesus meets Nathaniel (Gospel of John) and says that he saw him under the fig tree. This is so astounding that Nathaniel instantly acclaims him as the son of God.

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Sources and Notes Index

Notes on Mark: Leprosy

Jesus Heals the Leper by Alexandre Bida

MARK 1:40-45
I am so used to thinking of Jesus healing lepers that I really have never given a second thought as to just what leprosy is ... except that I knew there is (or used to be?) a leper colony on Hawaii and eventually bits of you would fall off. Here we have the whole agonizing description of the three types of leprosy. It gives me an entirely new appreciation for the unbelievable suffering lepers endured and the fact that Jesus was so unafraid that he would touch the lepers to make them whole.

The fate of the leper was truly hard... Let us look first at the facts.

There are three kinds of leprosy. (i) There is nodular or tubercular leprosy. It begins with an unaccountable lethargy and pains in the joints. Then there appear on the body, especially on the back, symmetrical discolored patches. On them little nodules form, at first pink, then turning brown. The skin is thickened. The nodules gather specially in the folds of the cheek, the nose, the lips and the forehead. The whole appearance of the face is changed until the man loses his human appearance and looks, as the ancients said, like a lion or satyr. The nodules grow larger and larger; they ulcerate and from them comes a foul discharge. The eye-brows fall out; the eyes become staring; the voice becomes hoarse and the breath wheezes because of the ulceration of the vocal chords. The hands and the feet also ulcerate. Slowly the sufferer becomes a mass of ulcerated growths. The average course of the disease is nine years, and it ends in mental decay, coma and ultimately death. The sufferer becomes utterly repulsive both to himself and others.

(ii) There is anesthetic leprosy. The initial stages are the same; but the nerve trunks also are affected. The infected area loses all sensation. This may happen without the sufferer knowing that it has happened; and he may not realize that it has happened until he suffers some burning or scalding and finds that there is no feeling whatsoever where pain ought to be. As the disease develops the injury to the nerves causes discolored patches and blisters. The muscles waste away; the tendons contract until the hands become like claws. There ensues chronic ulceration of the feet and of the hands and then the progressive loss of fingers and of toes, until in the end a whole hand or a whole foot may drop off. The duration of the disease is anything from twenty to thirty years. It is a kind of terrible progressive death of the body.

(iii) The third kind of leprosy is a type -- the commonest or all -- where nodular and anesthetic leprosy are mixed.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Daily Bible Series*, rev. ed.)

Now, let's think about something else -- what did the leper seek? Healing, of course. But there are many sorts of healing as we shall see. Certainly this helped me see the deeper meaning beneath the request and healing.

In approaching Jesus, the leper makes a bold move. Not only does he violate the strictures of the law, but he risks encountering the familiar reaction of horror and revulsion at the sight of a leper. He kneels, a sign of both supplication and reverence (Ps 22:30; 95:6). His plea, If you wish, shows his utter confidence in Jesus' power. Significantly, he does not ask Jesus to heal him but to make him clean. His deepest desire is to be free once again to partake in the worship of God's people.

[...]

Jesus tells the cleansed man to show himself to a priest and offer the sacrifice prescribed for cleansing from leprosy (see Lev 14) ... The prescribed rite was to take two clean birds, one to be sacrificed and the other, dipped in the blood of the first, to fly away free (Lev 14:3-7). If the man complied with Jesus' word, he might have discovered a symbolic image foreshadowing Jesus' own sacrifice and helping him understand more deeply what Jesus had done for him. But for now, he is unable to contain his delight. ...

Gospel of Mark, The

(Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) by Mary Healy

* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound, as are many of his general reflections.

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Sources and Notes Index 

Notes on Mark: Jesus' Assault on the Powers of Darkness

Exorcism, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

MARK 1:21-28

I knew all these facts, of course, but until reading this concise summary of Jesus' announcement of the kingdom and his attack on evil, it never all came together being shown a planned progression (so to speak). But once I was shown, it was so obvious. So it is not Mark that is simple, it is my reading of his work. (That's a tune we'll be singing throughout the book ... he's a much smarter cookie than he gets credit for.) I like the points made in the reflection also because it makes me think of Jesus as our shepherd. He appears on the scene and begins swiping the wolves away from his sheep. And we clearly need it.

The call of the first disciples is followed by Jesus' first miraculous work, an exorcism. By this act Jesus' announcement of the kingdom (v. 15) becomes dramatically perceptible and concrete. Throughout the public ministry mark shows Jesus' progressive dismantling of the powers of darkness, the advancement of his assault on Satan's kingdom that began with the temptation in the desert (1:13; see 3:23-27).

[...]

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION: The story of Jesus' first exorcism portrays the forces of evil in a way that may appear to readers today as strikingly personal. For Mark, as for the whole New Testament, evil is not an impersonal force but is concentrated in invisible, malevolent beings who are bent on destroying human beings and hindering God's plan of salvation. These evil spirits are responsible for various mental and even physical maladies (7:25; 9:17-27; see Matt 12:22; Luke 13:11). Some exegetes, nothing that the Gospels do not always clearly distinguish between illness and demonic possession, have concluded that the references to demons are simply a mythical way of symbolizing the misfortunes to which human beings are prone. The Church has always taught, however, that demons are real spiritual beings, fallen angels who were created by God but became evil by their own free choice (Catechism, 391-95). Anyone tempted to dismiss accounts of demons as fables does not have to look far to see evidence of their influence today. Such phenomena as "racial cleansing," group suicides, and the sexual abuse of children show a more than merely human malice at work, seeking to destroy the image of God in man. But as frightening and real as is the power of demons, the authority of Christ is infinitely superior. Through his cross and resurrection, Christ definitively conquered the powers of hell. For the present time, however, their malicious actions are permitted by God, who is able to good out of every evil (Rom 8:28). The grace of baptism affords us protection from demons and the strength to resist their seductive influence.

Gospel of Mark, The
(Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) by Mary Healy

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Sources and Notes Index 

Notes on Mark: The Scribes

Ephraim Moses Lilien (1874–1925)
A scribe, wearing a traditional Middle Eastern costume of robe and turban,
sews together pieces of parchment of a Torah scroll.

MARK 1:21, 22
Having seen how the Torah was viewed, we can now see why the scribes were so important. Someone had to tell everybody what was right and wrong for everyday living. After reading about how the scribes' systems worked it is clear why Jesus' teachings were so startling.

To give this study [of the Torah] ... a class of scholars arose. These were the Scribes, the experts in the law. The title of the greatest of them was Rabbi. The scribes had three duties.

(i) They set themselves, out of the great moral principles of the Torah, to extract rules and regulations for every possible situation in life. Obviously this was a task that was as endless...

(ii) It was the task of the scribes to transmit and to teach the law and its developments. These deduced and extracted rules and regulations were never written down; they are known as the Oral Law. Although never written down they were considered to be even more binding than the written law. From generation to generation of scribes they were taught and committed to memory...

(iii) The scribes had the duty of giving judgment in individual cases; and, in the nature of things, practically every individual case must have produced a new law.

Wherein did Jesus' teaching differ so much from the teaching of the Scribes? He taught with personal authority. No Scribe ever gave a decision on his own. He would always begin, "There is a teaching that ..." and would then quote all his authorities. If he made a statement he would buttress it with this, that, and the next quotation from the next great legal masters of the past. The last thing he ever gave was an independent judgment.

Reading about how the scribes gave the decisions made me flash on all the times that Jesus would say, "You have heard it said ... But I say to you..." and then give his own personal teaching with a definite air of authority. No wonder everyone was blown away!

All excerpts in this post are from: The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.) by William Barclay


* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound.

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Sources and Notes Index 

Notes on Mark: The Law

An opened Torah scroll

MARK 1:21, 22
It is important to understand what perspective the Jews had that they heard Jesus' teachings as such a revelation ... and not like the scribes. First we must look at how they viewed the Torah (the Law).

To the Jews the most sacred thing in the world was the Torah, the Law. The core of the law is the Ten Commandments, but the Law was taken to mean the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, as they are called. To the Jews this Law was completely divine. It had, so they believed been given direct by God to Moses. It was absolutely holy and absolutely binding. They said, "He who says that the Torah is not from God has not part in the future world." "He who says that Moses wrote even one verse of his own knowledge is a denier and despiser of the word of God."

If the Torah is so divine two things emerge. First, it must be the supreme rule of faith and life; and second, it must contain everything necessary to guide and to direct life. If that be so the Torah demands two things. First, it must obviously be given the most careful and meticulous study. Second, the Torah is expressed in great, wide principles; but, if it contains direction and guidance for all life, what is in it implicitly must be brought out. The great laws must become rules and regulations -- so their argument ran.

All excerpts in this post are from: The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.) by William Barclay


* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound.

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Sources and Notes Index 

Notes on Mark: The Synagogue

Ancient synagogue in Magdala, Israel.

MARK 1:21, 22
I read this and realized that I have a tendency to think of the synagogue as just the local version of a church with the Temple being the big "headquarters" in Jerusalem. Not so at all as William Barclay points out.

There are certain basic differences between the synagogue and the church as we know it today.

(a) The synagogue was primarily a teaching institution. The synagogue service consisted of only three things -- prayer, the reading of God's word, and the exposition of it. There was no music, no singing and no sacrifice. It may be said that the Temple was the place of worship and sacrifice; the synagogue was the place of teaching and instruction. The synagogue was by far the more influential, for there was only one Temple. But the law laid it down that wherever there were ten Jewish families there must be a synagogue, and, therefore, wherever there was a colony of Jews, there was a synagogue. If a man had a new message to preach, the synagogue was the obvious place in which to preach it.

(b) The synagogue provided an opportunity to deliver such a message. The synagogue had certain officials.

• There was the Ruler of the synagogue. He was responsible for the administration of the affairs of the synagogue and for the arrangements for its services.
  
  
• There were the distributors of alms. Daily a collection was taken in cash and in kind from those who could afford to give. It was then distributed to the poor; the very poorest were given food for fourteen meals per week.
  
  
• There was the Chazzan... He was responsible for the taking out and storing away of the sacred rolls on which scripture was written; for the cleaning of the synagogue; for the blowing of the blasts on the silver trumpet which told people that the Sabbath had come; for the elementary education of the children of the community.

One thing the synagogue had not and that was a permanent preacher or teacher. When the people met at the synagogue service it was open to the Ruler to call on any competent person to give the address and the exposition. There was no professional ministry whatsoever. That is why Jesus was able to open his campaign in the synagogues. The opposition had not yet stiffened into hostility. He was known to be a man with a message; and for that very reason the synagogue of every community provided him with a pulpit from which to instruct and to appeal to men.

All excerpts in this post are from: The Gospel of Mark (The Daily Bible Series*, rev. ed.) by William Barclay


* Not a Catholic source and one which can have a wonky theology at times, but Barclay was renowned for his authority on life in ancient times and that information is sound.

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Sources and Notes Index