Mark 1
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,
37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
One of the curiosities of the gospels is the inclusion by Mark of the so-called "messianic secret." Throughout Mark, Jesus either conceals his identity, instructs others to conceal his identity, or makes himself scarce. This is unexpected behavior in a Messiah, who has presumably arrived to complete a special, and very public, task.
Notice that the disciples have to find their lord, and come close to rebuking him. "Everyone is looking for you." The very next story tells us about a leper who finds Jesus, and is healed.
One of the mysteries of faith is that we have to seek out God. This has been a stumbling block to atheists and agnostics for centuries. Why should the creation have to seek out the Creator?
Mark does not answer that question for us, but instead suggests a truth about faith. Those who do make the effort to seek out Jesus will be rewarded. In this incident, the leper is physically healed. In the ancient world, physical healings were demonstrative of a transformation in the soul's condition. Jesus made him clean, not simply on the outside, but also on the inside.
Throughout the centuries, Christian mystics have reminded us that the search for God will lead inward. Seeking the Holy One requires a pure heart. Paradoxically, it is the Holy One who heals our hearts, providing the conditions by which it can be pure.
About Me
- Scott Rushing
- I am a graduate student in Christian theology at Baylor University. The Paradosis blog is a forum for sharing my reflections about the Church Fathers, Tradition, Baptist Life, and Spiritual Formation.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Lent Reflection: God is Love
Psalm 48
9 We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
10 As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
During the season of Lent, it is easy to focus on penitence and mourning -- so much so that we forget to praise God and remember His steadfast love. Penitence, or the act of repenting, is a movement of the soul back towards God, from whom we have turned away. God is worthy of our praise, because God is love.
Dante meditated on the doctrine that God is love while writing the Paradiso. God is the cause of love, and creation is an act of love. God generates love in Himself, and causes this love in us. God's love circulates through the universe like blood through the body.
Our acts of penitence are acts of love that circulate back to the Creator. The love that we demonstrate to ourselves and to each other participates in God's love.
May we remember the depths of God's love in our penance --and in our praise -- this season of Lent.
in the midst of your temple.
10 As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
During the season of Lent, it is easy to focus on penitence and mourning -- so much so that we forget to praise God and remember His steadfast love. Penitence, or the act of repenting, is a movement of the soul back towards God, from whom we have turned away. God is worthy of our praise, because God is love.
Dante meditated on the doctrine that God is love while writing the Paradiso. God is the cause of love, and creation is an act of love. God generates love in Himself, and causes this love in us. God's love circulates through the universe like blood through the body.
Our acts of penitence are acts of love that circulate back to the Creator. The love that we demonstrate to ourselves and to each other participates in God's love.
May we remember the depths of God's love in our penance --and in our praise -- this season of Lent.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Lent Reflection: Foolishness of the Cross
1 Corinthians 1:18-19
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
In Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir expresses dismay about a plan that requires a small band of nine travelers to journey into Mordor, home of the dark lord Sauron and his murderous army of orcs, for the purpose of destroying the one ring of power. Going into Mordor, even with an army of thousands of soldiers, would be folly. Many lives would be destroyed by such a trek. Boromir slowly loses hope that the fellowship can accomplish its goal. Its failure would surely lead to the doom of Middle-Earth.
As a young man, Paul rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. God's Messiah, put to death on the cross as a common criminal? Folly. That was not the expectation of first century Jews. They expected a Messiah who would deliver them from the hands of the Romans. Jesus did not defeat the Romans, he was himself defeated. But when his eyes were opened to the truth of Jesus' resurrection, Paul became a new man. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus' crucifixion, and heard a familiar refrain from both Jews and Gentiles: It is folly. Where is the wisdom in worshiping a God who cannot save His only Son from execution?
As we journey towards the cross this Lent, we hear the echoes of rejection and folly that have reverberated down through the centuries. According to the world, the gospel is folly. But for those of us who are experiencing the life changing power of the cross, it is a gift of God.
In death we see divine wisdom, which upsets human reason. Reason suggests that the way to defeat Sauron is by force of army. But a higher wisdom was at work in The Lord of the Rings. Two small hobbits, operating clandestinely, smuggled the ring into enemy territory so that it could be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Boromir was right: not with 10,000 men could this be accomplished. It was folly. Yet, evil was overcome, in the most unlikely of ways.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
In Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir expresses dismay about a plan that requires a small band of nine travelers to journey into Mordor, home of the dark lord Sauron and his murderous army of orcs, for the purpose of destroying the one ring of power. Going into Mordor, even with an army of thousands of soldiers, would be folly. Many lives would be destroyed by such a trek. Boromir slowly loses hope that the fellowship can accomplish its goal. Its failure would surely lead to the doom of Middle-Earth.
As a young man, Paul rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. God's Messiah, put to death on the cross as a common criminal? Folly. That was not the expectation of first century Jews. They expected a Messiah who would deliver them from the hands of the Romans. Jesus did not defeat the Romans, he was himself defeated. But when his eyes were opened to the truth of Jesus' resurrection, Paul became a new man. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus' crucifixion, and heard a familiar refrain from both Jews and Gentiles: It is folly. Where is the wisdom in worshiping a God who cannot save His only Son from execution?
As we journey towards the cross this Lent, we hear the echoes of rejection and folly that have reverberated down through the centuries. According to the world, the gospel is folly. But for those of us who are experiencing the life changing power of the cross, it is a gift of God.
In death we see divine wisdom, which upsets human reason. Reason suggests that the way to defeat Sauron is by force of army. But a higher wisdom was at work in The Lord of the Rings. Two small hobbits, operating clandestinely, smuggled the ring into enemy territory so that it could be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Boromir was right: not with 10,000 men could this be accomplished. It was folly. Yet, evil was overcome, in the most unlikely of ways.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lent Reflection: Ecclesial Unity
John 17:20-26
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
There are many reasons why I am an advocate of Lenten practices in church. Jesus' prayer, located in John's gospel, ranks supreme on such a hypothetical list. By partaking in Lent, and other seasons on the church calendar, we are reminded that the local congregation participates in the holy, apostolic, catholic, and orthodox Church. Administratively and doctrinally we may remain separated in too many ways, but in faith we claim and seek the unity of Christ's body. Engaging in the traditions of the Church, including Lent, is one practical aid in helping us to realize Jesus' prayer.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Lent Reflection: On Friendship
Philippians 4:1-9
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
I have thinking about friendship this week. My best man called out of the blue on Sunday evening to catch up on our lives. Eric and I first became friends on the first day of school in 7th grade. For 25 years we have maintained our friendship. I have little doubt that Eric knows more about my what makes me tick that anyone outside of my dad and my wife. Our friendship has persevered despite the fact that we have not lived in the same city since 1992.
For today's Great Texts class meeting, I assigned my students to read Book 8 of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. The Philosopher, as Thomas Aquinas simply referred to him, classified three kinds of friendship. There are friendship of utility and of pleasure. In these kinds of friendship, we are attracted to someone because of the affection they give to us. They provide some good to us that is useful or pleasant to us. Most friendships fall into this category. They are not permanent, but last for a season.
The third kind of friendship is between those who not only receive good from the other, but wish for the other's good. True friends encourage each other towards virtue and excellence in their personal and civic endeavors. These friendships are exceedingly rare, because it is based on equality of means and goods.
At the end of class, I challenged my students to consider friendship in the light of the Christian gospel. Is there a theology of friendship? Perhaps Paul had Aristotle in mind when he asked the Philippians, true companions whom he loves and longs for, to help Euodia and Syntyche. A true friend encourages his friends to contemplate things that are just and excellent. Paul offers a model of Christian friendship that seems complimentary to Aristotle's vision of persons helping each other towards virtue and excellence, for the benefit of the community.
Aristotle did not conceive of an individual pursuit towards virtue. Such activity was intrinsically communal. Similarly, Paul did not conceive of Christians individually pursuing discipleship. The Church is the corporate body of believers led by the Spirit of love, not a voluntary association of individuals seeking solitary goods.
This Lent, let us meditate on our need for friendship, as we journey together towards the cross.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Lent Reflection: When God Breaks a Promise
Psalm 37:32-34
32 The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
Psalm 37 is a promise from God to the Hebrews that they would never be forsaken. The psalmist recognizes that the world is unjust. There are numerous observations that the wicked have, and the righteous do not. Despite the injustice of the world, the Hebrew people are exhorted to trust in God, who will act on their behalf.
Such faith must have seemed foolish for the disciples on Good Friday. On that day, the wicked put the most righteous man ever to live on trial, and he was condemned to death. What good are God's promises if even His Son doesn't get an answer?
Jennifer asked these same questions when her friend, a thirty-something wife and mother, died of breast cancer. Where was God during her suffering?
My impulse is to quickly point to the resurrection as God's final answer to injustice and suffering. But even then, God did not act immediately. Jesus did not rise immediately after dying. The tomb was not emptied until Sunday.
There is a time when we have to sit and wait for God to act. And during this time, it is appropriate for us to ask the hard questions of God. The psalms do not shy away from such interrogations of the Creator. Even Jesus, quoting Psalm 22, questioned the Father while on the cross: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Yes, the resurrection is coming. Easter is on its way. But I am reminded that there is a time when we must watch as the wicked prosper, and the righteous suffer. There is a time when God is silent, and we want so desperately for Him to speak. Let us sit in that silence, and wait together.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
Psalm 37 is a promise from God to the Hebrews that they would never be forsaken. The psalmist recognizes that the world is unjust. There are numerous observations that the wicked have, and the righteous do not. Despite the injustice of the world, the Hebrew people are exhorted to trust in God, who will act on their behalf.
Such faith must have seemed foolish for the disciples on Good Friday. On that day, the wicked put the most righteous man ever to live on trial, and he was condemned to death. What good are God's promises if even His Son doesn't get an answer?
Jennifer asked these same questions when her friend, a thirty-something wife and mother, died of breast cancer. Where was God during her suffering?
My impulse is to quickly point to the resurrection as God's final answer to injustice and suffering. But even then, God did not act immediately. Jesus did not rise immediately after dying. The tomb was not emptied until Sunday.
There is a time when we have to sit and wait for God to act. And during this time, it is appropriate for us to ask the hard questions of God. The psalms do not shy away from such interrogations of the Creator. Even Jesus, quoting Psalm 22, questioned the Father while on the cross: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Yes, the resurrection is coming. Easter is on its way. But I am reminded that there is a time when we must watch as the wicked prosper, and the righteous suffer. There is a time when God is silent, and we want so desperately for Him to speak. Let us sit in that silence, and wait together.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday
Psalm 102: 9-11
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
I forget this when Ash Wednesday rolls around every year, but am quickly reminded that the ash itches. It tickles my forehead. I am constantly reminded that it is there, even though my eyes cannot see it. It is as if the ash is tugging at me to be touched...scratched...caressed even.
Going back to the ancient Hebrews, ashes have long been symbolic of repentance. Ashes are uncomfortable, and so is repentance. It would be easy for me to wash my face right now and be rid of the mark. But I need this reminder that my soul needs attention. During the season of Lent, the Church invites us to examine ourselves, and give attention to our souls. This requires hard work and discipline. Lent is a time of prayer and fasting, because those are the tried and true methods by which we are changed.
Jesus challenged us to take up our crosses and follow him. Wearing this ash for a few hours once a year is a small reminder that the world does not revolve around me. I am constantly obsessed with myself and my own needs. That is my cross to bear. The call to discipleship requires that I move beyond myself and my petty wants and desires. The "old man" needs to be crucified, so that a new and resurrected man, in Christ, can go forth and glorify Him.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
I forget this when Ash Wednesday rolls around every year, but am quickly reminded that the ash itches. It tickles my forehead. I am constantly reminded that it is there, even though my eyes cannot see it. It is as if the ash is tugging at me to be touched...scratched...caressed even.
Going back to the ancient Hebrews, ashes have long been symbolic of repentance. Ashes are uncomfortable, and so is repentance. It would be easy for me to wash my face right now and be rid of the mark. But I need this reminder that my soul needs attention. During the season of Lent, the Church invites us to examine ourselves, and give attention to our souls. This requires hard work and discipline. Lent is a time of prayer and fasting, because those are the tried and true methods by which we are changed.
Jesus challenged us to take up our crosses and follow him. Wearing this ash for a few hours once a year is a small reminder that the world does not revolve around me. I am constantly obsessed with myself and my own needs. That is my cross to bear. The call to discipleship requires that I move beyond myself and my petty wants and desires. The "old man" needs to be crucified, so that a new and resurrected man, in Christ, can go forth and glorify Him.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Blog Recommendation
Todd Pylant, a Texas Baptist pastor, has written a blog post introducing Ash Wednesday for Baptists. I recommend it to all of my family and friends who are confused about why so many Protestants have begun practicing Lenten disciplines.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)