Day 8 of Advent, 12/10/23: The Gospel of the Son of God (Mk 1:1)

"The beginning of the good news (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God" (Mk 1:1).

What is the good news to me? Who is the King of my life? Confronting the Powers That Be by Bishop Barron.

We Christians are so familiar with the gospel/good news, such as John 3:16, without realizing the original context. When the apostles used the term evangelion, i.e. good news, it was typically used to describe a military victory by the Emperor, who sent out "evangelists" with this good news.

Also, "Son of God" was a title claimed by Caesar. But the apostles insisted that only Christ is the Son of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, which would be a direct challenge to the authority and the powers and principalities of the world.

The good news of the Son of God is the most subversive message, and not necessarily a feel good message that will be welcomed by many, especially by those in positions of power and privilege.

What is God's message for us? Sun, 3/29/2020

These are my thoughts and reflections, primarily from the comments and questions after the sermon on Sunday (3/29/2020): Create Peace, not Fear or Anger (Mark 6:34-46).

• Nianzu asked, "What is God's message to us at this time of the coronavirus pandemic?" My spontaneous reply was that God's message to each person is different. What do you think God's message is to you?

• Defi said, "Feed your faith, not your fear." How true.

• Jim's reply to Michael's question about what Jacob needed to struggle with God and man was, "Though God saves us, we still need to struggle for we still have sin in us." (My paraphrase of Jim's answer.)

• Yohan's comment, which reminded me of his book Reclaiming our Political Roots, was sad yet true: "The heroes and first responders in times of crisis in the past used to be Christians, the Christian hospitals and the churches, but today it is the government."

• Whitney commented and and asked a question about how non-Christians might perceive a Christian's lack of fear as arrogance and bravado.

• Elena commented that Herod's banquet of unlimited high end booze and top notch food sounded better than Jesus' simple fish and loaves...

• Both Adrian and Chris commented how apt this text spoke relevantly to our current situation,

Thanks to all who participated and contributed to a lively exchange after the sermon.

Jesus' Response to the Murder of John the Baptist

Jesus Responds to a Horrific Murder (Mark 6:7-32) 

"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mk 6:31b).

v  How do you respond when a very good person you love is brutally beheaded by an evil person?

v  How did Jesus respond when his cousin John the Baptist was murdered by a drunken despot?

v  How did Jesus fulfill his role as a good shepherd when under enormous pressure to respond to a bad shepherd?

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve (6:7-13)

1.    By sending out the Twelve two by two (Mk 6:7), how many teaching/preaching voices would there be (Mk 6:6b)?

2.    What would Jesus' instructions teach them (Mk 6:8-9)? Who would they need on their mission?

3.    What did Jesus teach them about failure (Mk 6:10-11)? What does "shake the dust off your feet" teach them? If they are bent on success, are they in the right business?

4.    What was their primary proclamation (Mk 6:12)? What did they do (Mk 6:13)?

Herod and the Horrific Murder of John the Baptist (6:14-29)

1.    Why was John put in prison (Mk 6:17-18)? Why did Herod protect John and like to listen to him (Mk 6:20)?

2.    Who were Herod's dinner guests (Mk 6:21)? Notice that 3 classes of people were invited. What kind of people were they? Who do they represent?

3.    Why (Mk 6:19) and how did Herodias manipulate a banquet into a murder scene (Mk 6:22-25)? Why didn't/couldn't Herod back down from his drunken oath (Mk 6:26-28)?

4.    How was John regarded (Mk 11:32; Lk 3:15; 20:1-8)? Why did his disciples gather around him (Mk 6:30)? Why were so many people coming and going (Mk 6:31a)? What do you do when a relative of your leader is murdered?

5.   How did Jesus regard John the Baptist (Mt 11:11; Lk 7:28)? How did he respond to his murder (31b-32, 33-44)?

6.    Did John's brutal beheading (6:14-29) disrupt the mission of the Twelve (6:7-13, 30-31)? What can we learn here?

The outline and setting of the emergence of Jesus the good shepherd in Mk 6:7-52 are:

1. Jesus sends out the twelve (6:7-13)
2. Herod and John [and the ministry of Jesus] (6:14-20)
3. Herod the bad shepherd feeds the powerful [at a banquet of death] (6:21-29)
4. The twelve return to Jesus (6:30-32)
5. Jesus the good shepherd feeds his flock [at a banquet of life] (6:33-43)
6. Jesus, as shepherd, leads his disciples and creates "still water" for them (6:43-52)

See & Hear in 2019 & 2020

See Jesus More Clearly in 2019; Hear our Good Shepherd in 2020 (12/19/2019)

2019: "Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes…and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:25).

2020: "The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

A wholesome Christian requires orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right practices) and osteopathy (right emotions / feelings). Since I became a Christian in 1980, I focused exclusively on orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Once I even said to my wife to her chagrin, "Feelings don't matter." It took me 3 decades to realize the error and distastefulness of my insensitive statement. So in my attempts to rectify myself…

See Jesus More Clearly (Mark 8:22-25; 10:46-52)

"He took the blind man... When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?' He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.' Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:23-25). "'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, 'Rabbi, I want to see.' 'Go,' said Jesus, 'your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road." (Mk 10:51-52).

Getting Jesus Right (Mark 1:1; 15:39; 8:29)

"The beginning of the good news (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God" (Mk 1:1). "And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, 'Surely (Truly) this man was the Son of God'" (Mk 15:39). "But who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8:29). ["Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God'" (Mk 3:11).]

What's the big deal about getting Jesus right? What's a downright scary verse in the Bible? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!" (Mt 7:21-23).

18) The Beginning (Mark 15:37-16:7)

"The resurrection was as inconceivable for the 1st disciples, as impossible for them to believe, as it is for many of us today. The people of Jesus' day were not predisposed to believe in resurrection any more than we are." 216

"If you can't dance and you long to dance, in the resurrection you'll dance perfectly. If you're lonely, in the resurrection you will have perfect love. If you're empty, in the resurrection you will be fully satisfied." 223

Intro: In every messianic movement in Israel, the messianic leader was killed and the movement collapsed. But after Jesus' death, Christianity spread through the entire Roman empire in 300 years. What caused the explosive growth in Christianity after its founder's death?

17) The End (Mark 14:53-15:39)

"Christianity is the only religious faith that says that God himself actually suffered, actually cried out in suffering." Tim Keller, King's Cross, 208

"If you see Jesus losing the infinite love of his Father out of his infinite love for you, it will melt your hardness." 210

"Spiritual darkness comes when we turn away from God as our true light and make something else the center of our life." 203
"When you are in spiritual darkness, although you may feel your life is headed in the right direction, you are actually profoundly disoriented." 203

"Also, if you center on anything but God, you suffer a loss of identity. Your identity will be fragile and insecure... It's based on human approval. It's based on how well you perform. You don't really know who you are. In the darkness you can't see yourself." 204