The Good Word

We have seen four stories that follow in a certain logic upon the first prediction of the passion resurrection conditions of discipleship the Transfiguration the mystery of Elijah who restores all things and the faith to call upon Jesus in prayer for healing We continued with the second

Still in Galilee Jesus predicts his suffering and resurrection a second time here as earlier and later he says he will die and rise as the Son of Man i e the person the OT has said would suffer then be glorified and would finally be judge of the world Messiah Lord Savior

The first series of stories after the first passion prediction finishes with a story of the healing of a boy possessed by a demon The beginning of this story continues Jesus descent from the mount of Transfiguration The lengthy story is quite picturesque with a number of places dedicated to

Mark has divided his work literarily now into three units each headed by Jesus prophecy that he will be killed and will rise from the dead In the first literary unit these is the Transfiguration story which we spoke of in no 27 There are two more stories to hear now The first has to do w

We notice now that Mark records three predictions by Jesus of his passion death and resurrection 8 31 9 31 10 33-34 From a literary point of view each of these three predictions serves as a heading for the stories which follow it That is each of the stories in each of the three groupin

With the announcement of Jesus death comes the serious news that Jesus disciple must be ready to carry his own cross and follow Jesus It is particularly for this news that Mark writes his Gospel He struggles to clarify the identity of Jesus now revealed as one destined to be killed but t

I want to thread this small reflection through the response to the psalm on All Saints Day Lord this is the people that longs to see your face The question emerging is how much we long for this experience how deep is our active desire for it both as individuals and as a Christian people Wh

As noted in Mark24 Mark has brought his reader to the point where he can put the question Who do you say I am The first 8 chapters of the Gospel its sayings and deeds are the basis for any judgment by Jesus friends enemies and followers We never forget that Mark s reader in Rome alre

1 Thessalonians is the earliest letter of Paul the Apostle of which we are aware and so the earliest written document of the Church Last Sunday s second reading began with the short salutation from Paul Silvanus and Timothy to the Church in Thessalonica ending with the simple grace 1

After the stories about the cures of gentiles and the feeding of gentiles Mark has Jesus return to Israel and Galilee by boat Jesus sudden remark that his disciples must guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod is totally misunderstood by Jesus companions They t