Next Step(s)

It's appropriate that our next step on this journey with the Gospel of Mark is serving at the Next Step Shelter.

Below is our virtual sign up sheet (I'll update the chart regularly).  You can let me know in the comment section below which day you'd like to volunteer or you can email me at:

brandon-duran@centralunionchurch.org.

Each meal service can accommodate about 4-6 people from the "Marking the Way" group.  We're partnering with the Community Ministry of CUC as they have a steady relationship with the Next Step Shelter.  There are several members of the "Marking the Way" group who have served at the shelter before so they have help show others the ropes.

The meal starts at 6:30p and it would be good to arrive sometime between 5:30p and 6:00p.  Let me know if and when you can serve or if you have any ideas or questions.

2/9/16 - Val, Carl
3/8/16 - Brandon, Anuhea
4/12/ 16 - Brandon, Val

(last updated 1/13/16)

Directions from Ken:

The monthly meal takes place in the OHA Warehouse, located on a huge barren lot between the UH Medical School and the Foreign Trade Zone on the makai side of Ala Moana Blvd.; easiest to enter from the east-side, through the oceanside extension of Ward Avenue, so keep going past JABSCOM (med school) on the left, and take the last open entry drive on the left, just prior to the exit street on the right, going back to Ala Moana Blvd.

Go all the way to the end of the large Warehouse, located close to the ocean rock barrier, and circle around the building counterclockwise, and come back toward the mountains; you'll no doubt see our white CUC van and parked cars next to a large industrial-sized loading area; be careful of children playing in the paved area.

Session 13: Class Notes

Wow!  I have really enjoyed this journey with you all.  Thank you for your wisdom, your wit, your inquiries and offerings of food and ideas.

Here are the notes from Mark 16, our final session of "Marking the Way."

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Mark 16:1-7 - Women at the Tomb

The ones who remainder at the cross are the ones who come first to the tomb after the Sabbath.  Here are a few insights to consider as we approach the tomb with the Mary, Mary, and Salome (sounds a little like a band).

• Mark (and the other three canonical gospels) report that it was the women who first discovered the empty tomb.  This is significant as the women were told to testify to what they had seen.  Many teachers in first century Judaism considered a woman's testimony to be inadmissible in court as it was not considered trustworthy.  The spirit makes a special point in chipping away at patriarchy and elevating the role and status of women.

  

  "The Empty Tomb" by He Qi

• The women brought spices to anoint the body properly for burial.  Does this imply that Joseph of Arimathea did not bury Jesus properly?  If so it would be a final insult and humiliation in that Jesus' body is not even given a proper burial.
• Who is Salome?  Is this the same Salome that danced before Herod and had John the Baptist beheaded?  Salome is only mentioned twice in the gospel of Mark, present at the crucifixion in 15:40 and here in chapter 16 (the girl who danced for Herod is never named, we assume that her name was Salome because the historian Josephus tells us that Herod had a stepdaughter named Salome).  The text itself tells us little about this woman.  The Gospel of John says that present at the crucifixion was the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Some traditions have interpreted Salome therefore to be Jesus' aunt.  In the Gospel of Matthew it says that the mother of James and John (the sons of thunder) was present at the crucifixion so another tradition sees Salome as Zebedee's wife and the mother of James and John.  Short answer, we don't know.

The Man in White

The women come to the tomb expecting to find the body of Jesus and instead they encounter a young man.  Who is this guy hanging out in a tomb?  Two prominent theories:

An Angel

While the character is never called an angel there are several good reasons for applying the label.

• His dress seems to mirror the shining other worldly clothes of Jesus at the transfiguration.
• The gospels of Matthew and John both directly refer to the one at the tomb as an angel.
• The young man has a message and the word angel literally means "messenger."
• The young man greets the women with the words, "Do not be alarmed" which is the first sentence of most angelic appearances in the scripture.

The Naked Guy

Mark doesn't shy away from talking about spiritual beings so if this was an angel why doesn't he just say it?  Maybe he is something else.  Well the phrase "young man" only appears twice in Mark.

• Remember the "young man" who gets scared when Jesus is arrested and runs away so fast that he loses his clothes?  In that story we see the young man as a symbol of all of the disciples and the shame they carry in deserting Jesus.  Is what we're seeing here a restoration of that disciple (and by extension all disciples) not by his own doing but by the resurrection of Jesus?
• The young man who lost his linen cloth is now wearing white robes.  The purification or changing of clothes was a common symbol of God's holiness restoring or sanctifying a person.

The Message

Whatever the identity of our young man in white, his message has a few insights for reflection.

• The Nazarene: Once again we see Mark's focus on the geographical area of Jesus' hometown.  He is not called Jesus, the Messiah, or Jesus the Son of Man or God, but Jesus the Nazarene.  Mark is very clear that Jesus was rooted in a particular time and place.
• The Disciples and Peter: Why single Peter out?  Perhaps it was to mirror the desertion narrative.  In a general way it says that the disciples left but in a very specific way it outlines Peter's denial and desertion.  Perhaps this is an intentional restoration.  Another theory is that Mark was a companion of Peter and this was a way of singling out his friend and companion.  While the name Mark pops up a few times in the new testament (eg Acts and 2 Timothy) none of these seem to be referring to a companion of Peter and there is no evidence that any of the Mark's referenced were the author of this gospel.
• Begin Again: The young man instructs the women to go to Galilee.  Galilee is not only the hometown region of Jesus, it is also symbolically the beginning.  The young man is sending them back to where it all started and says that there, at the beginning they will see Jesus.  Mark 1 speaks of the beginning with a simple invitation from Jesus, "Follow me."

Choose Your Own Adventure!

Do you remember the choose your own adventure books where the story presented you with choices and the story changed based on the decisions you made?  Well, this isn't quite like that but there is a sort of choice here.

Check out Mark 16:8

"So they (the women) went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid."

And scene!  Wait what...?

Is that really how the book ends, with a reversal of the Messianic Secret (ie when Jesus told people not to talk about him that's all they ended up doing and now that the women are told to talk about Jesus they totally clam up?!)?

Well, there are actually a couple different ending options.

• Option 1: Yep, verse 8 is the end of the book.  The oldest and most trustworthy source texts (Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus) end at verse 8.
• Option 2: Well...verse 8 is the ending we have but really Mark either intended on writing more or did write more and it was lost somehow.
• Option 3: One ancient source (again not as old as the main sources for Mark) includes an 8b which says the women did say something and includes a final charge from Jesus that sounds very similar to the Great Commission in Matthew.
• Option 4: A couple of sources (yep younger) include a longer ending of Mark that includes some post resurrection appearances by Jesus (one that sounds a lot like the Road to Emmaus story in Luke), some odd promises about poison and snakes, and an ascension story.

I'm partial to Option 1, here's why:

• Option 2 doesn't seem very helpful.  If the real ending was lost there isn't much we can do about it now.
• The shorter ending in Option 3 seems a little too neat and tidy for me, plus the Greek diction doesn't quite match the rest of the book of Mark.
• So much of the material in Option 4 does not match thematically or in language to the rest of Mark.  Some parts, like the thing about the snakes and the poison, is a direct contradiction to other parts in Mark (see 8:11-12).

While I find flaws in the other options, the main reason I like Option 1 is because of the question it asks.

Will the women go and tell the disciples?  Will they go back to Galilee, back to the beginning?  Will they see Jesus there?  And what will happen when he invites them yet again to come and follow?  Now that they know how the life of Jesus plays out; now that they see what it means to drink from the cup he drinks; now that they know what the Messiah is all about and how one lives as God's beloved; now that they see where the path of Jesus goes and the people you meet along the way; and now that they know what it means to follow him, will they do it?  The invitation is to begin again and it is to begin anew.

All throughout the Gospel of Mark we've heard the theme of discipleship echoed in the familiar refrain, "Come follow me."  In each narrative scene the invitation has been extended to various characters and also to us.  Each time we've read the words of Jesus to a person in the story, the Holy  Spirit has echoed those words to us.  When we read the Bible, the Bible reads us.

The hanging question for the women is turned and presented to us.  Will we go back to where it began with a simple invitation?  Will we tell others of what we've heard and seen and experienced?  Now that we have a better picture of what it means to follow Jesus, to live as the beloved, to walk in his steps, to do and act as he did, will we follow?

Mark ends with a question, an invitation, to start the journey again, to start it anew.

Session 12: Class Notes

Aloha everyone! I have hijacked the blog for a week to post the notes from our last session on Mark 15.

We started the night comparing Christmas and Easter and how it felt discussing the Passion of Christ in the midst of the Christmas season. Some of you said that it had a sense of continuum and they both were seasons of reminders. We passed around the myrrh (which to me smells a little like almond extract) and remembered that it's both a gift of the wise men and mixed with wine for Jesus at the crucifixion to dull the pain (Mark 15:23). They are also two times in the Bible when God is very near.

Pastor Brandon also had me bring up the brakes Mark puts on for Chapter 15. Mark 14:72 is the last "immediately" we hear, and in Mark 15 it seems we have our answer as to what Mark was hurrying us to, all along. He wanted us to stop for the betrayal, arrest, and passion, because ultimately as we agreed on, without the crucifixion, we wouldn't be Christians. How is the crucifixion important specifically through the eyes of Mark?

I'm going to break the hours of the day down into sections, and focus on what happened during each section, as seen in The Last Week by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan (a book I used to help prepare for this week's Bible study- borrow today from Pastor Brandon!).

6am-9am

We focused here on Pilate questioning Jesus, and you all had some great questions right off the bat: Why did Pilate let him go? Why was Pilate so conflicted that he had to then have the crowd decide?Why didn't Pilate just decide himself (since he had so much power)? Why was Pilate amazed at Jesus' behavior during the questioning? Was it His demeanor and ability to keep composure while being threatened?

The chief priests and Pilate's questions don't seem to be genuine questions, they almost seem like they are talking 'at' Jesus rather than 'to' Jesus, and only care about an answer if it would justify their desires to kill Him. Pastor Brandon had mentioned that when they mock Jesus, the words they say ring with truth; we see this later in the chapter as well.

We then looked at a comparison of Jesus and Barabbas, the insurrectionist prisoner that Pilate releases instead of Jesus (Mark 15:6-15).

Barabbas
-Name literally means "son of the father" (Bar-son, abba- father)
-Possibly zealot, liberated people by killing (against Rome)
-Violent
-Does he really exist (Mark's invention to further story?)
-Hero (to the Jews)

Jesus
-Actual Son of the Father
-Liberated people with his own death
-Peaceful
-Died so Barabbas could live
-Hero (to the Jews)

We spoke again about the "crowd" in the courtyard who lobbied against Jesus and set Barabbas free. If the crowd had been the average Jew there for the festival and not hand picked by the high priests and scribes, who would the people have released?

9am- Noon

There are more people taunting Jesus as He is on the cross, mocking Him with words that end up being the truth: temple being rebuilt, He can't come down and save Himself, but if He does then will He truly be able to save others? Different from other Gospels, not much is said about those on the crosses next to Him, except they too insult Him (Mark 15:32). They are truly the ones on His right and left side drinking from the same cup of suffering that bring to mind the request of James and John in Mark 10:35. This is truly Jesus' coronation day when He comes into His kingdom and who are the ones who are still there with Him? Many of his followers have deserted but the women are still there with Him at the cross and even follow Him to the grave. They play such an important role in Mark's story from here on out; they are the last to see Jesus before he dies, first to see him resurrected. What is Mark trying to tell us about women in his time?

Noon-3pm

Darkness falls over the land. Is it the earth or just the region? Do they mean supernatural darkness or just clouds, or could this be figurative?

3pm- 6pm

We read parts of Psalm 22 (Psalm 22:1-8, 16-18), a Psalm ultimately of deliverance brought out of great suffering. Much of this Psalm is referenced in Mark 15, from the piercing of feet, and mocking, to the casting of lots for garments, and most obviously the words that Jesus cries from the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?', the opening words of Psalm 22.

We talked about Jesus saying these words and what it meant. In saying the first lines, He brings to mind the whole scripture which many would have known. In the book Mark by William Placher (Part of a series entitled Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible) it notes that it is the first time in the Gospel that Jesus doesn't call God "Father" but instead addresses Him as "my God." Was it a message to those around Him? Was it a statement of "Here I am, I am the Messiah"? Was it truly said out of anguish? Was God doubting God?

The centurion (Mark 15:39) finally exposes the Messianic secret! It is amazing that a Roman solider, someone high up in rank who has a boss who is considered a "son of god" (Caesar) would be the first person in the gospel to actually utter the words "Son of God" in reference to Jesus. Some of us mentioned that it seemed like he sounded like a narrator in a play and he might have been the first Roman conversion. In any case, his statement would have been considered treasonous to his job position. Whether the centurion fully understands what he is saying, or even if he is saying it in jest, it is a victorious moment in the book of Mark. The Messianic secret is finally exposed, and it is not in His deeds that He is discovered, but His death.

A question was brought up that echoed my own: How did the centurion know He was the Son of God? Was it the dark that came over the land earlier? Was it the loud cry that Jesus used in saying His last words that would have been nearly impossible for someone being hung on a cross? Was it the strangely quick way Jesus died that even shocked Pilate in 15:44? (Persons crucified usually took several days to die slowly and painfully.)

6pm and Evening

We spoke briefly about Joseph of Arimathea's involvement and motivation for burying Jesus. The group had lots of good ideas about him, mentioning he was the equivalent of a church council member (15:43), he was a Jew following Jewish burial laws, and he may have been a secret disciple of Jesus. I also appreciated the ideas expounding on Mark 15:43  "who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God",  taking it to mean he was older in years and waiting to go home to God (another reason to have a tomb prepared).

One of my favorite Paintings

Forgiven by Thomas Blackshear II

We ended with the weighted question of Who Killed Jesus? There were a lot of answers, from "it was a collaboration of church leadership/Roman leadership/God's will", to "it's a mystery (judgment + mercy = fulfillment of prophesy)". One of the answers was "Us/our sins", which led to my posting the painting above. This answer also led to a question based discussion of, "Why does God need a sacrifice to forgive us?" When did this start? Jesus is the lamb that paid for our sins, but in the Old Testament (and even before Jesus died) they sacrificed animals, so where did this start, the animals taking the stain of our sin and having to pay the blood price? Maybe I will defer to Pastor Brandon on this one.

It was a blessing and honor to have this opportunity, and I hope you all learned as much as I did. I am looking forward to our last week together studying Mark, see you on Tuesday, and Happy New Year!