Transformation & Transition

Leaving the Secure Area

Tim: We’re halfway through our tour of Mark’s Gospel and things are about to get very serious.
Shea: Not that they haven’t always been serious, but you’re right. Up until now Jesus and his crew have focused their energy on the province of Galilee and surrounding Gentile region. Their encounters with religious and political toadies have been minor scuffles. Unlike John the Baptist, who paid for his activism by losing his head, the Jesus Movement has not yet gained the notoriety to put it in the crosshairs. All of that’s about to change.

Tim: Suddenly, it’s as if the light shifts, the music tenses up, and the scenes get longer, more complicated. The reader immediately senses something’s up.
Shea: Yes. Things get bumpy right off the bat. Jesus heals a blind man. But it takes two tries for the man to recover his sight. He also performs this miracle in private, away from the crowd. And he does something else we’ve not seen before. He spits in the man’s eyes!

Tim: That’s another move the Jewish authorities would revile as unclean.
Shea: You better believe it! From there, Jesus begins talking about his death, which puts everyone on edge. Peter rightly identifies Jesus as the Messiah but immediately gets into an argument about whether or not Jesus should risk dying.

Tim: The tension between them is galvanizing.
Shea: Jesus makes it very clear there’s a cost of discipleship. They’re going to pay dearly for this work.

Tim: So why do they stick with it?
Shea: Because they see and experience things no one else has ever witnessed. Take the Transfiguration, for example. There’s no way to explain what happens on that mountain. For centuries theologians have conducted a robust discussion about what it actually means. But, for all that it is and whatever else it might have meant to Peter, James, and John, we have to know it was life changing.

Tim: And timely, because the Transfiguration comes at the turning point, when Jesus focuses his attention on Jerusalem.
Shea: Exactly. The comforts of the provinces are a thing of the past. They’re going into the big city to confront the corrupt religionists of their time. It’s like those signs you see at the airport as you’re leaving the secure area. There’s no turning back now.

Tim: This is so exciting!!

Join us this Thursday at L!VE Café, 163 S. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park. Doors open at 7:00p, the study begins at 7:30p. If you can’t be with us in person, join us via Facebook Live.

Summer is the perfect time for a “walking tour” of Mark’s Gospel. The oldest and shortest of the Gospels, Mark is full of amazing details that capture the life and ministry of Jesus in fascinating ways. Mark’s Jesus is a man on a mission without much patience for folks who can’t keep up. He says exactly what’s on his mind. And the writer tells the Jesus story in an action-packed style overflowing with mysterious touches. Why is there no Christmas chapter? Why is Jesus so tough on the disciples? Why can’t they see who he really is? Why are the women afraid to tell the news of the Risen Christ? And what’s up with that naked man in Gethsemane (among other peculiarities)?
Join us every Thursday from June 7-August 30, as we spend the summer touring Mark’s Gospel. It will be a trip well worth taking!

COMING SOON!