Perish, Peace, Pistis

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is Perish, Peace, Pistis (Faith). My focus is Mark 4:35-41. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

The method of prayer I prefer employs the imagination. When I read a passage from Scripture, I place myself there. What do I see, hear, smell, taste and touch? What emotions do the people in the passage feel? Do I experience pain, joy, doubt, disbelief, forgiveness, hunger or satisfaction? When I read the passages of the feeding of the crowds, what do the people look like? How are they dressed? How do they smell? Is there a sense of desperation amidst the crowd? How do the disciples’ voices sound as this miracle unfolds before them? How do the bread and fish taste? How do the crowds and Jesus react?

When I read today’s passage from Mark, I used that method of prayer to create a sermon based on what I experienced in my prayer: perish, peace and pistis, the Greek word for faith. And because prayer demands action, a question: Now what?

First, perish. If you have not experienced a perfect storm, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, white out, tsunami, flood, blizzard, heat wave or avalanche, you may have been involved in a train crash, car crash, or felt the force of a linebacker colliding with your body. In an instant, you felt like you were not going to survive the moment.

If we have not personally experienced such an event, we get a sense of what it means to perish when we watch Titanic, Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Twister, Armageddon or any other natural disaster movie.

To perish means to suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden or untimely way. It also means to undergo complete ruin or destruction. Its origin is from two Latin words: per meaning through and ire meaning to go. To go through or perire eventually came to be known as pass away.

At a certain point in the passage, the disciples woke Jesus and asked, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Prior to this, Jesus was teaching the crowds in parables from a boat anchored offshore. When he finished in the evening, he asked his disciples to cross to the other side. The eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, across from Capernaum, was a predominantly Gentile area. This voyage would be the first into Gentile territory. The disciples accompanied Jesus in several boats, leaving the crowd on the shore. They cast off with Jesus still seated in his floating pulpit without first going ashore.[1]

The Sea of Galilee is known for violent storms that can arise without warning, as wind funnels through the steep valleys among the hills surrounding the lake. In this instance the storm was so fierce that it terrified even seasoned fishermen. Waves crashed over the boat, swamping it and threatening to sink it. Yet in the midst of this fury, Jesus was in the stern, asleep. Anyone who has ever been in a violently storm-tossed boat has reason to think that this ability to sleep through the storm was the first miracle! Jesus’ sleep exemplified perfect trust in God that is often signified in Scripture by a peaceful and untroubled sleep. We read in Job, “If you prepare your heart … you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. You will lie down, and none will make you afraid.”[2] The Psalmist wrote, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”[3] Proverbs 3:24 reads, “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

Jesus’ serenity is not shared by his disciples, who woke him with a stinging reproach: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” This is the first time in Mark that Jesus was called Teacher, having just completed a day of teaching. This time, however, they would learn a powerful lesson of faith, learned by experience. The tone of the disciples’ question suggests that they had a vague idea that Jesus could do something about the storm, but they think he is indifferent to their plight, with no concern for survival. They are much like God’s people in Exodus. In chapter 14, we read, “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?’”[4] On that day, at that very moment, God delivered his people to safety from peril, from death to life, and Jesus would deliver them too, not only from one side to the other, but in ways they could not fathom until He rose. So, as Jesus and his disciples cross to the other side, let me cross from my first point to my second, from perish to peace.

Peace is defined as a state of tranquility or freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. It also means harmony in personal relations or mutual concord between governments. It also means to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell. The Greek word for peace and the Hebrew word, shalom, mean safety, welfare and prosperity.

Apparently, the disciples were not experiencing any sort of peace, but rather, panic. Jesus, however, did not leave his disciples in their panic. He immediately woke and rebuked the raging sea. He did not pray that God would calm the storm but commanded it himself with sovereign authority: Peace! Be still!

Rebuked is the same word used to describe his casting out unclean spirits. In chapter one, he rebuked the unclean spirit of the man who enter the synagogue in Capernaum. We read, “Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.’”[5]

This suggests that demonic powers somehow instigated the squall that threatened to deflect him and his disciples from their mission. We know that in the Old Testament, the sea is often a symbol of chaos and the home of evil powers. Job stated, “By his power he stilled the sea.”[6] The Psalmist wrote, “You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.”[7] And Isaiah prophesied, “In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.”[8] Jesus exorcised these forces of nature with the same authority that freed human beings from demonic possession. Instantly the howling wind subsided and the choppy waves became calm. The wording parallels Psalm 107: “They cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”[9]

Finally, pistis, faith. In Greek mythology, Pistis was the personification of good faith, trust and reliability. In Christianity and in the New Testament, Pistis is the word for faith. Pistis’ Roman equivalent was Fides, a personified concept significant in Roman culture.

The Latin word for faith means trust, confidence, reliance, credence or belief. In the early 14^th century it meant assent of the mind to the truth of a statement for which there is incomplete evidence, especially belief in religious matters. Faith is neither the submission of reason, nor is it the acceptance, simply and absolutely upon testimony, of what reason cannot reach. Faith is the ability to cleave to a power of goodness appealing to our higher and real self, not to our lower and apparent self.

Returning to our Gospel passage, at the moment the danger passed, Jesus chided his disciples for their feeble faith. “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Certainly, they turned to him in their moment of terror and dismay; but they did not yet grasp who he really was: sovereign lord over all creation. Jesus was forming a band of followers who were to be confident in their mission on earth: to bring the peace and authority of the kingdom into al the troubles of humanity. He called them to complete a task on the other side of the sea: would he have done so only to let them perish in the waves?

 The disciples knew that God alone possessed power to subdue the seas. From Exodus on, God’s control of the sea signified his tender care for his people. Again, the Psalmist wrote, “O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you? You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”[10] So it is no wonder that after Jesus calmed the storm, they were filled with great awe. Their terror of the forces of nature was replaced by reverent fear of the presence of God in Jesus. His subduing of the sea was a sign of his divine authority. “Who then is this?” is a question that not only Jesus’ contemporaries but all the readers of the Gospel are meant to ask. Echoing his question to the disciples: Who do you say that He is?

Well, there you have it. I made my three points, and ask, “Now, what?” Returning to my first point, perish, I searched the internet for the phrase, “I thought I was going to die.” I found these stories: a young woman who survived a school shooting in North Texas; another who survived a car fire caused by her cell phone; a cyclist who survived being crushed by a car; as well as people who survived a car-jacking, a nose-diving plane and a grandmother attacked by a bobcat.

Personally, I never survived an attack by a bobcat, a car-jacking, a shooting or a nose-diving plane. However, I have experienced a car crash, the death of my parents, my younger brother, friends and relatives. I suffered from job losses and bad investments. I lost teeth, broke bones, tore my meniscus and suffer from arthritis. Like you, I have lived to talk about it.

When we talk about our losses, most people understand and some gain insight. Life is short. Our bodies are fragile. Accidents happen. Senseless violence from man and beast occurs. Everyone dies. When storms strike, we are in the same boat thinking we are going to perish.

Still, survivors who tell their stories inspire hope into others because of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His Father and the Holy Spirit have done for us. Therefore, allow me to close with the story of one survivor.

Horatio Gates Spafford and his wife, Anna, were well known 19^th century Chicagoans. As a prominent lawyer and a senior partner in a large and thriving law firm, he was also able to invest heavily in real estate in an expanding Chicago during the 1860s. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church and a close friends of evangelist Dwight Moody.

In 1871, the Great Fire of Chicago reduced Spafford’s real estate investments to ashes and scarlet fever took the life of his son. In 1873, Spafford decided his family should take a holiday in England knowing that his friend Dwight Moody would be preaching there. He was delayed because of business, so he sent his family ahead: his wife and their four children, daughters eleven-year-old Annie, nine-year-old Maggie, five-year-old Elizabeth Bessie, and two-year-old Tanetta. On November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the steamship Ville du Havre, their ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and 226 people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford's daughters. Only his wife survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to Spafford beginning "Saved alone." Spafford then sailed to England, going over the location of his daughters' deaths. According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote "It Is Well with My Soul" on this journey.

If you turn to Hymn 763 in your Lutheran Service Book, you will find the words Spafford wrote. As you take a moment to read those words, let me focus on the second verse and the refrain.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

let this blest assurance control:

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

and has shed his own blood for my soul.

It is well with my soul;

it is well, it is well with my soul.

My friends, the Church today, like the boat bearing the disciples and the sleeping Jesus, is no different than the small, struggling early Church, storm-tossed on the seas of the vast Roman empire. They must have wondered why their Lord seemed to be asleep in the stern – absent, unaware, or unconcerned about the mortal perils that threatened them. Through the ages, how often did his disciples feel that way in the midst of storms of persecution, natural disasters or personal troubles? But Jesus’ authority is without limit, and though he allows trials, in the end nothing can truly harm those who trust in him. As He gave disciples the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, He promised them that nothing would hurt them.[11]

His reproach of not to be afraid is an invitation for all Christians to awaken their faith in his presence and in his absolute authority over creation. The true antidote to fear of earthly dangers is the faith that comes from fear of the Lord. We read in Job, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding”[12] The most repeated command, do not fear, is an instruction not to succumb to the enemy’s strategy, which is to dismantle Jesus’ followers from their mission. When we have no fear, the enemy trembles in fear. At these times, repeat Spafford’s words, “It is well with my soul.” And when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] I am indebted to the insights found in this book: Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008).

[2] Job 11:13, 18-19a.

[3] Psalm 4:8.

[4] Exodus 14:10-11.

[5] Mark 1:25.

[6] Job 26:12.

[7] Psalm 74:13-14.

[8] Isaiah 27:1.

[9] Psalm 107:28-29.

[10] Psalm 89:8-9. See Psalm 65:7.

[11] Luke 10:19.

[12] Job 28:28.

Parallels, Parables and Planting Seeds

The word parallel comes from two Greek words: para meaning beside and allelois meaning each other. By definition, parallel means extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging. Most of us know that lines in a plane which do not intersect or touch each other at any point are said to be parallel. Parallel may also refer to computing, mathematics, science, navigation, music, entertainment, grammar, rhetoric or gymnastics.

Gospel parallels place similar passages from different evangelists alongside each other for easy comparison. This is an important tool for anyone who wants to better understand the gospels. How did different writers tell the same stories in the first generations of the Church? Why are they different?

The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, contain much of the same material. Matthew and Luke tell nearly all of the stories told in Mark and share several stories that are not in Mark. In addition, all three books are written as if the authors personally observed all of the events and were reporting what they saw at the time.

The Gospel of John purposefully omitted much of the material found in the synoptic gospels and added a considerable amount of material not found in them. It appears that John wrote his gospel as a supplement to the other three. So, when you place the four side-by-side, you see striking similarities and subtle differences.[1]

All three synoptic gospels recorded that Jesus compared the mustard seed to the Kingdom. Matthew used the phrase Kingdom of heaven, while Mark and Luke employed the phrase Kingdom of God. The seed was sown. Matthew wrote that a man sowed it on the field. Mark wrote that the seed was sowed upon the ground, while Luke said that a man sowed it in his garden.

Matthew’s Jesus stated that the seed is the smallest of all seeds, while Mark’s Jesus added that it is the smallest of all seeds on the earth, and Luke’s Jesus is silent on its size. Matthew’s seed has grown; Mark’s grows up and puts forth large branches; and Luke’s grew. Matthew described its maturity as the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree; Mark as the greatest of all shrubs; and Luke as a tree.

All three mention the birds of the air, while Matthew concluded that they come and make nests in its branches; Mark that they can make nests in its shade; and Luke that they made nests in its branches.

Why painstakingly point out striking similarities and subtle differences in 2 or 3 verses of Scripture? To compare literary styles suited for their particular audiences and to emphasize certain theological statements.

Immediately, we notice the different places where the seed is planted and what happens when it flourishes: field, ground and garden. Nestmaking occurred in the present and in the past. Why note these subtle differences? Well, if I’m in Rochelle, IL, I would plant seeds in a field, but if I’m in Roselle, IL, a garden. If I’m writing my gospel in 70 AD, I would write about the present, but if I’m writing my gospel in 85 AD, time has passed, and that would alter my writing. By the time Luke wrote his gospel, around 85 AD, the church had grown and flourished. So, when we read the gospel parallels, we need to keep in mind the time, setting and audience of its hearers and readers because while the church is universal, it is not always uniform.

So, what made Mark different? What was he saying? What was his theological point? We could spend hours discussing his literary style, apocalyptic symbolism and irony, but let me leave you with this. Mark was the first to write a biography of Jesus that linked his ministry to his Passion. He invited readers to understand that Jesus’ words and deeds were inextricably linked to that finale, and that was what awaited his followers. In other words, Mark connected Christology to discipleship. I will return to that thought, but for now let me move to my second point, parables.

What is a parable? Simply defined, a parable is a short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson. It comes to us from the Latin, parabola, and the Greek, parabole, which literally meant ‘a throwing beside.’ Its origin is from the term para, again, meaning alongside, and bole, throwing or casting, or a beam or ray.

The geometrically gifted understand that a parabolic curve refers to a comparison between fixed points and a straight line. The St. Louis Arch and your satellite dish are parabolic curves. Jesus, however, did not teach math or build arches. Rather, he compared real life situations to teach a lesson about God.

Parables were part of Jewish tradition. The Hebrew term for a parable was mashal. We find mashal in the allegories, proverbs, riddles and taunts of Judges, Samuel, Proverbs and Prophets. We are familiar with Nathan’s powerful story to David of the rich man who stole and slaughtered the poor man’s prized lamb. It transformed David to a humble, contrite sinner. So, we see that Jesus did not invent parables, but like his ancestors, used them to win people over to his views.

Jesus spoke parables to proclaim the gracious advent, disturbing presence and challenging implications of the Kingdom of God. At times, he opened with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” or, “To what shall I compare?” Although he ends his teaching abruptly, Jesus often concluded with a challenging question. “Which of these three … proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” Or, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

While Jesus did not pressure listeners to choose any one direction, he confronted them with the necessity to make a choice that determined their future. No doubt, his listeners who viewed matters one way now discovered a better way. Discovering a better way resulted in conversion, reconciliation and changed behavior. Once they experienced conversion and reconciliation, his followers transformed society and changed the world.

The Parable of the Mustard Seeds opens with Jesus thinking aloud, searching for ways to help his listeners grasp the mystery of the kingdom. It cannot be defined or contained in human categories but understood only by using word pictures that force the listener to think and ponder at a deeper level. Once again, the earthly reality most suitable is a tiny seed. In this seed parable, the emphasis is on the seed’s smallness. For Jesus’ Jewish audience, the idea of the kingdom as a seed must have seemed surprising. A more predictable comparison would have been a cataclysmic earthquake or a mighty army. Isaiah prophesized, “You will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.”[2] Elsewhere he proclaimed, “The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.”[3] Joel echoed those words, “The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?”[4] But no, the kingdom is like a mustard seed, which Jesus describes for effect as the smallest of all the seeds on the earth which springs up and becomes – again, for effect – the largest of plants.

In mentioning large branches that shelter many birds, Jesus evoked the image of a lofty, shady tree, symbolizing an empire that grants protection to peoples of different races and tongues.

The Prophet Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar as a tree that “grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.”[5]

In Ezekiel, we read, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.’”[6]

The parable of the mustard seed pointed to the future worldwide reach of the kingdom of God. From its humble, inauspicious beginnings in Jesus’ itinerant preaching in Galilee with a small band of followers, the kingdom would mature to an immense tree in whom Gentiles would find a home. This growth was not due to human methods but to God’s hidden power. Jesus spoke with utter assurance of the future success of the kingdom, urging his disciples to persevere with hope and patience.[7]

Now, let me return to Mark connecting Christology to discipleship. Last week I made the point of illustrating Mark’s sandwich technique: how he wrapped stories together by layering one passage between two parallel passages. I said that the entire Gospel of Mark is one massive sandwich with 8:29 as the real meat: And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then after he rebuked Peter, Jesus called the crowd and the disciples to him and said, “’If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?’”[8]

I revisit that passage to make a point about Mark. He was the first writer to connect the narrative of what Jesus said and did to what God accomplished in the Christ’s death and resurrection and call it good news or Gospel. He linked the two inextricably because he wanted his readers to understand Jesus’ words and deeds not as independent modes of revelation, but as one interdependent mode of revelation. To identify Jesus as the Christ and to understand his life through the prism of the cross was the first point Mark was making. The second was to understand who you are in relation to Jesus Christ. In short, just as Mark linked inextricably Jesus’ words and deeds to his death and resurrection, he challenged his readers to see themselves as linked to Christ.

And so, I ask you, do you identify yourself as a Christian, one who not only follows his teaching, but one who embraces the cross as he did? What choice will you make today that will determine your future? Since you heard Jesus’ words and deeds, have you determined that his way of life is better than yours? …

Finally, planting seeds. We are all familiar with planting seeds. Whether we farm the land or garden a plot, we know that seeds sprout and mature into plants that bear fruit. As I reflect upon this parable, I wrestle with the activity of planting seeds and the quiet contemplation of marveling at God’s power. Should I be actively engaging people through evangelization? Should I join a megachurch where Christian fellowship is alive? Distribute Bibles on the corner or in some other corner of the world, like China? Wear jewelry and clothing that advertises my beliefs? Share sermons on social media?

Should I marvel at how the Kingdom of God blossoms in spite of our efforts to thwart it? Should I spend more time reading and reflecting on Biblical passages? Should I study and journal? Download podcasts onto my smartphone and listen to them as I walk or drive? Set aside time for quiet meditation and contemplation?

Personally, I am more of an active contemplative. I spend time each morning reading Scripture, sacred writings and Biblical theology, and the rest of the day interviewing people, writing reports and driving the western suburbs. Interspersed throughout the day I eat, exercise, walk the dogs and, more importantly, spend time with my wife. The time I spend in the morning affects the rest of the day. When I come across a passage, like today’s parable, or a reflection by one of the Church Fathers or a contemporary theologian, I discuss it with my wife on a walk or over dinner.

Periodically, while living my ordinary life, the topic of religion emerges. It’s in the ordinary moments that God provides an opportunity to put spirituality into action. Now, I can think of hundreds of stories where this has happened to me, and you would think it normal for a pastor, but, instead, I turn to a story my wife, Cindy, told me.

Cindy recently had a conversation about vacations with her trainer. Cindy told her trainer that in 2020, we are going to Oberammergau, Germany to see the Passion Play. Her trainer asked what that was. Cindy explained it was about the Passion of Jesus, and that the play is performed only once every ten years by people who live in Oberammergau. Her trainer acknowledged that she was raised in a home where her parents did not practice religion. After a minute, she asked Cindy, “Didn’t they make a movie about the Passion?” It was Cindy’s opportunity to evangelize in the ordinary moment.

It was her opportunity to evangelize in the ordinary moment. I repeat that sentence because we all have ordinary moments when we can evangelize at the gym or in the bleachers, in a restaurant or the grocery store, while parenting or teaching, babysitting or banking. And anywhere the Spirit blows us is where we plant seeds and marvel at the mystery of God’s Kingdom.

Friends, when we plant seeds, we should marvel not at what we have done but what God has done through Christ, His Church and the Holy Spirit dwelling in and among us. In prayer I ask God that you find ordinary opportunities to plant the seeds of God’s Kingdom and marvel at His Mysteries through prayer and evangelization. And when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] http://sites.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/

[2] Isaiah 29:6.

[3] Isaiah 13:4.

[4] Joel 2:11.

[5] Daniel 4:11-12.

[6] Ezekiel 17:23.

[7] Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 91f.

[8] Mark 8:34-37.

Marcan Sandwiches

One of my favorite foods is the sandwich. Ham, turkey, tuna, roast beef, grilled cheese, BLT or PBJ between two slices of white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sour dough, French or Italian bread with condiments, vegetables, even fried eggs in between. The sandwich is a meal for anytime at the table, in front of the TV, at a family picnic or while commuting to work.

Sandwiches predate the 4^th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, by 18 centuries. One hundred years before Christ, the famous Jewish leader, Hillel the Elder, ate flat bread sandwiches filled with sliced lamb, a practice that spread to Western Asia and North Africa. Most of us have been to one of the 3 places named Sandwich in America.

I speak of the sandwich, because it is a literary technique characteristic of Mark in which one story is inserted in the middle of another so that each illuminates the other. Mark served sandwiches to Christians orally and in print. Today’s passage is one of 12 found through Mark. In fact, the entire Gospel of Mark is one massive sandwich with 8:29 as the real meat: And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

In today’s gospel, three scenes are arranged into one block of material. In the first and third units Jesus is misunderstood by his own family; the second (vv. 22-30) involves a far more serious charge from the religious authorities.[i] As we unpack our sandwich, I would like to look at three ingredients: brother, blasphemy and believer, before returning for another sandwich.

First, brother. Our passage opens with Jesus returning home. From the words Jesus spoke throughout his ministry, home should be the place where one is welcome. After Jesus healed the Gerasene demoniac, he instructed him to go home to his people and tell them how much the Lord did for him and what mercy He showed him.[ii] In Matthew, after he healed the paralytic, Jesus told the man to pick up his bed and go home.[iii] In Luke 15, the father welcomes home his lost son with a king’s feast. Here, however, his family and friends, including his brothers, seek to restrain him or control him.

To understand the reaction of Jesus’ relatives, it is important to recognize what family bonds meant in their social context. An individual existed only as part of an extended family unit, whose authority structure, obligations and customs governed every aspect of life. Any action by an individual was a reflection on the whole family, and any breach of family honor would meet with severe discipline. Since Joseph was no longer alive, Jesus would have to answer to his uncles and senior cousins.

These “brothers” heard that people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind, in other words, mentally ill, often associated with demonic influence. Motivated to protect him from hostile religious leaders, they set out from Nazareth on a 20-mile trip to seize their ordinary young kinsman because they did not believe in him.[iv] In v. 31, we learn that Jesus’ brothers arrived, but finding it impossible to get near him they stood outside. Because our passage is a sandwich, we will return to it later. For now, we move from the outside to the inside, from brothers to blasphemy.

The inside passage of Mark’s sandwich transitions from brothers from Nazareth to scribes from Jerusalem. Sent by the authorities to check out rumors concerning this miracle worker, these experts in the Mosaic law carried more weight than the Galilean Pharisees, Jesus’ fiercest opponents. Their chilling verdict is categorical: “‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.’”[v]

Notice how Jesus responded. He summoned them, suggesting that they were saying these things behind his back, and confronted them face to face, answering their charges in reverse order. To their claim that he was using demonic powers to cast out demons is logically absurd. What king would instigate a revolt against his own rule? If this were so, Satan’s dominion would have collapsed.

In his second statement, Jesus used a burglary analogy. The strong man Satan guarding his illicitly obtained belongings, that is, possessed human beings, must first be subdued in order for his house to be plundered. Recall Isaiah’s prophecy where we read: “Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued? But this is what the LORD says: ‘He will seize even the warriors’ plunder, and the captives of tyrants will be rescued. I myself will quarrel with those who have a quarrel with you, and I myself will save your children.’”[vi]

Finally, Jesus addressed the scribes’ first charge that he is possessed by Beelzebul not with a parable but with a somber warning.[vii] He prefaced his affirmation that all sins, even blasphemy, are forgiven with an Amen, a completely new usage of a word that concludes prayers as an expression of agreement. The closest expression in the Old Testament to Jesus’ phrase, “Truly I say to you,” is the phrase, “As surely as I live,” found in Numbers, Isaiah and Ezekiel.[viii]

Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, to religious or holy persons or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. The word "blasphemy" came from two Greek words meaning injure and utterance, talk or speech. In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Psalm 74: Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.[ix] In Romans 2, Paul borrowed a verse from Isaiah who proclaimed: What is this? asks the LORD. Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long.[x]

Although abusing or insulting the name of God is a sin against God himself, this is forgivable. What Jesus said here is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit meant to harden your heart so completely that one defiantly refused to recognize the action of God and attributed to evil the good works Jesus did in the power of the Spirit.[xi] For we see that when Jesus came up out of the water after he was baptized, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.[xii] The scribes who persisted in such willful blindness refused to repent and chose to close themselves to the forgiveness that God offers through Jesus. Now, note that Jesus did not condemn the scribes of committing this sin but warned them of the grave danger that awaited them if they did not open their hearts to the Spirit and repent.

Finally, believers. After the incident with the scribes, Mark resumes the account of Jesus’ brothers who set out to seize him but found it impossible to get near him. Mark highlighted the contrast between Jesus’ family and the audience surrounding him by twice mentioning that his family members stood outside.

This is the only time in Mark that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, appears on the scene. Mark did not indicate that she shared the opinion of those who thought Jesus was out of his mind, but the episode suggests that she did not fully comprehend the scope and significance of her son’s mission. Like others, she must grow in understanding of the divine mystery that only faith can penetrate. Here, as in the finding of the temple and at the foot of the cross, she must undergo a certain detachment in her far greater role in the new family Jesus established. In Acts we read: All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.[xiii]

But when he received word that his family was calling, Jesus immediately interrupted his teaching to answer their summons. His reply must have sounded shocking in the cultural context I described earlier. It is the first indication that all earthly ties take second place to the kingdom of God. We hear Jesus speak this again in chapter 10: Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.[xiv] In other words, Christian discipleship trumps family ties.

Then, gazing with affection and intimacy at those seated around him, Jesus elevated his new family to an unexpected status. His new family, the family of believers, united around him in a bond of love, familiarity and loyalty was stronger than any blood relationship. For we read in John’s Gospel: to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.[xv] This is restated in Hebrews, Romans and Ephesians: You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.[xvi]

Establishing a new community of believers was not a rejection of his earthly family. Eventually, his brothers accepted the new basis of kinship evident from what I read in Acts.[xvii]

Jesus’ final statement, “whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother,” explained the foundation for his new family. Jesus’ most heartfelt desire was to please His Father. The only condition for entering God’s family is to do God’s will, just as Jesus did. And to do God’s will, one must first learn what it is by sitting and listening to Jesus as the crowd is doing. By doing God’s will, they in a real sense bring Jesus into the world.

As believers, we are brothers and sisters who bring Jesus into the world. We do so by first sitting and listening to Jesus and doing God’s will. That should be our heartfelt desire. To bring Jesus into the world, to nourish others with the Gospel, we must be nourished daily. And so, in closing I ask you, what is your favorite spiritual sandwich?

Think of your spiritual sandwich as your day. How do you start and end your day, and what happens during the in-between moments? I start my day reading psalms, Scripture passages, and early Christian writings from people like Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Ambrose and Augustine. At the end of the day, I reflect, read a shorter psalm and Scripture passage and pray that Almighty God bless us, protect us and bring us to everlasting life. During the day, I sandwich in other times to pray with my wife and whatever family members or friends are gathered with us. I also listen to spiritual podcasts as I drive to appointments or walk the dogs. When I feel some sadness or bitterness because of some event that occurs, I view it through the prism of the Cross. When I feel joy, I think how God was responsible for this uplifting moment. Thus, my day is like a spiritual sandwich.

None of our spiritual sandwiches will be the same. We read different Scripture passages and materials. We listen to different messages throughout the day. We pray for different people and needs. We experience vastly different moments even if the event is the same. But each day offers us the opportunity to bring Jesus into the world as brothers and sisters seeking with heartfelt desire to please our Father. Brothers may not always understand us. Blasphemers will curse us and our God. Still, we remain steadfast believers listening to Jesus and seeking to do God’s will. Friends, may your spiritual sandwich nourish you daily, and it does, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[i] Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids MI, 2008), 75.

[ii] Mark 5:19.

[iii] Matthew 9:7.

[iv] Healy, 75f. See John 7:5.

[v] Mark 3:22.

[vi] Isaiah 49:24-25.

[vii] Healy, 78.

[viii] Numbers 14, 28; Isaiah 49: 18; Ezekiel 5:11.

[ix] Psalm 74:18.

[x] Romans 2:24; Isaiah 52:5.

[xi] Healy 78.

[xii] Mark 1:10.

[xiii] Acts 1:14.

[xiv] Mark 10:29-30.

[xv] John 1:12.

[xvi] Ephesians 2:19.

[xvii] Acts 1:14; see also 1 Cor 9:15; Gal 1:19.