A Faith Embodied; the Gospel of Mark

Homily Epiphany 4 Yr. B

It was a time of uncertainty. A time of conflict. A time of destruction. A time of fear. But it was also a time of hope that a new vision would emerge from the ruins of the old.

The time I am talking about was about 70 years after the birth of Jesus. Jews in Palestine were in revolt against their Roman occupiers. In response the Temple of Jerusalem, rebuilt once before, was destroyed by the Romans.

Followers of Jesus, still a sect within Judaism, were caught in between the violence of Roman, and the violence of the Jewish militants.

It was at this time the first Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, which we use in the lectionary frequently this year, was written down. We now know nothing like Mark’s Gospel had ever been written down before.

Gospel literally means “good news.” It was not history, or biography. Mark started with the Baptism of Jesus in the wilderness, and covered the last three years of his life in a sparse account.

There is a sense of urgency in Mark’s account. He uses the word “immediately” often to move the action forward. The story is told in narrative style without the lengthy stories and discourses used in the other three Gospels.

Everything is condensed in Mark. There are only 16 chapters, and the Gospel ends with the empty tomb, and without any post-Resurrection appearances by Jesus.

Mark is the source for Luke and Matthew, but they add other material.

You’ll notice if you read Mark looking the teaching of Jesus, you won’t find much, although Mark refers to Jesus as a teacher 11 times, and mentions him teaching 16 times.

Take today’s Gospel. The people are astounded at the power and authority of the teaching of Jesus, yet what he is teaching is not recorded.

Jesus brings a new kind of authority, an authority which is different than what people are used to from the scribes and Pharisees—who Jesus is in conflict with throughout Mark’s narrative.

The messianic calling of Jesus is not proclaimed in Mark. Indeed Jesus often tells followers and those he heals to keep his identity a secret.

As in our reading from Deuteronomy, the messianic calling is embodied—for Jesus in acts of healing, casting out demons, acts of compassion and love.

Jesus is teaching us how to live by setting an example, as Paul does when he talks about what Corinthians should do if they are offered food left over from pagan sacrifices.

The book of Deuteronomy is a farewell message from Moses. He has led his people in the wilderness, and even seen the promised land from a mountain top but he will never get there.

In today’s reading we see anticipation that Israel will see a future prophet, one with authority. We see the yearning of the Hebrew people for a Messiah.

It is significant in today’s Gospel passage that Jesus makes his first public appearance at Capernaum. When he teaches in the synagogue there, the people recognize his authority. They are astounded by his teaching, Mark reports.

The encounter with the man with the unclean spirit is all about authority too.

“What have you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth. Have you come to destroy us. I know who you are, the Holy one of God.”

But rather than arguing, Jesus responds with compassion, healing the man, and casting out the spirit. By that act, he is defying the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees.

But Mark doesn’t want us to see Jesus simply as an exorcist, or miracle worker. Jesus wants his followers to look deeper into the symbolic nature of his acts of compassion.

How do we apply this in our lives?

Perhaps the most important lesson we can draw is that our Christian faith must be embodied in all parts of our lives—our work, our leisure activities, our relationships. Our life in the community.

Our faith is not a matter of believing a number of propositions. It is in living out the faith in the Risen Christ, who calls us to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves. Everything flows from that embodied faith.

We also need to prayerfully discern what we are called to do, at this time and in this place.

Our scriptures are not a historic document of events which happened 2,000 years ago. It is a living testimony of faith, which must be studied and applied.

We can be distracted from that task, and the task of living out our faith by many things: materialism, greed, addictions, anger, selfishness.

Yet it is in our life together with others that we can also live out our faith, caring and serving.

Our society often treats faith, or religion as an individual matter. But there is no escaping the social dimension.

In the next scene in Mark’s account, Jesus moves to bring healing to the “whole city” who are gathered at the place he is staying.

Then, as now, people are hungry for healing, and for hope.