On September 11 we will embark on a long journey, at least thematically. “Reconstructing Hope” is our series exploring the Gospel of Mark and its meaning for our day and time. We will begin at the start, and end at the ending but the rest of the series will not be strictly chronological. Instead, we will examine some of the broad themes that the Gospel uses to tell the story. Forgive me for being a little long winded here but we need to frame our journey. We begin with wondering why the Gospel was written and how it concerns us now.
Ten years ago, terrorists hijacked several civilian airliners. One was retaken by its passengers and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. One crashed into the Pentagon. Two hit the World Trade Center, resulting in the implosion of both towers. American lives were lost in the thousands, but possibly more devastating was the loss of the illusion that we were impervious to the violence of the world (and I say illusion because as a nation we willfully repressed the memories of the thousands who have died in riots, race conflicts, and domestic terrorism in the last generation or two). The attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the way we function as a nation, and the way we treat each other. There was a brief outpouring of goodwill. But the tragedy facilitated a policy shift that bent toward paranoia and xenophobia. The Patriot Act encoded into law behavior that treated American citizens as suspects and severely curtailed civil rights in the name of “national security.” We sent our military into Afghanistan in search of the perpetrators, but soon began a separate war in Iraq using the justification of pre-emptive action. Two unfunded wars strained both our military capability and our economic resilience, not to mention our national conscience. Today’s depression has its roots reaching back these ten years. Millions of dollars have been lost in rollercoaster markets, hopes have been dashed in rampant unemployment and the outsourcing of jobs. The American Dream seems to be a lie, a myth, or a nightmare. More than the two towers came crashing down on that day ten years ago.
What of relevance does the christen message have to contribute to this situation? Christian voices have too often been complicit in furthering fear, hatred, and misunderstanding. Church attendance and membership has been declining in North America at such rates as to cause anything but outright panic in the denominations. Historians like Phyllis Tickle tell us that we are in the midst of a great cultural transition, the likes of which is seen only every 500 years. It is no metaphor to say that we live in times when Christianity is being reinvented. The old adages of the Faith may not be up to addressing today’s questions. We need to explore new ways of being faithful and new messages of hope for our time.
Which brings us, oddly enough, to the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is almost 2000 years old, the first time the story of Jesus of Nazareth was written down. Those who wrote this story did so in the midst of an age which has striking similarity to ours. Israel had been in revolt against Roman Empire for a number of years. Israeli resistance fighters had beleaguered the vast Roman military machine until Rome had had enough. In the year 70 C.E. the Roman army marched into Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.
The temple was the center of the spiritual and national identity for Israel. It was the center of religious life, the place where required sacrifices were made, and where atonement for the nation’s sins was made. Moreover, it was seen as the place where God resided, God’s home so to speak. It was seen as the embodiment of all God’s promises regarding the dynasty of David, the promises to protect and prosper the people, the promises that god would guide and protect the people forever. And Rome just walked in and tore all of that to the ground, stone by stone. The people could no longer be Jewish in the way they had always been. They would have to invent a new way of being faithful.
In the midst of this horrific time of change, the followers of Jesus thought they had something to contribute to the conversation. Stories and memories of Jesus had been told and remembered for 40 years. Anger at Rome was unabated. The oppression of Rome was unrelenting. Poverty was pervasive. Hope was rare and lean. In the middle of this milieu, the Gospel of Mark begins with these words: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The church, the community of followers who wrote the Gospel of Mark felt that their story about Jesus of Nazareth was good news for their age.
Knowing that Gospel of Mark was written as good news for a tumultuous time, it makes sense for us to come to it with a fresh approach. It is no understatement to say that we live in a tumultuous time ourselves. What will the story of the teaching, actions, and life of Jesus of Nazareth tell us about our world, about how God is working today, and how we can find hope and meaning for today and tomorrow? We will explore the Gospel of Mark to find ways of Reconstructing Hope.
Series Outline:
September 11 – Good News in a Broken World
Mark 1:1-20
September 18 – The Messiah, Emissary of the Kin-dom of God
Mark 2:18-28; 7:1-23
September 25 – What Jesus Does: Healer, Wonder-worker, Welcomer of All
Mark chapters 2-3; 5:21-43
October 2 – Feeding Hungry People
Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-21
October 9 – Jesus and Money
Mark 10:17-31; 12:13-17, 38-44
October 16 – Follow Me, the Path of Jesus
Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-17; 10:46-52
October 23 – Teaching in parables, Jesus is a Parable
Mark 4:1-34
October 30 – In the Cross is Freedom
mark 10:32-45
November 6 – Take Up Your Cross, the Way of New Life
Mark 8:27-38; 15:21-41
November 13 – The Theater of Peace
Mark 11:1-11; 12:28-34
November 20 – Resurrection: Back on the Way
Mark 16:1-8
I am struggling with the lesson plans for Children's Church--whether to bring in the events of 9/11/01 or just focus on the theme of hope or stories of forgiveness or healing. I'm open to suggestions.
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