CONNECTING III

I have been rambling on about connecting for three weeks now. One of the times when I made a serious disconnect was when I suggested to some members that when we read the Epistles of Paul we are reading someone else's mail. Boy did that tick them off, but it is true for the most part. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to Christians he knew in Corinth. He addressed issues that concerned them in particular. He connected with them. Since we live 2,000 years later in a very different culture, we need to do some careful reading to connect with Paul. Hence my metaphor about reading someone else's mail.

The same thing is true about the Gospels. Mark, for instance, was written to a specific group of people that Mark knew. We don’t know exactly who they were (or who Mark was), but we can make some guesses. They are people who are able to communicate in Greek and probably didn’t understand Aramic because Mark translates Aramaic words. They were largely a group of Gentiles (non-Jews) because Mark explains Jewish customs to his audience. They were Christians. Throughout his Gospel Mark makes connections with his audience, sometimes breaking into his narrative to speak to the audience. For example in Mk 13:14 he writes “let the reader understand.” It’s a sort of stage whisper to the audience.

Actually, it probably came off as a stage whisper. The practice in Mark’s day was for writings to be read aloud. You can imagine a group of Christians gathered for worship as one of their number read aloud a portion of the Gospel and changing voice tone at the words “let the reader understand” and people either nodding appreciatively or perhaps looking perplexed when they failed to understand.

Actually the whole Gospel tradition is far more oral (spoken) and aural (heard) than we moderns are used to. The bits and pieces that Mark used in his Gospel were certainly shared by word of mouth for a generation before he wrote them down. The stories had certain forms that made them easier to remember. When Mark connected the stories, he was able to make points that extended over a far quantity of material than the original oral tradition. But in an age when few people would have had a scroll of Mark’s writing to study carefully, Mark would have had to written in such a way as to constantly remind the hearers of themes so they wouldn’t forget them over the time it took to read the whole Gospel.

An example. Early in the Gospel, Mark introduces the phrase “Son of man” used by Jesus to refer to himself. In performing a miracle Jesus announces: “ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic- ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark 2:10-12). So the Son of Man is confirmed as having the power to forgive sins by demonstrating the power to heal a paralyzed man. And having established that point. Mark adds a very different significance to the title. “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Again and again Mark repeats that connection. This is the primary theme of his Gospel. You must understand Jesus as the one who dies and rises. It is not Jesus the miracle worker or even Jesus the teacher who is most important, but rather Jesus the crucified Savior.

Maybe the most subtle way this is displayed is near the end of the Gospel. “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God's Son!’” (Mark 15:39). The centurion (a gentile) has seen no miracles. He has heard no teachings. He has seen Jesus die, and that convinces him that Jesus is the Son of God.

All of this is about making a connection with Mark’s audience. It’s not just a technique being used to keep the audience on topic, but a speaking to their concerns. They are Christians for whom adoption of the new religion has resulted in suffering and persecution. This can’t be right, can it? Yes, says, Mark. This is exactly right because it is what happened to Jesus. He was revealed as Son of God in his suffering. Don’t give up your faith. So Mark connects the story of Jesus to the situation of his audience.

Stay connected.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne




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