The readings today are two summaries of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee.
Mark 6:30-34 is a story about Jesus concerning the return of the disciples. In context, it appears that when Herod arrested John the Baptist, Jesus went to Galilee. The summary suggests that the purpose of the journey to Galilee was to escape attention by being out of the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. In the process, we will learn of the importance of finding time away from the busy quality of many of our lives. We need times of personal renewal. We also need to look upon the crowds and see what Jesus sees.
Mark refers to the group around Jesus as 30 the apostles (ἀπόστολοι). The surprise here is that he does not identify them as the disciples. However, the change may be intentional. Their mission has separated the apostles from Jesus. The apostle is the missionary here. Jesus commissions and empowers the disciples for the work of preaching and exorcism. In part, the term reflects the role the Twelve had been given in 6:7, as those "sent out" or "missionaries." Yet it is also true that by the time of Mark's gospel, the term "apostle" had taken on a special, technical definition that identified the uniquely chosen first twelve disciples of Jesus. Certainly, for Mark's readers, the term "apostle" denotes one who operated in the name of another. An apostle claimed the authority of the one who sent him out. The word “apostle” is common in the New Testament (appearing some 58 times, mainly in Luke-Acts). However, the word rarely occurs in the gospel of Mark (only here and 3:14, and the portion of that verse that includes the word “apostle” does not occur in all manuscripts). The word is even rarer in the gospel of Matthew (occurring only once) and does not appear in the gospel of John at all. The word is also infrequent in classical Greek, suggesting that it had taken on technical aspects through its use in the New Testament. In comparison with the word “disciple,” which is much commoner (occurring 200 times in the gospels), the word apostle appears to have a more specialized meaning. The Greek work means “sent one,” and in the biblical context appears to be rooted in the Jewish tradition of one sent as emissary for a particular mission on behalf of and with the authority of a higher power (compare Isaiah 6:1-8). Applied to Jesus (only in Hebrews 3:1), the word apostle conveys the notion that Jesus was sent on a mission by the Father for a specific purpose, which appears to be the meaning of the word in our passage and throughout much of the New Testament. The term includes the 12 original named disciples, but others, as well (I Corinthians 15:7). Paul, who considered himself as an apostle, seemed to know of two groups considered apostles. One was those who had witnessed appearances of the risen Christ (as Paul himself had, I Corinthians 9:1; 15:5, 7; Galatians 1:17, 19). The other group was charismatic preachers, including women (such as Junia, Romans 16:7), authorized by local churches to engage in missionary activity (Acts 13:1-3; Revelation 2:2). The gospel writers limit the term to the companions of Jesus and witnesses to his resurrection (here and Matthew 10:2; Acts 1:21-22; compare Mark 6:7). This group gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. This vague report clearly refers to their healings (6:13) as well as their proclamation of the message of repentance (6:12). 31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Jesus' response to his apostles' return is also unique to this moment in Mark. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Unlike Jesus' individual retreats for prayer (cf.1:35; 6:45‑46), this appears to be a more physically prompted call for rest. By showing this concern for their physical welfare, this text serves to set the stage for the feeding miracle that swiftly follows. 32 They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. They went to the west or northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had returned to his hometown of Nazareth (6:1) and the unbelief expressed by the local populace who knew him impeded his work in nearby villages (6:3-6). Nazareth was located about 15 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee. In a portion of the subsequent narrative, Jesus instructs his disciples to travel by boat ahead of him “to the other side, to Bethsaida” (v. 45), a city located less than two miles from the north-northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. The rejection of Jesus’ ministry on the Nazareth side of the lake may have been the immediate cause of his decision to continue his work on the opposite shore, as well as the fact that three of his disciples — Philip, Andrew and Peter — apparently came from Bethsaida (John 1:44). Evidently, his ministry did not have notable success there, either, however, since, according to Matthew 11:21, Jesus lamented over the lack of repentance in Chorazin and Bethsaida. Reports of escape by boat from the press of the crowds occur elsewhere in the gospels (e.g., Matthew 8:18; 13:2; 14:13; Mark 3:9, etc.).
In one of the great ironies of human life, we tend to run faster when we have lost our way.[1] In a narrowly secular way, we need time to renew ourselves. One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
For the follower of Jesus, we need the time alone with God. The reason is that we are hungry and thirsty for more than just food and drink. Our souls become hungry and thirsty. Our inner sense of emptiness, our loss of direction or even meaning, lets us know we are ensouled bodies in the first place. Meeting our physical and social needs will not satisfy us. Yet, occasionally, we may feel a sense of deeper satisfaction. Then we know that most hungry and thirsty part of us has met its shepherd.[2] At such moments, we know that nothing else will satisfy us than to walk with God.[3]
33 Now many saw them going and recognized them and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. It seems odd that they would arrive ahead of Jesus and the disciples. To journey across the sea by boat would have been about four miles; to journey around the sea on foot would be about 10 miles of rough terrain, including crossing the Jordan. Matthew, Luke and John portray the crowds as following Jesus (cf. Matthew 14:13; Luke 9:11; John 6:3, 5). It seems more logical to have Jesus and the disciples arrive first and be in seclusion when the crowds suddenly descend on them. In any case, Mark describes the crowd (the recipient of the approaching miracle) as beating the boatload of disciples and Jesus to their "deserted‑place" destination. The multitudes have not come in order to get away from life; they have followed Jesus here because they are desperate to survive life. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them. (ἐσπλαγχνίσθη “to be moved with compassion.” The root means “vital organs” or “bowels” something that happens to him, way down in the pit of his stomach. Etymologically, the Greek word denotes to have something move someone in one’s viscera, which they regarded as the seat of the emotions and affections. The reaction is spontaneous and emotional, as distinct from a rational and calculating response. A further connotation emerges from the correspondence of the word to the Hebrew for compassion, which literally means “love from the womb.” However, there is even more possibilities for reflection in the Hebrew and secular Greek roots from which “compassion” draws. The Hebrew for compassion, rachamim, refers to the womb of God. Compassion is something that emanates out from deep within us. The Greek word has connections to one’s guts. From it, we get the English medical term splanchnic, referring to the internal vital organs: heart, liver, kidney. In the worship of first-century pagan gods and goddesses, one could offer a sacrifice to a deity. Worshippers would bring the animal sacrifice to that god’s temple, kill it, cut it open and pull out the vital organs. The worshipper sacrificed the animal carcass. However, the priest would take out the vital organs so that the worshippers could cook it as a meal. Those vital organs were the splanchna — the New Testament noun for “compassion.” When people ate a worship meal of those cooked organs, they “had compassion.” The Latin cum means “with,” and passio means, “to suffer.” Compassion is “suffering with” another. It seeks to bring action into our affection). Instead of facing this unexpected welcoming committee with dismay, or trying to find a peaceful place for himself and the disciples, Jesus' response is one of compassion. This is the word used for Jesus’ reaction to the crowds. Compassion is to enter into people’s lives when they open their lives to us. It is to internalize their condition. It is to suffer with someone by taking on his or her burden. Even as he had shown tender concern for the physical welfare of his disciples, so great compassion now moves Jesus to offer help and healing to the pressing crowd. The gospels commonly use the expression to describe Jesus’ attitude toward groups of people (e.g., Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; Mark 8:2). Occasionally, the gospels use the expression for small groups of people or individuals for whom Jesus has compassion (e.g., Mark 1:41, a leper; Matthew 20:34, two blind men; Luke 7:13, a widow), and the word appears in some of Jesus’ parables (e.g., Matthew 18:27, translated “pity,” and Luke 15:20, the father of the prodigal). Much more than intellectually acknowledging or emotionally feeling the suffering of the crowds, Jesus is described in terms of having a somatic connection to what these people are going through. He undergoes the inter-subjective internalization of their suffering, and is compelled to alleviate it. “Empathy,” “pity” and “sympathy” simply do not carry the freight of conveying the meaning of this word. The only accurate English translation here is “compassion” (literally, to “suffer” or “bear with”). Other important examples of the word throughout the gospels can be found in the four feeding narratives to which 9:36 is related (Matthew 14:14; 15:32 and Mark 6:34; 8:2) as well as the parables of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:33) and the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). The fact that compassion motivated Jesus means that he would not close his mind to the existence and situation of the multitude. He did not isolate himself from it. rather, he allowed the multitude to affect him. It went to his heart. He made their situation his own. He identified himself with them. his followers must follow him in this. Solidarity with the world means that those who are genuinely pious approach the children of the world in this way. Those who are genuinely righteous are not ashamed to sit down with unrighteous friends. Those who are genuinely wise do not hesitate to seem to be fools among fools. Those who are genuinely hold are not too good or irreproachable to go down into hell in a very secular fashion.[4]
Jesus did not live in a compassionate world. The temple was a bloody place with its sacrificial animals. The conquering Romans were brutal. To read the last part of Daniel and the books of the Maccabees in the apocrypha is to read of the barbarity of the Hellenistic empire against the Jewish people. Raiders from the east would occasionally try to invade the Roman empire. Many religions in the world still offered the brutality of human sacrifice to the gods. Hundreds of years later, Muslim armies strode across north Africa and into Spain and parts of France and east Europe before being turned back. Their approach was often to convert or perish. The Viking raids of the British Isles and Europe were done in the name of their gods, which required human sacrifice. Their vision of Valhalla, the palace of Oden, was to fight and kill during the day and feast with the enemy at night. Such was their version of heaven. It was a cult of death, as they bravely, courageously, and without fear marched toward it. I wish I could say that our modern world, with its democracy, scientific advances, and value for individuality, had somehow become more compassionate. The 1700s saw wars for independence. The 1800s saw the 30 years war between Catholic and Protestant. The 1900s saw massive deaths fighting colonialism (WWI), fascism (WWII), and Communism (Korea, Vietnam, Cold War). Stalin would kill millions of his own people to maintain power. The Communist Party of China becomes increasingly ready to use its economic power in an aggressive way and its military power to nations close to it. The bloody borders of Islam are known well, as those of Islamic belief keep pushing their religion through violence. Terrorism funded by the wealth of Islamic nations remains a serious threat to the freedoms so many of us come to enjoy.
The brutality of the modern world is not new. One morning a Russian nobleman — visiting British poet Alfred Tennyson (1808-1892) at his home on the Isle of Wight — set out on a hunting expedition. Later that day, he returned with the proud news that he had shot two peasants. “You mean two ‘pheasants,’” Tennyson politely corrected. “No,” the Russian emphatically replied, “two peasants. They were insolent, so I shot them.”
It will not be an easy action to allow oneself to look upon humanity with compassion. It almost seems to be against our nature. Yet, I think the calling of the people of God includes looking upon our world with the compassion Jesus had toward the crowds.
Years ago in a seminary course with Dr. James Wilkes, a Toronto psychiatrist, one student lamented that in this age of agnosticism and secularism we were no longer sure of the church’s vocation. Wilkes stared at the student for the longest time as if the student were half-deranged and then remarked, “Are you telling me that you can have a suffering human being in front of you and you don’t know what the church’s vocation is?”
There is a low-grade suffering that is simply part of the human condition; it never goes away. There is also high-grade suffering, intense pain, that can come upon us at any time for any reason and remain with us for any length of time. To be sure, professional expertise is often needed for people unwell in both respects; but even as professional expertise is called for, we should never think our ministry isn’t.[5]
What do you see when you look upon the crowds? Think of how often we have judged the crowds. We judge the crowds in their sin, drunkenness, violence, drug abuse, hatred, and war. Maybe one of the greatest proofs of the divinity of Jesus is that he looked upon the multitudes and had compassion. For some of us, the decisions America is making may make us feel like strangers in a strange land. There are many in our society who are in pain, not because of some psychological malady or something bad that happened to them when they were five. They are hurting because they are wandering like lost sheep in the desert. They are confused. It is not that they are sick; rather, they are ignorant. They simply have not taken the trouble, or not had the opportunity, to think through the faith. They confront the complexity of life with bits and pieces of insight cobbled together from here or there. They try to live in an adult world with the faith that they received as a 10-year-old or rejected as a 14-year-old. Sociologist Peter Berger has described us Christians as a “cognitive minority.” Christian modes of thought deviate from the officially sanctioned, socially enforced systems of knowledge. The world’s “plausibility structures” by which it knows what is possible and permissible, tell the world that the Christian faith is implausible. “It is, of course, possible to go against the social consensus that surrounds us, but there are powerful pressures (which manifest themselves as psychological pressures within our own consciousness) to conform to the views and beliefs of our” fellow citizens. A subtle yet powerful policing keeps us from uttering and affirming certain Christian convictions within conventional society. Christian education, teaching in the name of Jesus, is one of the ways that the church enables us to avoid the danger of the world conforming us to itself, but rather, allow the Spirit to transform us by the renewal of our minds (Rom 12:1-2).
The church does not simply reach out to and speak to the culture in which it lives and on which it depends. At some level, the churches seek to disrupt that culture by rescuing some people from its value system and to inculcate people into a new culture called the church. Followers of Jesus need to stay focused on what they believe and value. Practice compassion, because people will be hurting, as they choose paths that lead to lack of meaning, emptiness, and guilt. Such compassion and love followers of Jesus need to spread wherever they go. Such followers might begin in their homes. People who meet a follower of Jesus should leave better and happier. They need to be the living expression of the kindness and compassion of Jesus. Yes, others can see it our eyes, smile, and the warmth of our greeting. Such kindness and compassion have great power.[6]
He had compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.The response of Jesus to the forlorn state of the people is to teach them, an important component of Jesus’ ministry (see, e.g., Matthew 11:1; 13:54; 22:16; Mark 4:1; 6:2, etc.). We can find parallels of the sheep without shepherd imagery in the Old Testament.[7] Moses asks the Lord to appoint someone over the congregation so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd (Numbers 27:17). The prophet Micaiah saw Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep who have no shepherd (I Kings 22:17/II Chronicles 18:16). Ezekiel notes that with no shepherd, the people scattered (Ezekiel 34:5).[8] Thus, Mark highlights Jesus' linkage to ancient Hebrew leaders by identifying his role with that of a good shepherd. Even as Moses and David had been shepherds/leaders of their people, so Jesus views the milling crowd before him as "sheep without a shepherd." By first teaching them (v.34) and then feeding them (vv.35‑44), Jesus fulfills the Ezekiel 34:23 role of the promised shepherd, where the Lord will give Israel one shepherd, the servant of the Lord, David. He will feed them and be their shepherd.[9]
Mark 6:53-56 is a summary of healings at Gennesaret. One should note the connection of this summary to its narrative context, moving from feeding to crossing to landing. The picture is that of a peripatetic ministry.
[1] It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. Rollo May
[2] Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life, 1992. Like sheep we get hungry, and hungry for more than just food. We get thirsty for more than just drink. Our souls get hungry and thirsty; in fact it is often that sense of inner emptiness that makes us know we hav souls in the first place. There is nothing that the world has to give us, there is nothing that we have to give to each other even, that ever quite fills them. But once in a while that inner emptiness is filled even so. That is part of what the psalm means by saying that God is like a shepherd, I think. It means that, like a shepherd, he feeds us. He feeds that part of us which is hungriest and most in need of feeding.
[3] We cannot possibly be satisfied with anything less -- each day, each hour, each moment in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit -- than to walk with God. -- Theologian H. C. G. Moule
[4] (Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation, IV.3.2., G. W. Bromiley, trans. [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1962], p. 774.)
[5] —Victor Shepherd, “Mandate for a congregation,” January 1998, Victor Shepherd Web Site, victorshepherd.on.ca.
[6] Mother Teresa was aware of the power that kindness and compassion can have. She said,
“Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house … let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”
[7] We also find the imagery outside the canonical texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Damascus Document 13:9). "O sword, awake, against | my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, says God\7, smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." And they that watch him are the poor of the flock.
[8] Numbers 27:17
who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep without a shepherd."
1 Kings 22:17/II Chronicles 18:16
Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace.'"
Ezekiel 34:5
So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals.
[9] "I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd."
No comments:
Post a Comment