Reading 21: Wrap-up for Remarkable Mark You may know that many scholars contend that Mark’s Gospel originally ended quite strangely with 16:8, “and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” The rest, they say, were later additions to make sure Mark’s narrative included the resurrection narrative, so central to the Christian faith. Indeed, […]

Reading 20: A Silent Dawn Read Mark 16: 1-8 Early morning is my favorite time of day. Everything seems fresh and new, the air filled with a great variety of birdsong in my little corner of the world, and people sounds have not yet begun. Usually I awaken with an eagerness to see what the […]

Reading 19: A Savior who redeems by losing Read Mark 15:1-47 These 47 verses are an important part of the Passion history which follow Peter’s threefold denial of his Lord. The following scenes seem to escalate the chaos begun by Peter’s faithless denial. With every cluster of seemingly unredeemable bad news that follows Jesus shows […]

  Reading 18: Speaking Up Read Mark 14:43-72 I enjoyed visiting the Art Institute of Chicago while growing up in a nearby suburb. While I loved Impressionism, I was also drawn to the work of Ivan Albright, whose life-size painting, “That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do” (also known as “The Door”), […]

Reading 17: “Long Live God” Read Mark 14:1-31 Aside from my immediate love for the musical “Godspell,” the thing I most remember about leaving the theater that first time I saw the movie version was the grumbling of the adults around me. I must’ve been about 14 years old that evening. And as the movie […]

Reading 16—Jesus Foretells the End Times Read Mark 13:1-37 The disciples have traveled with Jesus all the way to Jerusalem, where they express awe at the magnificent temple (13:1). Jesus, however, continues teaching them that the glory they keep looking for is not the glory they will find with him. The stones of the temple […]

Reading 15—At the Master’s Feet Read Mark 12:1-44 When my grandmother Alice was advanced in years it became increasingly difficult for her to hear during church. We tried various hearing aids, with mixed results. In frustration, we once asked if she wouldn’t rather stay home on a Sunday morning. “Oh, no; I need to sit […]

Reading 14—Where Do You See Jesus? Read Mark 10:46-11:33 The healing of a blind man, a parade, an object lesson with a fig tree, a spiritual housecleaning, and a confrontation with authority—these are the ways that Mark lets us see Jesus very shortly before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Reading 13—Hardness of Heart and the Kingdom of God Read Mark 10:1-45 In these verses from Mark, Jesus is constantly calling people out for hardness of heart and inability to see the kingdom of heaven present right in front of them. The transfiguration in chapter 9 revealed Jesus to be the embodiment of the law […]

Reading 12—The Ups and Downs of Following Jesus Read Mark 9:1-49 This chapter offers a witness that even when God makes everything clear to us about his work in saving us (as is revealed to the disciples in these verses), there will still be a lot of misunderstandings and weak faith among his followers.