Voice of Truth: 1st Edition, January 2021

Page 13

Journey with Jesus Nuggets from the Gospel of Mark written by Rev. Lisa Morrison

SURPRISES Do you like surprises? Do you like it when someone throws you a surprise birthday party? My favorite surprise party story is one that happened to my friend. He came home from work on his birthday and no one was home, or so he thought. He took off his work clothes, and when he went downstairs in his underwear, he quickly realized a lot of ‘somebodies’ were home! He wasn’t sure who was more surprised: him or his birthday guests. In the Gospel of Mark, we find Jesus constantly surprising the religious leaders of the day – the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees. They all have expectations of what the promised Messiah will do when He appears. The issue is that Jesus doesn’t adhere to their expectations. Instead, He surprises them with His actions raising more questions about who He is and what He is doing than answering the question they expect Him to answer. Is He their promised Messiah? In Mark’s narrative, the story of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, begins with the main character being where he ought not to be – among sinners being baptized by John. If He is the One who is to come, He ought to be elsewhere – in Jerusalem, the center of their Judaic religion. That He initiates His ministry outside the sacred precincts, among the unwashed, characterizes what follows in Mark’s Gospel. We surprisingly find that Jesus is never with the “right” people – something for which He will be constantly criticized. We find Jesus among the unclean lepers who are the marginalized of society. We find Jesus among the tax collectors who are traitors to their own Jewish people. We find Jesus among the unclean tombs with a demon-possessed man. We find Jesus among the hated Gentiles. According to the religious leaders, Jesus never seems to be among the “right” people - (the holy people). At the heart of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus surprises us. The one who is to come appears, but in a way no one expects. In the tension between what is expected and what occurs is a central feature of the story that we are told is “good news”. Mark’s Gospel argues a case. The story is told from the perspective of one who is persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God; and it is filled with wonderful surprises for all those who are open to the Messiah’s touch, love, healing and salvific presence. Jesus may have surprised the religious leaders because He was not where they expected Him to be, but He is always exactly where He is supposed to be – among sinners, the unclean, the demon-possessed, the hated, you and me. He is the good news we all need to hear, and He lives among us so we can experience His presence for ourselves. Contact Lisa at eaglesnsight@gmail.com.

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Articles inside

Women World Leaders Connections

3min
page 58

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

6min
page 57

Hand to Heart

3min
page 56

You Have The Victory

1min
page 55

Prayers for the Sons of The King

1min
page 54

Courage in Action

3min
page 52

Coffee Chats

7min
pages 50-51

Dim Glass Gospel Glimpses

4min
page 47

Ever Interceding

2min
page 46

Marveling Modesty

4min
page 45

Following the Son

2min
page 44

A Beautiful Mess

3min
page 43

Wide Open Wonderment

4min
page 42

Deeply Rooted

1min
page 41

A Warrior for God's Truth and Justice

3min
page 40

Use Your Voice

1min
page 39

Musings on the Book of John

2min
page 38

Three Strands

3min
page 37

Florence

2min
page 36

Writings from the Global Office Pt. 2

15min
pages 32-35

Psalm 91

4min
pages 30-31

Unfiltered Lens

16min
pages 26-29

College Courage

2min
page 25

Dear Sister

1min
page 24

Broken and Beloved

6min
page 23

Faith and Family

3min
page 22

Miraculous manna

6min
pages 20-21

Peace by Piece

3min
page 19

Neowise Comet & Miracle in the Grand Tetons

3min
page 18

Holy Hush

4min
pages 16-17

A Purposed Creation

2min
page 15

A Call to Explore

2min
page 14

Journey with Jesus - Nuggets from the Gospel of Mark

2min
page 13

Chariots and Horses

4min
page 12

Tiny Bird

9min
pages 10-11

Writings from the Global Office

10min
pages 6-9

Gospel Grace

3min
page 5

Letter from the Founder

6min
page 3
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