The Gospel for Tuesday, March 2, 2004
Mark 1:14-28
After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.’ As he was walking along by the Lake of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net in the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending the nets. At once he called them and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him. They went as far as Capernaum, and at once on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. And at once in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked it saying, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking one another what it all meant, saying, ‘Here is a teaching that is new, and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation at once spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. 1995, c1985. Doubleday: Garden City, N.Y.
A Study
This is a very abbreviated account of how Peter and Andrew and James and John were called to be disciples. Mark has work to do: get the word out to the Christian community in Rome. Details slow him down.
Peter is said to have recounted his story to Mark late in Peter's life, and Peter's first meeting with Jesus must have been remarkable[!] for him to drop everything, along with his brother and the sons of Zebedee, and head down the lakeshore to Capernaum. John's account of John the Baptist's recommendation to Andrew: "Behold the Lamb of God!" -- is likely the spark that set Peter and Andrew and then the sons of Zebedee on their courses.
For rural Jews like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, someone who taught with authority must have been a dramatic shift from what they had become used to. The occasional itinerant rabbi passing through the Gallilean backwater of Nazareth likely didn't work up original material for them. And when they were at festivals in Jerusalem, or at the synagogues in Nazareth or Capernaum, the ritual stories had the spotlight.
A Reflection
This man Jesus taught as if he knew very well that which about he spoke! Those who normally were brave enough to speak in the synagogues always fell back on what some hoary old scholar had once said. That was safety. Who could disagree with a [usually dead] respected sage? It's reminiscent of "old white guys" in the scientific community.
And then he cast out a demon in front of everyone at Capernaum. We are not familiar, today, with demoniac possession except for apocryphal accounts like "The Exorcist."
Preaching with authority and casting out demons was impressive -- but not enough for most of the Jews of Gallilee to become convinced that what this carpenter had the say was "the right stuff." At least, not early on. Like their fathers in the wilderness, they were reluctant to throw their hearts into God's love and care.
We in the Western world often think of "old-time" religion as being set in fervor, with heartfelt acceptance of the divine. How wrong we would have been. Just as they whined that the Manna was becoming boring, and then whined because all they had to eat was quail, they could not bring themselves to believe in this man of authority who could cast out demons.
Can we?
9:46:54 PM 
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