LENT 2 - NOW--we choose to trust
Mark 10:32-52
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As I said last Sunday, multiple times in my sermon,
following Jesus is hard.
Case in point, the first verse in today’s reading from Mark 10.
Let me read it again, v. 32
“They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus was walking ahead of them;
they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.”
They’re on a walk! On a well-traveled road.
Following Jesus, literally.
Jesus is walking ahead of them.
They are walking right behind.
And they are amazed.
And they are afraid.
Why is that?
Is Jesus’ walking too fast, his pace too hurried, too rushed,
they can’t keep up?
Could be. This is the urgent Gospel, after all.
And Jesus seems intent on getting to Jerusalem.
Well, I think in this case,
it’s simply the fact that he is walking toward Jerusalem.
That is not the direction his followers want to be walking.
It says, they are amazed and afraid.
And rightly so.
They are amazed that Jesus is purposely walking
toward the seat of the political and religious powers
that are right now trying to destroy him.
In Galilee, where they’ve been hanging out for a while,
he is mostly loved and adored.
But it’s the upper echelons of the hierarchy
in Jerusalem’s temple and palace,
who are threatened by Jesus, and are plotting to destroy him.
Those who follow Jesus are amazed he is choosing to go there.
And they are afraid, both for Jesus and for themselves.
But they are following anyway.
They are on the way with Jesus.
And Jesus keeps talking about the terrible things awaiting them.
Two or three times already, in our journey through Mark,
Jesus predicts his suffering and death.
And now he does it again, as they walk down the road together.
Here’s how I like to imagine it.
Jesus is hoofing it, almost race-walking,
and while panting from his cardio workout,
he twists his neck around to speak to his disciples,
who are trying their best to keep up,
and Jesus tells them, still walking,
in a whole series of short phrases,
inhaling between every phrase,
“Look [inhale] we are going up to Jerusalem [inhale]
and the Son of Man will be handed over [inhale]
to the chief priests and the scribes [inhale]
and they will condemn him to death [inhale]
then they will hand him over to the gentiles; [inhale]
they will mock him and spit upon him [inhale]
and flog him and kill him [inhale]
and after three days he will rise again.” [inhale]
Now, I don’t know if that’s how it came out of Jesus’ mouth,
but the choppy sentence structure in Mark,
makes it feel that way to me.
It’s not a big deal, really, but a quick aside, about the word “aside,”
that shows up in v. 32, in the NRSV and NIV and others.
It says Jesus “took the twelve aside.”
The Greek text doesn’t actually have that word—“aside.”
And many English translations don’t include it, either.
But some add it, I think,
to portray something the translators imagine,
of Jesus asking his disciples to huddle up for a while,
under a shade tree beside the road,
while they have this lengthy conversation.
The Greek word paralambanó (παραλαμβάνω) only means
that Jesus made sure they were near him,
not that he took them aside, or away to a quiet spot.
As I said, I like to imagine that Jesus talked to them on the road,
hurriedly and breathlessly,
because it fits the hurried mood of the Gospel.
And there’s nothing in the text that makes my imagination,
any less valid than the imagination of translators
who thought Jesus took a rest stop.
So . . . I invite you to imagine with me,
Jesus still hurrying down the road,
and his disciples—amazed and afraid—trying to keep up.
This makes the next verses all the more interesting.
Immediately after Jesus drops this verbal bomb on his disciples—
“I’m going to be executed by my enemies”—
James and John “come forward” to Jesus, Mark says in v. 35.
Coming forward, in my imaginary scene,
means they had to quicken their pace,
and start walking beside Jesus instead of behind him.
Probably one on either side of Jesus, right and left,
and they say, “Jesus, Teacher, do us a favor, will you?”
Jesus says, “What favor?”
“Well, when you come into your glory and sit on the throne,
let us sit beside you, in the place of honor,
one on the right, the other on the left.”
Talk about gutsy. And cheeky.
Their rabbi had just said he would suffer and die.
And their next move is to secure their own legacy.
Yes, James and John just confirmed it.
It’s hard to follow Jesus.
Hard to keep up with what’s happening.
Hard to know how to respond.
Hard to do what is actually required to be a disciple.
After James and John made this bold move,
Jesus gave them a straightforward and honest answer,
“You do not know what you are asking.”
Of course, this 3-way conversation at the front of the line,
happened with earshot of the ten bringing up the rear,
which, as you might imagine,
prompted a heated exchange among them.
After which, Jesus called to them, Mark said.
Maybe, still over his shoulder, he called out, [swivel left, call right]
“You’re acting like Gentiles!
They like to lord it over each other.
If you follow me, you will do it differently.
Whoever wishes to become great among you
must be your servant,
and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all.”
Then the hurrying toward Jerusalem continues, v. 46,
“They came to Jericho.
As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho…”
Hear that? Mark wastes no words.
They came to this big city.
And as they were leaving the city . . .
It’s like Mark wants us to know they walked into the city,
walked right through it without stopping,
and as they are walking out,
they pass by a blind beggar along the road.
Just seeing the beggar didn’t stop them.
But the blind man learned that the crowd rushing by
was being led by Jesus, and he started hollering, loudly,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And people all around tried to shush him.
But he hollered all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Then, at long last, the urgent pace of Mark changes abruptly.
For the first time since they headed for Jerusalem,
Mark includes a stationary verb:
Jesus stood still.
After all these hours of hurried hiking,
Jesus stood still.
And he said, “Call him here.”
He didn’t turn and go to the man.
He stood still.
He directed other people to bring the man to him.
So the man, in contrast to the stationary Jesus,
threw off his cloak, and sprang up.
Don’t you love those action verbs? they’re sports verbs—
“threw . . . sprang . . . and came to Jesus.”
Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man said, “My teacher, let me see again.”
Jesus said, “Go; your faith has made you well.”
Immediately (Mark’s favorite word), he regained his sight.
And then what did he do?—v. 52—
he “followed him on the way.”
The formerly blind man joined the very crowd
that had been hurrying for hours, maybe days,
to keep up with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.
_____________________
Good stuff here! Is Mark a great storyteller, or what?
But how do we bring it home? to where we live?
I’m sure there are any number of things in this story
that could speak to you.
So I hope you listen for those things, and go where they take you.
But here is where the story took me.
This seems to be about trust.
About faith, defined as trust.
There is a whole unknown and threatening world
that Jesus is leading his followers toward.
It’s in Jerusalem, and in Rome.
It is embodied by King Herod, Governor Pilate,
the High Priest, the Temple elite, and more.
They have every reason to fear that threat.
Staying as far away as possible makes sense for them and for Jesus.
But Jesus is going there,
and therefore, so do they.
These disciples may well be criticized
as bumbling and fearful and shortsighted at times.
But here, on the road to Jerusalem,
they are shining examples of faith,
of trust that Jesus is worth following,
even when following doesn’t make logical sense.
And yes, just so we don’t forget they are human,
there is this story thrown in
about them jockeying for position,
angling for the seat of honor.
But give them credit.
They are keeping up with Jesus
as he heads toward conflict and confrontation.
Where are we hesitant to follow Jesus?
What do we need in order to trust?
Where is the “Jerusalem,” today, that Jesus is hurrying toward,
and inviting us to follow him there?
Are we willing to follow?
Are we willing to trust?
I’m not so sure that “trust,” in this case,
means believing everything is going to turn out just fine.
I think trust means having the courage
to stay on the way with Jesus,
even without knowing what the end looks like.
It means living life with—if not a sense of rest—
at least a sense of purpose.
People living with purpose,
tend to be people who don’t lose themselves in fear and anxiety.
As we face
an increasingly dangerous world,
globally, nationally, and locally,
we still are given a purpose.
Stick with Jesus.
Go where Jesus is going.
Join in God’s healing and shalom project,
even when it looks hopeless,
even when it feels like we are putting our lives on the line.
Yes, we do often fall short, and will continue to do so.
So let us make our confession, together . . .
one God of steadfast love, you invite us to follow where you lead.
all We confess that we often hold back,
for fear, for uncertainty, for an inability to trust.
one Give us courage to do your bidding, to go where you go.
all Deepen our courage, strengthen our faith, restore our trust.
[silence]
one The God of steadfast love promises to be with you always,
to extend grace, to forgive, to accompany, to comfort.
—Phil Kniss, February 25, 2024
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