3/9/18. Discipleship and Hope: Reading Mark to the end, and back to the beginning. Reading Mark from beginning to end

Transcription

1 Discipleship and Hope: Reading Mark to the end, and back to the beginning 1 Approaching the text Short course in theology: Encountering the Gospel of Mark in a 1 st - Rev Dr Kylie Crabbe 7 th March, 018 Approaching the text Where we re sitting, as we start reading Overview Today s discussion will focus on: What are you wondering as you come to this session, this lecture series, this lectionary year of Mark? The narrative structure of Mark Where the story ends (a key passage about discipleship and hope!) Conceptualising encounter with a text (reading from different times, places, and perspectives) A final case study passage about discipleship and hope 3 4 Mark s narrative structure: The world of the text Reading Mark from beginning to end What stood out for you as you read Mark through? What did you like? What did you find confusing or uncomfortable? What surprised you? Which characters did you notice, and how do they change over course of the narrative (do they change)? Were there recurring themes or images that you particularly noticed? Was there anything you felt was missing? What are you starting to wonder about how people in Mark s setting might have seen the world? 6 1

2 Structuring the narrative Activity to place quotations from the Gospel into their narrative order as a team Three pillars supporting Mark s story (Byrne) Baptism (1.11) Transfiguration (9.7) Cross (15.39) 7 8 Some key themes that emerge in the major sections Jesus identity and mission The cost of the way to Jerusalem, (and discipleship) End-time promise (and discipleship) Jesus identity and mission The cost of the way to Jerusalem (and discipleship) End-time promise (and discipleship) 9 10 (One of) the end(s) of Mark The end of Mark. And the beginning 3 Mark When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you. 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 1

3 About the ending of Mark What to make of the remaining verses after 16.8? Near consensus that Mark 16.8 is the final verse we have of the original text One give away that the later verses are not original is that there are two endings given as possibilities! (ending 1: not numbered; ending : vv. 9-0) The longer ending is certainly canonical though, and incorporates themes we might recognise from the resurrection accounts across other texts About the ending of Mark One question arising though: is 16.8 the original ending, or has some text been lost? Some argue that the fact that early Christian writers added further verses might indicate they could tell something was missing. Alongside this, some debate about whether a book can end on the conjunction: for (γαρ, i.e. gar). Others suggest: we should deal with the text as we have it, there is no grammatical issue with gar, and that the ending opens up some important insights for the reader in the call to discipleship in Mark, and hope. I follow the second view Hope and discipleship in the ending of Mark Hope and discipleship in the ending of Mark Hearing Mark, like a drama unfolding in our midst (or house church) The downward trajectory of discipleship in the second half of Mark the main characters don t seem to get it At the end, even the women don t follow the instruction of the messenger at the empty tomb All hope seems lost How did it feel when we read the sayings out earlier and that note of silence seemed to stop the story? Morna Hooker: Signs that Jesus really has risen and has gone to Galilee What does it mean to have just heard the story that ends in being told the key witnesses say nothing? Where is the invitation and challenge for the listener? Listeners/readers as active agents The ending of Mark: initial responses How did it feel when we read the sayings out earlier and that note of silence seemed to stop the story? What are your initial responses to what we ve discussed so far? Reading texts: Connecting with other times, places, perspectives

4 Reading texts Connecting with other times, places, perspectives The world of the text The subtitle for this short course talks about encountering the Gospel of Mark how do we conceptualise that encounter between an ancient text, and a contemporary reader? What do we need to know about any given passage in Mark for it to make sense to us? Where does this passage fit in Mark s overall story? Is there something we need to know about what has happened before? Special words? What do we know about characters? 19 0 The world behind the text The world in front of the text What do we know about the ancient world? Are there special words we need to understand? Are there things about ancient geography, architecture, family structures, economies, transportation, farming practices, liturgy, education and so on that will shape the meaning of the story as its told? Does the story challenge or follow traditions? IN FRONT How our own context: affects our interpretation; and is addressed by the passage. Multi-layered: It s inevitable that we read from where we are (so being reflective about this is a good start). The different context from which the text comes might also challenge us to see our own setting differently. And hearing interpretations from other perspectives might help us to do this too. 1 The world in front of the text 5 When we come to the text, therefore, we will have our own assumptions. Final case study: Bartimaeus, discipleship, and hope Sometimes this might obscure IN FRONT us from seeing all that s in the text and limit our understanding; Sometimes our expectations might strengthen our understanding 3 4

5 Mark Biblical text as a source of liberation for all people A case study in hope and discipleship: disability and ability The world of the text: Mark They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, Son of David, have mercy on me! 49 Jesus stood still and said, Call him here. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart; get up, he is calling you. 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, My teacher, let me see again. 5 Jesus said to him, Go; your faith has made you well. Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. The last episode before Jesus enters Jerusalem Parallels other healing of blind people elsewhere, this time seeing straight away Juxtaposition with the rich man who followed all the rules but was unable to give up his possessions to follow Jesus (Mark ), and with the disciples struggle to understand the cost of discipleship (cf ) or to understand a further passion prediction from Jesus ( ). 5 6 The world behind the text: Mark The world in front of the text: Mark How important a place was Jericho? (they have a large crowd and all the text says is that they came to Jericho and as they were leaving, this happens with Bartimaeus--how would that sound?) Disability in the ancient world, including stipulations in Leviticus, also taken up in texts more recent to Mark s time, like, again, the Dead Sea Scrolls. What would it mean to leave a cloak? Who places themselves at the outskirts of town? IN FRONT What stories or experiences from our own time affect how we interact with this story? Different ways of thinking about ability and disability? (Contemporary disability studies would encourage us to think in less binary terms) Potentially challenging all our stereotypes (both ancient and contemporary): the text gives voice (and a name) to Bartimaeus before his healing, he is active, his declaration of faith is a model for others, and his presence draws attention to Jesus attention to marginalised characters. 7 8 Bartimaeus and Jesus: Initial responses Where is the liberation or good news in this story, depending on where you re reading from: for Bartimaeus, (for the rich man earlier in Mark 10), for the disciples, for us, for our communities? Also any responses to the idea of thinking about the world of the text, world behind the text, and world in front of the text like this? Discipleship and Hope: Reading Mark to the end, and back to the beginning Short course in theology: Encountering the Gospel of Mark in a 1 st - Rev Dr Kylie Crabbe 7 th March,