Week beginning 19 November 2018
Gospel Readings:
Mark 4:1-20
Mark 4:21-25
Mark 4:26-34
Genesis 33:1-17
Devotion 1
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.
Read: Mark 4:1-20
Jesus’ proclamation, summarised in the words of Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news”, has invited his hearers to imagine a new world—a world not ruled by tyrants and exploiters, but one in which the poor find healing and release from domination. And his call to discipleship has invited hearers to work with him for the establishment of the new world.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus uses imagery very familiar to his peasant hearers to picture the challenges faced by those who will respond to his call. Imagining a new world will not be easy! Challenging the power relations of the existing world will inevitably bring hardship and persecution, and there will be a strong “counter-call” back to the status quo—however unsatisfactory for those on the underside that may be. For those who push through the counter-call, however, they will bear fruit—the fruit of a new world!
Not everyone will hear the call, however. There will be those who, just as in Isaiah’s day, just don’t want to see. These are those who benefit from the current power arrangements of the society—the ruling class and those associated with them. For them, power and privilege depends on keeping things the way they are, and no amount of convincing that justice for the poor will benefit society as a whole will persuade them to give up what they have. Ched Myers aptly notes, “If we ‘listen but do not hear’ it is not because of the obscurity of the word, but because of our loyalty to the prevailing ideology.”1
Reflect
- What do you hear in today’s reading?
- Where do you see yourself in the Parable of the Sower?
- In what ways in God’s Spirit inviting you to deeper discipleship today?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
1 Ched Myers, Binding the Strongman: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus, 20th Anniversary ed, Maryknoll: Orbis, 2008, 175.
Devotion 2
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, aware of God’s presence in a broken world.
Read:Mark 4:21-25
In today’s reading Jesus again picks up the theme of seeing and hearing. We might see what is “hidden” as the “mystification” of current power arrangements. That is, the pretence of the powerful that “the way things are” is simply the natural order—the way things always have been and must continue to be. Why current power arrangements are the way they are, and how they got to be that way, of course, are not items that the powerful want to hold up for scrutiny.
In Jesus’ praxis of the Reign of God, however, these things must be held up for scrutiny. What is hidden—why things are the way they are—will be brought into the light, and the fragile and unjust hold on wealth and power of the elite will be laid bare.
The middle phrase of this text, translated in the NRSV as “Pay attention to what you hear”, is a warning which should read more along the lines of “Be careful of what you hear.” It is an invitation to think critically about economic relations, as Jesus highlights a piece of what is the prevailing economic wisdom: “The measure you give is the measure you get, and still more will be given you.” We might see this as perhaps an ancient version of “prosperity doctrine” relating to the Temple tithe. Those who give, according to the wisdom, earn God’s favour and will prosper. The actual effect, however, is the opposite: “For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” That is, giving will facilitate nothing more than the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. It is “wisdom” espoused by the dominant order to protect the interests of the powerful, and Jesus is opening the eyes of his hearers to see that “the way things are” is not the way that they must be.2
Reflect
- What are some pieces of prevailing wisdom in the modern world that are presented as simply “the way things are”?
- What alternatives to “the way things are” can you imagine that would be more aligned with God’s reign?
- In what ways might we live out God’s reign more deeply this week?
Pray for one another.
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
2 This way of reading Mark 4:21-25 is supported by the fact that Mark’s only other two uses of blepete, here translated “Be careful what you hear”, are Mk 8:15 and 12:38—both passages critiquing the religious elite (and in the case of 12:38, their exploitation of the poor).
Devotion 3
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.
Read: Mark 4:26-34
Reflect
- What words come to mind to describe God’s reign as pictured in the images in today’s reading?
- Where do you see God’s reign like growing seed or a mustard bush in your neighbourhood?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
Devotion 4
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of gratitude together, giving thanks for the ways you’ve experienced God’s loving kindness.
This week’s Common Value:Communal generosity.
Read: Genesis 33:1-17
Ask
- How might we practice the express God’s generosity this week?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer