Month: February 2015

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God Tempts No One

Text: Mark 1:9-15
Date: Lent I + 1/20/15

Oh, my! Here we are again, still stuck in Mark chapter one. We have observed how urgently this Evangelist wishes to move us to the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Mark apparently assumes that you have heard of Jesus’ virgin conception in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 and His birth in Bethlehem in fulfillment of Micah 5:2, possibly even having read Matthew’s recent publication, so he doesn’t feel it necessary to mention that. It is, of course, a very important part of the gospel but for some reason not to Mark as much as his goal, the testimony of our Lord’s death and resurrection. Continue reading “God Tempts No One”

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With Shining Face

Text: Mark 9:2-9
Date: Transfiguration + 2/15/15

Today serves as sort of a bookend to the season of Epiphany. It began at our Lord’s Baptism with a dramatic appearance of the Holy Spirit and the Voice from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son.” Today the season ends with the even more dramatic vision of our Lord’s Transfiguration, the Voice from heaven repeating, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” In the first chapter of Mark’s gospel it is interesting to note how the Evangelist, already from the beginning, here and there hints at the heart of the gospel, namely, the resurrection of our Lord. Today we are given a glimpse, a vision, a description of our Lord Jesus Christ in His full heavenly glory. Continue reading “With Shining Face”

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Unwearied Grace

Text: Mark 1:29-39
Date: Epiphany V + 2/8/15

This is the sixth time we are hearing from only the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel this year. And we would hear the remaining paragraphs of this chapter if the Epiphany season were one week longer this year. Here we see Jesus beginning His earthly ministry. Baptized by John and tempted in the wilderness (of which we will hear on the First Sunday in Lent), Jesus is introduced to us by Mark as the incarnate Son of God who comes preaching, teaching, healing and casting out demons. This is what Jesus came to do, namely, to restore the fallen, dying, sinful creation to God’s original design, holy, pure and living. But this was only the beginning. Continue reading “Unwearied Grace”

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Nothing New

Text: Mark 1:23-28
Date: Epiphany IV + 2/1/15

Conversion from sinner to saint, enlightenment from unbeliever to believer happens in different ways to different individuals; different yet the same. No one has the ability to come to faith in God on your own. God must first come to us. And He has. When He sent His Son into our flesh, being born of a woman, the ancient doors of heaven, previously barred because of our sin and death, were flung open. In Jesus of Nazareth the heavens are opened to all. Christmas was such a joyful event that even the world gets into the act to a certain extent. We’ve seen those doors dramatically ripped open at our Lord’s baptism, the Spirit resting on Him and the voice of the Father from above. Today we see the awesome power of the open door of heaven as Jesus casts out an unclean spirit from a man; a pretty dramatic event if you stop to ponder each detail. St. Mark tells us how the people at first “were astonished” at Jesus’ teaching. Now he says “they were all amazed,” asking, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” Continue reading “Nothing New”