Quote from St. Bonaventure

Ask grace, not learning; desire, not understanding; groanings of prayer, not industry in study; the Spouse, not the master; God, not man; obscurity, not clarity.
- St. Bonaventure

What's in a Title: A Glance at MARK 1:1

My favorite children's book is called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. What a title! Not only does this book's title invite its readers into the mysterious and unfortunate world of Alexander, but it also plays on what turns out to be an ironic twist - a twist that I will not reveal here for the sake of the author, Judith Viorst.

So many other great stories have titles loaded with meaning: To Kill a Mockingbird, A Good Man is Hard to Find, The Jungle, Animal Farm, Heart of Darkness, and others. All of these authors knew what they were doing in constructing the title of their narrative. I would like to suggest that the author of the Gospel of Mark has done the same.

Mark 1:1 is not exactly the first "verse" of Mark's Gospel, but rather his title. It reads: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And, like the various titles listed above, it is loaded with meaning.

Firstly, the term "good news" in the culture of the day was a term used to announce the victory over an enemy, birth of a son, or a wedding (interesting that all three of these are applicable in the case of Jesus). The Greek euangelion can be found in countless Roman texts describing the actions of Caesars. For example, the birth of Caesar Augustus was euangelion, or good new; the enthronement of Emperor Gaius was good news; and the accession of Vespasian was good news. Knowing this allows us to see how subversive Mark was in titling his narrative about Jesus as the euangelion of Jesus Christ.

The term euangelion is found in the OT in its verb form (Isaiah 40:9-10) to refer to the One who brings tidings of good news in relation to the restoration of Jerusalem. Yet another way that Mark's readers would hear this term and immediately make a connection with, not the caesar, but the Messiah.

Secondly, Mark uses the term "Son of God" as not only another way to subvert the secular empire, but also as a way to emphasize the Jewish connection to the Davidic King, the Messiah for which Israel had waited. It is interesting that, despite popular interpretation, Mark did not use the term "Son of God" to stress Jesus' divinity; in fact, Mark doesn't even include a birth narrative. Most Jews of Jesus' day did not expect the Messiah to be divine anyway, so it seems that Mark has focused (at least in his title) on the fact that Jesus is Israel's long-awaited Messiah, and He is LORD; and Caesar is not.

The OT provides a handful of references to the Messiah as the Son of God (2 Sam 7:12-16; Psalm 2, Dan. 7). More important than Jesus' divinity was Jesus' authenticity as Israel's King. Because the term "Son of God" was known in Judaism as a metaphor for the Messiah, Mark's readers did not necessarily interpret this title as divine, but rather as the One Whom God would send to save Israel. And thus, the hearers and readers of Mark's narrative would immediately make the connection that this man is the same One about whom the OT wrote. (Obviously this is still a much disputed fact today and remains the very reason why Jewish and Christian believers hold such differing views about Jesus. However, we must see Mark's context as grounds for strong support for the Davidic Kingship and Messiahship of Jesus)

In addition to this link to the Davidic King, the term "son of god" was also used as a title for Roman emperors and pharaohs. Again Mark is getting to the point: Jesus is the Son of God and the emperor is not.

Audacity is an understatement here, folks. Mark opens his narrative about Jesus with BOLD language! All of this makes me wonder how it is that Christians today ought to title the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

"Mission Accomplished: The Story of Our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ"

"Jesus, President of the Kingdom of God"

"The Beginning of the Campaign of Jesus, the Maverick of God"

"In Jesus We Trust: Novus Ordo Seclorum" (Meaning "New Order of the Ages" -writing that can be found on a dollar bill)**

These are just some quick ideas, but perhaps we can invent some new ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God for hearers and readers today. This would no doubt make our great brother Mark proud.

** Notice how difficult it is to be subversive when Christianity has itself taken on the role of the empire. The effects of Christendom are dangerous and difficult to combat!

NUDITY! A Metaphor in the Garden

I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere out there in Sunday School Land there are two felt-board cutouts of Adam and Eve - naked. Well, with fig leaves obstructing their "hoo-hahs," of course. Nonetheless, the images of a naked man and a naked woman are central to the traditional view of the Creation Narrative.

Without taking away from this traditional opinion, I have been wondering if the conventional images of naked people can offer more than a shocking, R-rated Bible story. Perhaps they are also an insightful metaphor concerning our relationship with God.

In New Seeds of Contemplation Thomas Merton discusses human identity in relation to God:

"Everyone of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but cannot exist because God does not know anything about him. And to be unknown to God is altogether too much privacy.

All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my egocentric desires, is the fundamental reality of life to which everything else in the universe is ordered. Thus, I use up my life in desire for pleasures and the thirst for experiences, for power, honor, knowledge, and love, to clothe this false self and construct its nothingness into something objectively real.

And I wind experiences around myself and cover myself with pleasures and glory like bandages in order to make myself perceptible to myself and to the world, as if I were an invisible body that could only become visible when something visible is covered its surface."

I found a few words in this text very interesting. Merton suggests that we are like invisible bodies clothing ourselves with "visible" qualities, covering ourselves with tangible experiences so that we may construct and be in control of our identity.

Consider the parallels with the Creation Narrative. Before eating from the tree Adam and Eve's identities were fully found in and with God. They were nude and unashamed. They were naked and complete. God saw them and they were Good.

After eating the fruit their way of seeing changed and they found themselves lacking. They immediately covered themselves - symbolizing the construction of their own identity. After all, what did the serpent promise? That they would be like God; that is, in control, on their own, independent from God.

And not only did the man and woman's sight change, but God Himself could no longer see them (v. 9). As Adam and Eve clothed themselves they simultaneously hid themselves from God. Merton states that "... there is no substance under the things with which [we] are clothed [and] ... God does not know anything about [these things]."

Perhaps another Sunday School felt-board kit could have a naked Adam and Eve labeled 'Good' or 'Whole.' And then a handful of felt shirts, shorts, jeans, socks, etc. labeled things like power, money, love, knowledge, vanity, success, or popularity. These are some of the clothes with which we attempt to build our identity, but only become less and less visible to God (in the same sense as C.S. Lewis describes the ghostly people in The Great Divorce). Maybe the clothes would be the same color as the felt-board; causing the illusion that Adam and Eve are disappearing when the clothes are added.

As Merton suggests, "the secret of my identity is hidden in the love and mercy of God. ... Ultimately the only way that I can be myself is to become identified with Him in Whom is hidden the reason and fulfillment of my existence. ... If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self then I will find Him."

So come on all people now, let's get naked... and be seen.

OBAMA on Religion

Very intelligent thoughts from an intelligent man. See the clip here.

Concerning Parables...

Last Monday night I enjoyed a great discussion on the topic of parables. During the discussion a friend of mine posed a wonderfully down-to-earth question: What about the people who try so hard to understand Jesus' parables but just don't get it? The question frustrated me all week long and I had to do some studying on the subject.

First is an excerpt from Brian McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus:

"...So if a parable leaves you confused, you will have one of two responses. You can respond with arrogant and impatient anger which makes you walk away. Or you can respond with eager and curious humility, which keeps you coming back. in this way parables have a capacity that goes beyond informing their hearers; parables also have the power to help transform them into interactive, interdependent, humble, inquisitive, and persistent people.

... Maybe then, we have some beginning of an answer to the disciple's question. Why did Jesus speak in parables? Why was he subtle, indirect, and secretive? Because his message wasn't merely aimed at conveying information. It sought to precipitate something more important: the spiritual transformation of the hearers.

... It helps form a heart that is humble enough to admit it doesn't already know and is thirsty enough to ask questions. In other words, a parable renders its hearers not as experts, not as know-it-alls, not as scholars . . . but as children."


I think McLaren is on to something here in the idea that the parables are not meant to convey esoteric knowledge but are meant to produce action, behavior, and fruit! In Mark 4:12 Jesus says that those who hear and understand will act accordingly: turn and be forgiven. Luke's version of the parable (Lk 8:15) says that those with a good heart will bring forth fruit with patience! Surely Jesus emphasized this in the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 7:24 when he said that those who are wise will both hear and do his word.

Most of that we established on Monday night, but I think McLaren's words are helpful in clarifying some things.

Secondly, when people hear Jesus' parables and walk away without understanding, I think there are two questions we could ask of them:

1. WHAT is it you were expecting to learn from the parable?

2. HOW were you trying to learn it?

Concerning #1:

We could rephrase this question as "What are you looking for?" As McLaren said, if people are expecting information or test-tube knowledge, then, forget it, you won't find it in parables. People who read Jesus' parables this way are like one who reads Moby Dick as a guide to fishing. Seeking this kind of knowing from parables will burn you out! Perhaps this is why so many people leave Christianity wounded, exhausted, and frustrated.

Yes, some people may work rigorously to figure out the meaning of parables, but that does not mean that their effort is the right kind of effort (I discuss how we go about learning below) The Pharisees were no doubt trying their hardest to interpret the laws of God, but Jesus came and said it isn't about your effort, it's about your heart. He rightly pointed out that the Pharisees were self-promoting and pious. If you want to understand the parable, you must be humble and admit your need for the Teacher. Then, you will have already (ironically) understood it. I think that the parable of the soil is all about having a humble, receptive heart.

Also, many people approach Jesus as though he were a teacher in our Western, academic sense. That is, as if he were giving us the answers in the same way as a history teacher. But Jesus was as teacher in the rabbinic sense of the word; and so maybe we would do better to view him as a coach who is not merely giving us answers but actually helping us learn to play the game better. A coach to whom we keep coming back to for guidance and wisdom as we learn how to appropriately live in the Kingdom.

WHAT we are trying to know directly affects HOW we go about knowing it. Therefore, we must also ask "How are you trying to know Jesus' message?"

Concerning #2:

If we are expecting clear-cut answers and informational knowledge then we will most certainly look and look and look but never see. Concerning cognitive knowing, Thomas Merton writes on this beautifully:

"God remains hidden from the arrogant gaze of our investigative mind which seeks to capture him and secure permanent possession of him in an act of knowledge. We must forget the familiar subject-object relationship which characterizes our ordinary acts of knowing."

This familiar, scientific formula for knowing doesn't work for parables! Instead, we must confess that we do not know; and through that confession we will be initiated into the mysteries of the Kingdom because that confession requires our dependence on Jesus. This idea of humility as a way of knowing reminds me of Socrates who wrote, "I know nothing. But I know that I know nothing, so therefore I know something!" Surely humility is a cornerstone for knowing and understanding in the Kingdom. (and when I say "knowing and understanding" remember I do not mean "getting it," I mean realizing I am insufficient without Jesus, realizing I may never "get it" but that's okay)

Remember those 3-D puzzles that were so popular ten years ago? Remember what the key to seeing the hidden picture was? People would say "Relax your eyes. Unfocus your eyes. Don't try to see the whole picture, just focus on one thing." Perhaps this is what it's like to see and perceive the message of Jesus. Perhaps we must not try so hard to understand everything, but rather just focus on one thing: our need for Jesus.

Also, Jesus was NOT offering a one-time proposition: Either you get it now or you don't. No. The invitation to the mysteries of God is always available. So anyone who is frustrated must also be patient, knowing that what matters in the present is not understanding, but turning and recognizing the need for Jesus. Again, it's kind of like Socrates' conclusion: I know nothing, but at least I know that!

I think Jesus addresses more than one way of HOW we come to know in the Kingdom. We may hear and see which are more cognitive kinds of knowing, but we also know through doing - which is why Jesus' message called us to act.

For example, if I read all the coaching books on basketball and watch the NBA everyday I will know a lot about basketball; so in a sense I could say "I know basketball." But if don't learn to dribble and shoot and pass then much of the knowledge from the coaching book is meaningless. Only when I start practicing and doing basketball will I understand more clearly what basketball is all about.

In the same way, knowing in God's Kingdom is holistic and depends not only on cognitive understanding but on our behavior as well. Jesus' parables don't make sense unless we are doing the actions that work interdependently with the message. Therefore, we cannot say "I will disobey God and still understand the principles of the Kingdom."

Paul underscores this in 1 Corinthians 2, particularly verse 14 which says "The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." I think Paul was also on to something in the ways that he described Love, Hope, and Faith as ways of knowing; see particularly 1 Corinthians 13.

Although this is just the tip of the iceberg, this has been helpful for me in attempting to answer the frustrating question of why some people understand Jesus and others don't. I think that WHAT we desire to know and understand matters. And I think that HOW we go about knowing and understanding matters. From my recent studying I am under the impression that there is no one-time, once-and-for-all answer or conclusion. And perhaps that is the point: that God would be so Great and so Mysterious and so Awesome and so relational that we should not settle, but rather, like children, continue to question and remain dependent on Him. Perhaps Jesus didn't want us to know something just once; perhaps He wanted us to keep knowing something better and better so that it would become the determining factor of our entire lives.

I wish to leave you with another quote from Thomas Merton:

"By Faith one assents not only to the propositions revealed by GOD, but one assents to GOD Himelf. One says yes not merely to a statement about God, but to the Invisible, Infinite GOD Himself."

May it be that we do not so much wish to acquire seed as much to know the Sower.

Living in the Future: A Parable

A man desired to leave his homeland and live in a country far away across the sea; for this land was more beautiful and more peaceful than any other land. So he made arrangements to move but could not receive his property for seven years.

While he waited the man began learning how to speak the language spoken in his future homeland. In addition, he began practicing their familial traditions and social customs. He even wore their conventional clothing.

Some years went by and many countrymen inquired as to why the man was living so strangely. The man explained that although he was waiting seven years to move, he had begun living the lifestyle of his future and begun speaking the language spoken by his future countrymen. Fascinated by the man's divergent lifestyle, the countrymen craved to know more about this faraway kingdom.

When the seven years of waiting had finally passed the man was permitted to move to his new property. But seeing that his fellow countrymen were now too living the ways of the faraway country, the man decided to stay in his homeland and share in the new lifestyle with them.