2014-01-24

It just ain’t happening ... (Part 3 - of 12) ... it doesn't work any more

It just ain’t happening ... (Part 3 - of 12) ... faithfulness, wisdom, & prayer...when the miracles don’t come. Mark ch9v14-29 (to open in a new window, hold control down as you click the link)

 

Mark: Mediterranean Man, Message & Methods.

Eusebius (writing circa 325AD) quotes Papias’ (who lived ca. 60-130 AD, and wrote ca. 125 AD) that he heard from John the Presbyter that  “Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not indeed in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things done or said by Christ.  For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them.  For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely."[1]  Papias tells us that Mark followed Peter, & became Peter’s interpreter. This last phrase could mean several things; Peter’s explainer/interpreter to the people, as Aaron spoke for “tongue-tied” Moses, or as Philip interpreted the scriptures for the Ethiopian official; or simply one who spoke or wrote fluently in one language for one who didn’t speak or write it so fluently,  as Joseph (feigned? when he) used an interpreter to speak to his brothers. There is some evidence that Peter may have been the oldest disciple[2], who would be expected to take the lead. He does seem to take the lead in a number of situations, and to have been quite bold & outspoken himself, so the first option appears to be less likely. On the other side is some evidence from a careful look at the wording of Papias’ quote[3]. Also, the Greek of 2nd Peter (which claims no help from an amanuensis, as does 1st Peter, from Silas) apparently does indicate significantly less fluency[4] than does “Mark”[5].

Clement (lived ca. 150-215) is also quoted by Eusebius: “As Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who were present requested that Mark, who had followed him for a long time and remembered his sayings, should write them out.  And having composed the Gospel he gave it to those who had requested it.”[6]

Irenaeus (writing c175-185 A.D) is also quoted by Eusebius as telling us that Mark was writing down the gospel Peter proclaimed (to the Christians in Rome?)[7].


And Justin Martyr (writing c 150) mentions in passing: “...And when it is said that Jesus changed the name of one of the apostles to Peter; and when it is written in his memoirs that this so happened, as well as that he changed the names of other two brothers, the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, which means sons of thunder.[8]” Mark is the only gospel that mentions (3:16-17) these two events, thus it appears that Justin Martyr’s view of Mark could be summarized as “the memoirs of Peter”.

From the Mishnah’s record of Rabbinic methods of the first Century we learn, says Ray Vander Laan, that “great teachers used a technique today called remez or hint, in which they used part of a Scripture passage in discussion assuming their audience's knowledge of the Bible would allow them to deduce for themselves fuller meaning. Apparently Jesus used this method often[9]...This technique indicated a brilliant understanding of Scripture and incredible teaching skills on Jesus part. It also demonstrates the background knowledge of Scripture the common people had… Rabbis used similar teaching techniques like the use of parables. More than 3,500 parables from first century rabbis still exist and Jesus' are among the very best. He uses similar themes (landowner, king, and farmer) as well. (Matt. 13:3,34)”[10]

The Galileans were devoted followers of God, and Peter was one of these. Vander Laan continues:
“Since a talmid (disciple) was totally devoted to becoming like the Rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice. … Jesus describes his relationship to his disciples in exactly this way (Matthew 10:24-25; Luke 6:40) … They were to be ‘with’ him Mark 3:13-19; to follow him Mark 1:16-20; to live by his teaching John 8:31; were to imitate his actions… so they could be like him…  John 13:13-15; were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi Luke 14:26.
This may explain Peter’s walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33). When Jesus (the rabbi) walked on water, Peter (the talmid) wanted to be like him. Certainly Peter had not walked on water before nor could he have imagined being able to do it. But if the teacher, who chose me because he believed I could be like him, can do it, so must I. And he did!..[11]”
From the synoptic gospels[12] we learn that Jesus made a determined use of parable/story as a teaching method[13]. In fact Mark says “He would not speak to them without using parables. But when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.[14]” This excerpt of a Poem on Jesus’ use of Story expresses it well for me:
These stories seemed to be like fish-hooks
baited with little bits of common truth,
leading further than you’d think from “first-looks”,
if only they were followed through.

This same method of stories prompting interest, imagination, & interaction has been employed by all four First Century Evangelists in their method of communicating this euangelion of God’s rule[15].



[2] It was apparently a practice amongst Rabbis to have an older “lead-disciple”(). Peter was already mentioned as married early in the story (Mark 1:29-31) and when Jesus organized the paying of the temple tax (which was for males over 20yr), there was only enough for the two of them, Jesus & Peter (Mat 17:24-27).
[3] for the point of view that  Mark may be the translator of a document originally written by Peter [presumably in Aramaic (or quite poor Greek?)], adding to it from his own memory of Peter’s oral tellings, see Terence Y. Mullins, Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Dec., 1960), pp. 216-224, Published by: BRILL,  Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1582193  or this link.
[4] “...parts of the letter seem to be “clumsy” and the author at points makes clear grammatical errors.” says Michael J. Kruger, “The Authenticity of 2 Peter,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42.4 (1999): 645-671.
[5] Mark’s Gospel, not being written in the classical Greek language or style, “though it is non-literary, ..(has).. a simple and popular style; it has affinities with the spoken Greek as revealed by the papyri and inscriptions. Moreover, the gospel has a Semitic flavor to it.” http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/ntintro/mark.htm
[7] “Mark the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also transmitted to us in writing what had been preached by Peter” (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist., 5.8.3)
[9] e.g. “When the children sang Hosanna to him in the Temple and the Sadducees demanded Jesus quiet them he responded with a quote from Psalm 8:2 "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." Their anger at Jesus is better understood when you realize that the next phrase in the Psalm adds the reason why children and infants would praise, because of the enemies of God who would be silenced (Ps. 8:2). In other words the chief priests realized Jesus was implying they were God's enemies.
[9]Another example is Jesus' comments to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). Jesus said "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10) The background to this statement is probably Ezekiel 34. God, angry with the leaders of Israel for scattering and harming his flock (the people of Israel) states the he himself will become the shepherd and will seek the lost ones and deliver (save) them. Based on this the people of Jesus' day understood that the Messiah to come would "seek and save" the lost. By using this phrase, knowing the people knew the Scripture, Jesus said several things. To the people he said "I am the Messiah and God no less." To the leaders (whose influence kept Zacchaeus out of the crowd) he said "you have scattered and harmed God's flock." To Zacchaeus he said "you are one of God's lost sheep, he still loves you." 2003AD, available at http://followtherabbi.com/guide/detail/rabbi-and-talmidim & as a pdf here.
[12] Matthew, Mark, & Luke, which have a “similar point-of-view”=synoptic; John appears to be written purposefully to provide a lens from another angle. Together they give us a more stereoscopic view!
[15] Each “Gospel” employs (along with various collections of “teachings/sayings”) the broad style/genre of narrative, while stringing together a collections of smaller stories, pericope (pronounced “pur-i-cup-ee”), which appear to have been “told” (orally, rather than passed around as written “tracts”) for years before finally being written down.
Posted by at No comments:

2014-01-22

Not nice advice!



For you Steve, I’m concerned,
you are like a brother,
& I think I have learned
what will help “un-smother”.

I am not claiming to
have this "a word from God",
though I think that it's true,
(would not else say't to you)

Like the Apostle Paul
said "Judge if I have God's
Spirit in life through all
my choices (shakes & nods)”:

I think the writing’s clear,
as I said plain to you,
in your desire to steer
good friendships, they are ruined.

I understand the fear
that you will be pre-judged,
but that's a dang'rous spear
and kills what won't be budged...

This reminds me of some
scriptural wisdom (issue),
& partly why has come
what I suggested to you:

Setting a rule in place
yourself to not talk to
that one who asked for space
though you may feel quite blue.

And not to talk ‘bout them;
your friend, or your own lack
of understanding when
it is "behind their back".

Choosing to still be then
a true friend wanting good
to come to (& see) them
growing as well they should.

1) Prov 29:25
It is dangerous to be concerned with what other people think of you, but if you trust in the Lord you are safe...

2) the Apostle Paul said something like "if I were still concerned with what people think of me I could not be Christ' servant"

3) the scriptures' general way of speaking disparagingly about those who try to justify themselves, instead of trusting God to vindicate & justify them...

As with all proverbial wisdom, beware of using these sayings as words, without the Wisdom of God to help you to use them well. If they only take you to a dark place, you need a friend or acquaintance (who you can learn to trust), who will help you see through the eyes of your Father who loves his small child...

A present-day "scientific" parable of what it is like to relate to friends in the social/spiritual world with respect to clarifying just where things are at, is the "(Heisenberg's) Uncertainty Principle" or at least what it means for determining the position of an electron in relation to an atom that it is bound to.

If you haven't learned about it in Physics, or life in general etc, anyone who has done Physics or Chem to yr 12 should be able to explain it to you (or You Tube), and then I think you'll see the connection. It has helped me any way.
Posted by at No comments:

2014-01-18

It just ain’t happening ... (Part 2 - of 12) ...

It just ain’t happening ... (Part 2 - of 12) ... faithfulness, wisdom, & prayer...when the miracles don’t come. Mark ch9v14-29 (to open in a new window, hold control down as you click the link)


So, recapping, when they first see Jesus coming down the mountain,  his disciples have come to a point of not being able to do a particular miracle which Jesus had given them authority to do. Jesus (presumably, loudly & with feeling) identifies the cause “How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?”(v19 ), and goes about exercising his own faithfulness & speaking/acting in such a way as to help, provoke, & grow that faithfulness in others.

It looks like Jesus’ disciples couldn’t do it, they all agreed that they couldn’t, yet he does it, & then explains the situation further, privately, with: “This kind only comes out by prayer”. Jesus thereby further interprets his capacity as linked to (his?) prayer, and thus their lack of capacity as linked to their lack of prayer. Mark’s story however, doesn’t give us very much indication of where Jesus prayed. Where had he been praying?

One answer is to say that the man had actually “prayed” by asking Jesus for help, and that the disciples had the same option open to them[1]. The logic behind this answer is that since Jesus is the eternal son of God, any request of him could technically come under the title of “prayer”. Since there doesn’t appear to be any other mention of prayer in this pericope, that seems to be the only outcome left to us. This doesn’t need to be gainsaid, but may not be the message that Mark had in mind. If in fact Jesus was living as a true Son of Adam (or Second Adam, as the Apostle Paul says), in a way that any who are his true disciples could; and if Jesus really had given them his authority to drive out all unclean spirits, the questions still remain: How did they get to the place where they are asking “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” And, “Where (at least, at what point in the story) had he, (or others), been praying (or not)?”

The (unclean) spirit of the truth/relationship-is-static-&-best-dealt-with-as-a-principle mindset claims for itself many people, which Christ would claim for himself. God (in Christ) can keep us wherever we are, and those who are truly with him are ever moving on. But within the general mindset of truth/relationship-is-static-&-best-dealt-with-as-a-principle thinking there seems to be a propensity to itemize, to look for the mathematical formula, to seek out the scientific law or principles.[2] Then it tends to see those particulars (from which it drew the formula), as simply a token or outworking of the formula or principle. Thus it is in danger of replacing a story with a set of doctrines or principles, all of which may have been in fact in the mind of the author, but which do not do the same job as the story did, when told by the author. Jesus’ (and as I hope we shall also see, Mark’s) stories did the job of entertaining, catching people’s interest, sieving, dividing the listeners, piquing their interest, reeling them back to him, giving him cover from his adversaries, making his teaching memorable, & stitching his truths to the stuff of everyday life, etc. The principles derived from the content of the story might in fact do none of the above. It is hard for the truth/relationship-is-static-&-best-dealt-with-as-a-principle mindset to see this or appreciate Jesus’ stories (and actions) this way, because of our (yes, I include myself commonly in this mindset) prior commitment to gaining principles, rather than listening to our Lord. We want it in our way (not so much in the way he wants to give it to us), sometimes so insistently that we will not have ever read even one gospel through in a sitting, or will not have heard one gospel told through in a night at a home group designed to study the bible. This leaves us with our set of received “truths” (by which we can mean our authorized set of doctrines, or imprimatur-ed  principles, or cherished insights), which can have the effect of saving us the effort of looking & listening further. It’s  looking for principles. It still doesn’t “see” through stories which are, in this truth/relationship-is-static-&-best-dealt-with-as-a-principle mindset, reserved for children at one end of life, “novels” read in the compartment of our “private life”, or old people in retirement at the other end of life. Thus Matthew Henry, a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus, in commenting on Mark 9:29 in it’s context says: “The disciples must not think to do their work always with a like ease, some services call them to take more than ordinary pains but Christ can do that with a word's speaking, which they must prevail for the doing of by prayer and fasting[3]” - and who would differ with this? How true, timely too for me to be reminded of it, but it stays a sterile principle. By this insight, I am not drawn into praying & fasting. This mindset has been looking for principles, and it sees them. It has a conception of Christ as “the eternal word” but it does not, through an appreciation of the dimension of story, have the impetus to look back to see a puzzle, a game, or a hidden thing (meant to be hidden and then uncovered, though not as a jack-in-the-box; rather, like “sardine hide-and-seek[4]” it is meant to quietly & simply call away into hidden-ness all who find “it”). So this mindset does not allow for the process involved in this eternal word (and thus his followers) growing, learning obedience through suffering. It forgets that Jesus prayed, that he was training them, wooing them, developing a desire in them for prayer, and modelling what he called them to follow them in. It’s insights (do not have to, but can tend to) make a divorce between the Christ who “speaks”, and we who must “prevail .. by prayer & fasting”. So, the truth/relationship-is-static-&-best-dealt-with-as-a-principle mindset doesn’t look further in Mark’s story at Christ’s prayer & fasting, nor can it even “see” some instances, where it was hinted at, or shown, rather than explicitly “told”.

Interestingly, there are all three: explicit references, implicit references, & hints in Mark’s story before this pericope, that can lead us to 'see' Jesus "in prayer” . So, we need a way to view Mark’s writing, in order to provide us with more impetus to take this step to look further afield for answers that may (purposely) not be (at first) spelled out, but more hinted at.


[1]Max Lucado, “He Still Moves Stones”, Dallas, Texas: Word Publishing, 1993.& http://oabchurchconnect.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/the-doubters-prayer
[2] This is hard for children to do, because it presupposes a certain degree of development & training of the mind, stories on the other hand can be heard gladly by children & yet give their treasures to trained minds too, if they are awake to them & look for them.
[4] A game children play, where one is chosen to be “it” (or “in”), & secretly goes & hides. The others after a set time go to look for “it”, and when they find “it” they hide with “it”, etc. until every one has found “it”. The last one to find “it”, in turn becomes “it” for the next game of “Sardine-hide’n’seek”.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)