Living Stories
July 16, 2006
Mark 11:27-33
I tried not to major in Religion when I went to college. I knew I wanted to go to seminary, but I thought I would major in English and leave the religion for later. But I took a class my first semester, and then another, and soon I had a religion major. I took several classes from one professor: Tim Polk. Two were Biblical Studies classes - Old Testament and then Gospels. I sat next to Andrew from the Two Harbors church in both those classes; he is pastor of Simpson UMC today. In the Gospels class, several weeks in we looked at each other and said, “Well, we’ve looked at the Gospel of Mark. When do you suppose we are going to get to the other three?” A few weeks after that we said, “Do you suppose we are going to get through all four Gospels or just two?” A few weeks after that we said, “Well, looks like it’s the Gospel of Mark.” Professor Polk should have named the class, “My Favorite Gospel.”
He has a point: Mark is interesting. It is the first Gospel, the earliest one we have. It is the shortest - there is no story of Jesus birth or childhood, and not much about Easter even. It is very focused: sixteen chapters, from when Jesus started ministry to when the tomb was found empty.
Mark is also the basis for Luke and Matthew. Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the “Synpoptic” Gospels because they are so similar, it is like seeing them together. Look at the story for today: the three versions in all three Gospels are nearly identical. That’s because Matthew and Luke, writing ten or fifteen years later than Mark, had a copy of the Gospel of Mark with them when they wrote their own Gospels. So Matthew and Luke follow Mark’s storyline, the progression of Jesus work from the inauguration of his ministry until Easter morning.
Matthew and Luke, interestingly, also used another text when they wrote their books, “Q”, from the German word “Quell” or Source. Take Matthew and Luke and lay them side by side. Subtract Mark, subtract everything else that is different, and you have Q, the sayings of Jesus. (Think sermon on the mount, the light under the bushel basket, the parables.)
But still, Matthew and Luke are different from one another. Matthew is shaped to remind the reader of the Hebrew Scripture - five sections, a sermon on the Mount, Joseph leading the people into and out of Egypt - Jesus is a new Moses in this book. It is also more spiritual: blessed are the poor in spirit. When you pray, go pray in secret.
And Luke - he is more a social gospel, the favorite in places like CHUM - blessed are the poor, Mary’s magnificat with its song about the poor being raised up.
They are so similar, yet so different. Which one is right? Which one is most accurate? Which one tells us really who was at the tomb, who was at the cross, where was Jesus born?
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. They shared some bantering, and then Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
As I studied the Bible in college and seminary I grew to love it more and more, but I had more and more questions too. Like which Gospel was right, which one was best, what did Jesus really do and say. Who wrote these Gospels, and who picked these four? Why four? Why these?
I’m grateful to be in a tradition that supports questions. John Wesley said, “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling.” This is a rich and complex statement, but I’ve always understood it to mean partly that I need to take responsibility for what I believe, and think about it, and struggle with it, and ask questions.
And I’m grateful that we have more than one Gospel. If we had one we would be tempted to say, “This is exactly what happened.” But we can’t say that because they don’t always agree. There are too many discrepancies to simply say, “This is the way it was.” With four Gospels - we haven’t even talked about John yet, that’s in a few weeks - we have possibilities, questions, intriguing spaces between the details.
So for years my faith life was like Jacob wrestling with the angels, only I was wrestling with questions. Who are you, Jesus?
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Eventually my spiritual life took a turn, and I did more than wrestle. I began to pray differently, and instead of questions and a shopping list I came to God in silence. I started listening more. And a surprising thing happened as my faith life grew richer - I still had questions, I didn’t have many answers, but the urgency of them changed. Jesus became real to me. Jesus walked off the pages of the books and into my heart. Jesus, the living Jesus whom the disciples knew in a new way after Easter, doesn’t abandon us to dusty old words, but brings them to life.
If these books were history books, we’d be in trouble. If these books were scientific or sociological or even theological books, we’d be in trouble. If these books were biographies, we’d be in trouble. But they aren’t - they are Gospels, Good News, living stories. We read them in our devotions, we read them with prayer, we read them in worship, we hear them preached, we read our own lives in their light and shadows..
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
They are living stories, and the living presence of Christ enters into us as we engage these stories. Jesus authority comes from his presence in our heart; he needs no other. Amen.
Readings for this sermon:
Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." They argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"--they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." -- Mark 11:27-33 (NRSV)
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. -- Matthew 21:23-27 (NRSV)
One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?" He answered them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" They discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet." So they answered that they did not know where it came from. Then Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." -- Luke 20:1-8 (NRSV)
(Matthew, Mark and Luke) are known as “the synoptics” because they are similar enough to be seen together (as the root of the word “synoptic” suggests). The reason for their similarity: they have written sources in common. Matthew and Luke both used the gospel of Mark, incorporating most of Mark’s material as well as his narrative structure of the public activity of Jesus…Matthew and Luke also used an early collection of Jesus’ teachings known as “Q.” - Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time
Mark 11:27-33
I tried not to major in Religion when I went to college. I knew I wanted to go to seminary, but I thought I would major in English and leave the religion for later. But I took a class my first semester, and then another, and soon I had a religion major. I took several classes from one professor: Tim Polk. Two were Biblical Studies classes - Old Testament and then Gospels. I sat next to Andrew from the Two Harbors church in both those classes; he is pastor of Simpson UMC today. In the Gospels class, several weeks in we looked at each other and said, “Well, we’ve looked at the Gospel of Mark. When do you suppose we are going to get to the other three?” A few weeks after that we said, “Do you suppose we are going to get through all four Gospels or just two?” A few weeks after that we said, “Well, looks like it’s the Gospel of Mark.” Professor Polk should have named the class, “My Favorite Gospel.”
He has a point: Mark is interesting. It is the first Gospel, the earliest one we have. It is the shortest - there is no story of Jesus birth or childhood, and not much about Easter even. It is very focused: sixteen chapters, from when Jesus started ministry to when the tomb was found empty.
Mark is also the basis for Luke and Matthew. Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the “Synpoptic” Gospels because they are so similar, it is like seeing them together. Look at the story for today: the three versions in all three Gospels are nearly identical. That’s because Matthew and Luke, writing ten or fifteen years later than Mark, had a copy of the Gospel of Mark with them when they wrote their own Gospels. So Matthew and Luke follow Mark’s storyline, the progression of Jesus work from the inauguration of his ministry until Easter morning.
Matthew and Luke, interestingly, also used another text when they wrote their books, “Q”, from the German word “Quell” or Source. Take Matthew and Luke and lay them side by side. Subtract Mark, subtract everything else that is different, and you have Q, the sayings of Jesus. (Think sermon on the mount, the light under the bushel basket, the parables.)
But still, Matthew and Luke are different from one another. Matthew is shaped to remind the reader of the Hebrew Scripture - five sections, a sermon on the Mount, Joseph leading the people into and out of Egypt - Jesus is a new Moses in this book. It is also more spiritual: blessed are the poor in spirit. When you pray, go pray in secret.
And Luke - he is more a social gospel, the favorite in places like CHUM - blessed are the poor, Mary’s magnificat with its song about the poor being raised up.
They are so similar, yet so different. Which one is right? Which one is most accurate? Which one tells us really who was at the tomb, who was at the cross, where was Jesus born?
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. They shared some bantering, and then Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
As I studied the Bible in college and seminary I grew to love it more and more, but I had more and more questions too. Like which Gospel was right, which one was best, what did Jesus really do and say. Who wrote these Gospels, and who picked these four? Why four? Why these?
I’m grateful to be in a tradition that supports questions. John Wesley said, “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling.” This is a rich and complex statement, but I’ve always understood it to mean partly that I need to take responsibility for what I believe, and think about it, and struggle with it, and ask questions.
And I’m grateful that we have more than one Gospel. If we had one we would be tempted to say, “This is exactly what happened.” But we can’t say that because they don’t always agree. There are too many discrepancies to simply say, “This is the way it was.” With four Gospels - we haven’t even talked about John yet, that’s in a few weeks - we have possibilities, questions, intriguing spaces between the details.
So for years my faith life was like Jacob wrestling with the angels, only I was wrestling with questions. Who are you, Jesus?
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Eventually my spiritual life took a turn, and I did more than wrestle. I began to pray differently, and instead of questions and a shopping list I came to God in silence. I started listening more. And a surprising thing happened as my faith life grew richer - I still had questions, I didn’t have many answers, but the urgency of them changed. Jesus became real to me. Jesus walked off the pages of the books and into my heart. Jesus, the living Jesus whom the disciples knew in a new way after Easter, doesn’t abandon us to dusty old words, but brings them to life.
If these books were history books, we’d be in trouble. If these books were scientific or sociological or even theological books, we’d be in trouble. If these books were biographies, we’d be in trouble. But they aren’t - they are Gospels, Good News, living stories. We read them in our devotions, we read them with prayer, we read them in worship, we hear them preached, we read our own lives in their light and shadows..
The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus where he got his authority. Jesus told them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
They are living stories, and the living presence of Christ enters into us as we engage these stories. Jesus authority comes from his presence in our heart; he needs no other. Amen.
Readings for this sermon:
Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." They argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"--they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." -- Mark 11:27-33 (NRSV)
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. -- Matthew 21:23-27 (NRSV)
One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?" He answered them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" They discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet." So they answered that they did not know where it came from. Then Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." -- Luke 20:1-8 (NRSV)
(Matthew, Mark and Luke) are known as “the synoptics” because they are similar enough to be seen together (as the root of the word “synoptic” suggests). The reason for their similarity: they have written sources in common. Matthew and Luke both used the gospel of Mark, incorporating most of Mark’s material as well as his narrative structure of the public activity of Jesus…Matthew and Luke also used an early collection of Jesus’ teachings known as “Q.” - Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time
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