Saturday in Lent 1: Mark's careful connections

Opening Sentence

Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. Joel 2:13

Commemoration: John and Charles Wesley

Lord God, who inspired your servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls, and endowed them with eloquence in speech and song: Kindle in your Church, we entreat you, such fervor, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and those who have not known Christ may turn to him and be saved; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

For the Ministry (Ember Days)

I. For those to be ordained 

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to
the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry 

O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

III. For all Christians in their vocation 

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of you holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Psalter: Psalm 55

Lessons: Genesis 41:1-13, 1 Corinthians 4:1-7, Mark 2:23-3:6

The Gospel writers intentionally structured their accounts to parallel many events in the Old Testament. As Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah from the line of David, much of his life paralleled that of David. When the Pharisees rebuked his disciples for plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath, Jesus invoked the memory of David eating the Bread of the Presence in the house of Abiathar the priest. A few verses beyond today's reading, we see a clear parallel between David and Jesus. David's family came for him after he had feigned insanity in front of the Philistines. Jesus's family came for him after he had begun attracting huge crowds, believing him to be "out of his mind."

Without a familiarity with the whole biblical story, it would be difficult to see the similarities in these two accounts. Mark, like all the Gospel writers, presented Jesus in such a way that his original readers would understand him to be the fulfillment of Israel's Messianic expectations. Although he did not stick around for the duration of Paul and Barnabas's first missionary journey, he no doubt was with them on occasions similar to the one in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. There, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah by recounting the history of Israel and proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the long-awaited King from the line of David.

Unfortunately, Mark would be at the center of one of the first major disagreements in the church. Paul and Barnabas would eventually separate over a dispute concerning Mark's fitness to rejoin them on their missionary journeys. His failure to persevere during their first journey did not sit well with Paul. There would, however, be an eventual reconciliation and Mark would go on to write his account of Jesus's life and ministry, taking great care to demonstrate the vital connection between Jesus and his great ancestor David, proving him to be the Messiah, just as his mentors in the faith had done.

(JAG)

Jesus, Lover of My Soul