October 15th, 2023, Surprised by Love – Friends and Foes

Widely regarded as the earliest of the gospels in the Christian Scriptures, and one on which other authors based their own accounts, Mark tells a brief, fast-paced and intriguing account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. While as we readers we are immediately let into the Messianic nature of Jesus’ identity, he seems intent on keeping it a secret, and even his closest followers seem confused in their misunderstanding. The evidence seems so obvious, but even as Jesus’ identity is finally revealed, there is a huge plot twist in which Jesus turns the whole concept of messiahship on its head. The messianic way of Jesus is not one of power, control, or triumphalism, but one of sacrificial love where his followers, like him, are willing to suffer for the sake of others so that healing and new life may come. With a cliffhanger ending where all we see is an empty tomb, we are all invited into the challenge to vulnerably follow Jesus into this radical way of living.