Katie
Hey, I’m here!
My pericope is 1:35-39.
Mark 1:35-39 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Thoughts and quick reflections:
35 Jesus goes off by himself, trying to find solitude. He felt the need to pray and be in dialogue with God.
36 Simon goes looking for him, who else?
37 Who is everyone? Is everyone, the rest of the 12 or those who travel with them? Or is everyone the “whole city” from vs 33?
38 Jesus wants to leave this place, to move on. He does not address that they were looking for him or what that implies. He wants to continue to proclaim in the next town and beyond.
Jesus is giving us his charge: to proclaim his message in Galilee.
39 He went to the neighboring towns and talked in the synagogues and cast out demons - this must also be part of the mission.
This is a quick reflection after reading the Gospel of Mark.
A Reading Response from Two Perspectives
October 4th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Good to see you here, Katie!
Comments:
35 - What has led you to claim that prayer is to “be in dialogue with God”?
36 - Why are you not surprised that it is Simon? (What in the text leads you to think this?)
38 - So who do you understand the “us” to be in the text? Does it include us readers? If so, why does Jesus say, “…that I may proclaim…”? Should it be, “…that WE may proclaim…”?
October 8th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
35-I have always felt that prayer is a specific form of dialogue with God. It is where we can initiate a conversation. Clearly not the only back and forth, but a more individual (in this case Jesus gets away from the others) defined part of our relationship with God.
36-In the verses previous, we are led to Simon’s house. I guess that it is not a suprise that the host would go and look for a missing guest. As we know more of the story, we are also not shocked that Simon would be the one to lead a mission such as this.
38-This might be a case where the writer is heavily suggesting that WE go forth as well.
Kt
October 8th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
On prayer, I should have been more specific. I don’t necessarily disagree with YOUR definition, but is this (Gospel of ) MARK’s definition? Ie, what is Mark suggesting was happening when Jesus went to a deserted place to pray? (Perhaps the ερημος setting is an issue here?)
On v38, search for other uses in Mark of “let us go” = αγωμεν and references to “preach/proclaim” = κηρυσσω.