Feb 14 Lectionary 335

Scripture: Lectionary 335: Genesis 4:1-15.25. Psalm 50:1.8.16-17.20-21.
Mark 8:11-13:

Jesus suffers from taunts and mockery even in his early ministry. As he
dies on the Cross, his oppressors challenge him to come down from the Cross
and prove he is a "Son of God." Neither in his first encounter with such
troubles nor in his agony does he give in to their superfluous and
ridiculous demands. There is to be no sign from above that would help them
to understand who he is and what his message is. Not only is their
shouting present but also their gestures as they wag their heads and make
fun of a dying Messiah. The sign from heaven for them would have been a
king who would overthrow the oppressors of their land but Jesus was to be a
servant king and a suffering messiah. This was far from their minds and
their hopes. The reality of death comes to him just as it does to every
human being and there are no signs that give us a re-incarnated life here
on earth once we die.

Vincent Taylor, one of the very best of commentators on the Gospel of Mark,
states, "The story reflects sound tradition in that it records the refusal
of Jesus to accept the test of signs as a proof of his commission." Henry
Wansbrough, O.S.B. comments, "They perhaps wanted such sign as that
promised by the pseudo-Messiah Theudas, that he would enable his followers
to march through the Jordan drywhod (Josephus Antiquities 20,5,1), or a
voice from heaven. Clearly Jesus' signs were not such to compel assent, but
only to elicit faith. In the gospels, it must be remembered, they are
recounted to and for believers."

Already in the Gospel of Mark we have listened to or read about his
integrity and honesty. He does not parade who he is by showing signs, and
when he does heal or exorcise a person he tells them to be silent about it
and he moves on to other places and towns to preach his message of Good
News about the kingdom of God. He asks of us only that we change ourselves.
That would be a sign for him that we are reconciled with God and that we
are searching for the kingdom of God here on earth. Jesus true identity is
hushed and hidden. The demons have a difficulty with this for they are more
sure about who he is than do his friends and enemies. Niether of these
groups are to make him known as he is to be known through faith of the
heart.

Mark will continue to present to us a suffering Savior and a man headed for
the Cross. Mark is the Gospel of the Cross. This helps us to follow Jesus
in our difficult times and to realize he has suffered because he is truly
human. It takes faith and grace to say what a Roman does as Jesus dies on
the Cross, "Truly, this man was a son of God."