Rev. Jean's Bible Study

  A Study of Mark Week 4 Mark 4   Watch and Listen “He began to teach them many things using parables.   He said, “A sower went out to sow…Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”   Photo by Ralph Milton Jesus in the first three chapters has succeeded in angering the Herodians (Rome’s political power), the scribes and Sadducees (the religious elite in the Jerusalem temple), the Pharisees (the local religious authorities) and even his family.   His healings and teachings have challenged the economic, political and social systems that make some people rich while keeping many poor.   The many poor have been impressed and follow him in crowds. In chapter 4, Jesus turns his attention to his chosen disciples. Jesus knows that the initial naming and challenging of an injustice is only the beginning and that many are not up to the task of making real change happen.   It is like a farmer who sows his seed.   Some of the gospel message falls on dea...

A Study of Mark Week 3 Mark 1:16-20 , 2:13-17 , 3:13-19 “He went up the mountain and he called to him those whom he wanted and they came to him.”   If there is one thing we have learned from this pandemic it is that we are social creatures.   Many of us have felt the angst of loneliness.   Although I do see some of my grandchildren for necessary child care while parents work, I dearly miss the ones I don’t see.   My dining room table is sadly underused with no friends for dinner or family gatherings.   Although I know these small complaints are negligible in the grand scheme of things and many people are sacrificing and suffering so much more, even those of us who remain relatively untouched by this virus have been reminded that we are social creatures.   Jesus knew that.   He knew that if his proclamation of the reign of God was to have any impact on the world, he couldn’t go it alone .   As he began his radical teaching and his rebelli...

 A Study of Mark Week 2 Mark 1:1-15 14  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” When we sold my parent’s home, I ended up with the bookshelves and most of the books on them.   I have been reading them to decide which ones to keep and which to throw away.   The latest is one that my grandfather had as a psychology textbook.   His name and an address is on the inside.   I didn’t know he took a course in psychology in Indiana in 1920 or shortly after.   That is the date of publication.   I was surprised by how much they knew back then.   Some of the things that I was taught at university as recent and current research, were already in this book!   I wasn’t surprised by the assumed racism I found.   I have discovered that in books written 100 years ago, it wa...

  A study of Mark:   Week One   Mark 1 1  The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3  the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:      ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’   2020 will be a year that stands out in our memories and in our histories.   It remains to be seen whether it will mark the beginning of a new social contract or whether it will be remarkable only for its medical advances and missed opportunities.   To ensure that our suffering has not been in vain, we will need to examine the cultural values that have shaped our society and our world for the past 40 years and engage in some radical rethinking of our relationship to each other and to the earth which sustains us.     The Gospel of Mark is the story of how Jesus ...