Changing our Worldview; Changing our World 3

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 rebellious healing, he also began gathering a group around him.  Although crowds of people were seeking him out (he had thousands of ‘followers’), it was not the total numbers that were important to Jesus but the total commitment of a few.  “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”  The naming of a small group of intimate followers whom he would teach and commission was essential then as it is now.  Our world needs the followers of Jesus, you and I, to faithfully understand the gospel message and diligently live it and preach it. No one charismatic leader can do it alone, not even Jesus.

Some of you may note that Levi gets special mention in chapter 2 but he is not in the list in chapter 3.  Did his discipleship fall short?  Did the list of those twelve get adjusted as time moved on and memories faded? Were the twelve names a literary allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel rather than an accurate accounting of the group.  (I doubt anyone kept attendance or minutes of the meetings!)  It is also interesting to note that Andrew is a Greek name.  Perhaps he and Peter were bi-racial?  And Judas is part of the group.  As in our churches today, the first disciples were an eclectic group all trying to follow Jesus some more faithfully than others. 

Unfortunately, the gospel has been rendered harmless both by those who emphasize a Christian faith that is focused on individual salvation and morality and by those who reject the Christian faith in favour of private spirituality.  The gospel is intensely social, political and economic.  Our social values that overemphasize individualism and personal freedom have also helped to put us into silos of ‘people like us.’ The church is one of the few social gatherings where gather with people who are not ‘like us’ to care for and learn from each other.  It is the place where we can remind ourselves as Paul wrote, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with them.”  (1 Corinthians 12:26)

How do you care for and learn from people who are ‘not like you’?  

How can you encourage others to expand their understanding of the gospel message to ‘love one another’ by first understanding ‘the other’?