SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – 28th FEB
Mark 9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with
him Peter and James and John, and led
them up a high mountain apart, by
themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, 3 and his clothes became
dazzling white, such as no one on earth
could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who
were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter
said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to
be here; let us make three dwellings, one
for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for
they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud
there came a voice, “This is my Son, the
Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no
one with them any more, but only Jesus.
Mark 9:9 As they were coming down
the mountain, he ordered them to tell no
one about what they had seen, until after
the Son of Man had risen from the
dead. 10 So they kept the matter to
themselves, questioning what this rising
from the dead could mean.
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
This story is found in the first three
Gospels, but not in the fourth, that
of John. Each Gospel writer
tells it in a subtly different
way according to the
theology of the writer
and the needs of the
community at the
time. Thus for instance, in Luke it becomes a moment of
prayer, in Matthew, an
apocalyptic vision. In
Mark, it is a kind of theophany, specifically a Christophany.
SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – 21st FEB
Mark 1:12 And the Spirit immediately
drove Jesus out into the wilderness. 13
He was in the wilderness forty days,
tempted by Satan; and he was with the
wild beasts; and the angels waited on
him.
Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming
the good news of God, 15 and saying,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God has come near; convert, and
believe in the good news.” (NRSV adjusted)
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
The accounts of the temptation of Jesus
are found in the first three Gospels. The
version in Mark is the shortest and both
Matthew and Luke offer an expanded
conversation in the form of a rabbinic
debate based on texts from Scripture
(Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). The
Letter to the Hebrews also preserves a
memory of the testing of Jesus.
Happy Valentine’s Day
SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – 14TH FEB
“I do choose. Be made clean!”
There are two stories here. The first is a
fairly straightforward miracle story,
showing the usual steps. The second
deals with the reaction to the miracle
story and it needs a special comment.