The second meditation on the gospel of St Mark; the gospel written for beginners (catechumens) like me. (Based on ideas expressed in “I Vangeli – Esercizi Spirituali per la Vita Cristiana” by Carlo Maria Martini, Bompiani, Milano, 2016).
One of the fundamental passages in Mark is found in chapter 4. “The secret of the kingdom of God is given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables” (Mk 4,11-12). The whole scope of Mark’s teaching is to ease people from a situation of being “outside”, where the mystery of the Kingdom is seen only from a sociological and phenomenological* perspective, and is, essentially, not accepted, to a situation of being “inside”.
In the New Testament, we find many references to the concept of “outside”. For example, in the first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul says “It is not my business to pass judgement on those outside. Of those who are inside you can surely be the judges. But for those who are outside, God is the judge.” (1 Cor 5,12-13). The “outside” represents those that are yet to understand the mystery of the Kingdom. Today, it includes not only the unbaptised but also all those for whom the mystery of the Kingdom remains an external phenomenon in which they do not participate, so much so that to them everything appears enigmatic and incomprehensible.
The beginner is encouraged to fearlessly enter from the outside, from where one can see only enigmatic signs, into the inside where one can identify himself with reality. This transition is the main theme of Chapter 4, where a passage from the Old Testament is cited: “So that they may see and see again, but not perceive; may hear and hear again, but not understand; otherwise, they might be converted and be forgiven.” (Mk 4,12: and Is. 6,9-10). At first glance it may appear scandalous that God does not want to be understood. However, this is just an expressive way of describing what happens to those who close their eyes and is a very instructive verse if we reverse it and look at it from a positive perspective. That is, if we ask ourselves: which is the way of the beginner? It is the way of those who want to open their eyes so that they can see. Many today look at the Church but do not see, they hear but they do not understand. Mark repeatedly emphasises the need to open one’s eyes, to listen and understand. He assumes that the starting point for beginners is an admitted position of ignorance: of not knowing, not understanding.
Jesus often reminds his disciples of their ignorance, to convince them that they have not really seen nor understood. In the first part of Mark, there are various references to their ignorance. For example, “They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.” (Mk 6, 52). And again, “But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.” (Mk 9,32). In fact, Mark in the chapters 4 to 9 stresses that the disciples were still very far from understanding the mystery of the Kingdom. It is an attitude that we need to adopt each time we face the mystery of God. We should say “how little we know of the mystery of God”. Because only with such an attitude will it be possible for us to adopt a humble and attentive listening mode, ready to perceive what God wants to tell us.
What exactly is the ignorance of the disciples? All episodes in the first part of Mark are meant to stigmatize the disciple’s ignorance, so that he understands what is wrong with him and seeks to correct it. There are several episodes, where we see Jesus scold his disciples, directly or indirectly, for their incomprehension.
In chapter 2, we read about the episode where the apostles are picking ears of wheat on a Saturday. What is denounced in this episode? What can be termed the real freedom of the children of God. “Did you ever read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiather was high priest and ate the loaves of offering?” (2, 25-26). Jesus is clearly rebuking his disciples: Have you not read the scriptures? Do you not understand them? Jesus is condemning the attitude typical of those who, with great effort, are trying to move towards the centre of the mystery but who still see the law, the rules and norms, the customs, and usages, as if these are extremely important, as if they are the only way to salvation. Jesus is stating that whoever still thinks in this way has not yet understood the mystery of the Kingdom. He is pointing out that David was different from most others and could differentiate between what is important from that which is merely an accessory. The key to discover the Kingdom is not an external phenomenon, like the law, but an internal choice.
We find another chiding, a strong one, in chapter 3. Jesus looks around him with anger and is profoundly saddened by the closed minds of the disciples. Jesus is annoyed at the Pharisees that, while he is preparing to heal a man on the Sabbath, dare not reply to his question, “Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil?” (3,4).
The Pharisees are educated and learned men who went to the synagogue that day to spy on Jesus. They sit on the fence, ready to criticise, not daring to commit themselves to a position, scared of compromising themselves. Jesus rejects their fear of commitment. This attitude is quite common today among many Christians. They look at their Church from the outside, ready to judge, maybe suggesting solutions, but without diving in and committing themselves. It is an attitude that allows one to feel comfortable doing just enough, without sacrificing much, refusing to throw oneself in with the risk of making mistakes, while criticising those who are active in the Church and demanding from them high standards. Jesus is irritated by such an attitude because it expresses the fact that one may discuss and dissect the Kingdom of God, even in learned and apparently prudent ways, while fearful of getting one’s hands dirty, and refusing to throw oneself into the fray.
In the same chapter 3, we find another attitude denounced by Mark. Here the roles are reversed as it is the others who reproach Jesus. His relatives want to take charge of him, “convinced he was out of his mind.” (3,21). This too is an attitude of those who believe they are inside the mystery but are, in fact, still outside.
It is the fear that like Jesus they are labelled as fanatics. Many desire to join in the Christian mystery, and participate in it, but not too much, as they are afraid that people will think they are crazy. Many of us Christians desire to live Christianity but in such a way that people do not think that we are different, a little weird, that we have gone overboard and become fundamentalists. We certainly should not be fanatics; however, we should not be afraid that others will think so. We need to be prudent, discreet, balanced, but we should not worry too much what others think.
Another stance presented as a wrong start for the beginner is found in chapter 4. It is an enigmatic parable in verses 4 – 7, that describe some scenarios of what happens to the seeds that a sower tries to plant; some are eaten by the birds, some are crushed on the road, some are suffocated by thorn bushes. The parable is then explained in lines 14-20: the birds are the devil, seeds crushed on the road is the Word being crushed by persecutions, the thorn bushes are excessive preoccupations and commitments with non-spiritual things. The latter seed failure is one that originates from man himself. Too many hectic commitments and multiple worries are seen as one of the causes that make the understanding of the Word and understanding the mystery impossible. Experience shows that this is one of the most frequent reasons that people, even Christians of a good disposition, never manage to go beyond outward appearances, never manage to penetrate the core of the Kingdom. The accumulation of daily concerns and worries is the most serious danger that we are likely to face because it can at, any moment, choke and cloud the soul.
Jesus gives the thumb down to another attitude also described in chapter 4. “Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given” (Mk 4,24). It is an attitude of the narrow, restricted heart, the heart that is closed, that gives little and thus gets back little. Closing oneself within one’s own limitations, happy to settle for anything that protects oneself from too much commitment, from God’s demands; opting for a mediocrity that leads nowhere.
A last series of rebukes, of mindsets to avoid as they block us from penetrating the mystery, are found in chapter 7. Here we find a comprehensive treatise of the moral catechism of the primitive Church. “For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make man unclean” (Mk 7,21-23).
First, this a fundamental evangelical declaration: these sins and vices emerge from inside of man himself and, hence, it is man’s own interior that needs to be renewed. The problem of evil and sinfulness arises from man’s own heart and is not merely a phenomenon characteristic of society, of the system. Institutional sin is a consequence of man’s individual sinfulness and not vice-versa.
Secondly, it should be noted that besides the grave sins that appear to concern only hard-core sinners (but not us!), the list also contains some refined mindsets that are worth exploring further. For example, folly. There are many forms of folly. Luke in his gospel refers to it specifically in a couple of instances. In chapter 11, the Pharisees who elaborately purify the exterior of cups and plates while inside they are full of “extortion and wickedness”: “Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too?” (Lk 11,40). Folly, in this instance refers to all contradictions resulting from situations where one is preoccupied with appearances, which being visible may put one in a bad light, while internal, and thus hidden, mindsets are ignored. These are situations where, since it is easy to identify what others consider worth pursuing, it needs no big effort to become involved, but at the same time other, less publicized, issues that are much more important to God are ignored. That is folly.
Another form of folly is condemned in chapter 12 of Luke. At the end of the parable of the rich fool, who after having an abundant harvest, plans to pull down his barns and build bigger ones. Jesus tells him “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul.” (Lk 12,20). What is being denounced here is the attitude of giving too much importance to non-spiritual things. We all need to take care and do many non-spiritual things in our daily lives. However, the gospel teaches that we should use only the minimum effort possible to do these chores, leaving most of our energy and time to take care of the more important interior things, the things of the Kingdom.
Through these texts from the gospel of Mark, we have outlined how the beginner – the catechumen – was, in the primitive church, urged to examine himself, face the reality of his sin, and to understand the extent of his ignorance of the Kingdom. To the acceptance of this ignorance, humbly acknowledged and admitted, Jesus reciprocates with marvellous and good news. This welcome news is most of all targeted towards those who are sick, that is, those who admit that they are affected, in one way or another, by some of the weaknesses described in the previous paragraphs. This acceptance is an essential condition as otherwise one would not be able to be open to the gospel’s message. Jesus says, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners.” (Mk 2,17). By humbly admitting our ignorance, our limited comprehension, and our inadequacy, we will become able to listen to the healing words of Jesus, the healer.
In Mark’s first two chapters, Jesus is shown as generously busy healing sick people of all kinds. Jesus the great healer, who ignores no disease or sickness, who does not recoil from any of man’s limitations. These healings were meant to console the uncertain, hesitant catechumen as they show that Jesus, the universal doctor, is always ready to help with any kind of disease, oppression, and difficulty. Mark insists that Jesus came for this very reason. The message is clear. At this stage, even as the beginner has not been told yet what Jesus will expect him to do, he is being assured that if he admits and accepts his ignorance and his distance from the Kingdom, Jesus will heal him.
*Phenomenology is a philosophy of experience. For phenomenology the ultimate source of all meaning and value is the lived experience of human beings. (Source: Brown University)
All biblical quotations are from ‘The Jerusalem Bible’, Darton, Longman & Todd, London, 1966.