Holy Textures

Mark 1:9-15, Year B, Lent 1

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Verse 9. "In those days," that is, in those days of John's ministry of:

• proclaiming, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight;"
• proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins (instead of making the Biblically mandated sacrifices at the temple for the forgiveness of sins);
• proclaiming, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; ... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (and who has ever done that before?)

That is, "in those days" of raised expectations that the long-desired Messiah who would save Israel from the Roman oppressor was on his way.

In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth. Say again! Nazareth! You gotta be kidding. Nothing and no one good has ever come from Nazareth!

Mark 1:40-45

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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It is now believed that the disease we call leprosy was rare or non-existent in Palestine at the time of Jesus. However, since that was the translation adopted in the King James Version, that is still widely used even in modern translations.

The exact nature of the disease does not really concern us, because whatever the illness, a person with this disease was outcast from the community, forced to wear torn clothes, let their hair hang loose and uncared for, and warn approaching people by crying out, "Unclean! Unclean!" Any person healed of the disease also needed to be declared by a priest to be free of the ban of social isolation - that is, to be declared "Clean." Thus, in the New Testament, "healing" is often a two-step process: recovery from the physical illness or symptoms; then, being declared "clean" and accepted back into the community. (See Leviticus 13 and 14)

Lent: The Restraint That Frees

2010 Lenten Practices

Ash Wednesday, February 17 to
Holy Saturday, April 3

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From their earliest days, followers of Jesus have set aside 40 days before Easter Sunday as a special time called Lent.

This season of Lent is meant as a time when we give additional time and intention to our relationship with God. We restrain ourselves from our usual round of daily activities in order to make space and time for being with God. How is it with my soul these days? During Lent we plan to spend some time renewing and re-orienting our life to be more in line with God’s desires for ourselves – which I can trust will be for my good, and for the good of the world.

The fact that followers of Jesus created this special season of Lent is a confession that we are not the first to have trouble maintaining a healthy relationship with God. Like us, from the earliest times, followers of Jesus got busy, got distracted, got forgetful and fearful and neglectful, and let their relationship with God go onto the backburner. Sound familiar? Fortunately, they got organized and created Lent so that we wouldn’t have to do all the hard work of figuring out what to do from scratch. What are the most helpful things to do to re-new my relationship with God? Over many centuries these three things have been tried and found true:

• Almsgiving,
• Prayer, and
• Fasting.

Mark 1:29-39

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The fact that Simon's mother-in-law is living in her daughter's home suggests she has no husband or sons to care for her. Her healing is accomplished with a gesture - a personal touch. The visible sign of her healing is that she is able to return to her customary role. (That is, don't read this as an ode to housewifery. Though, one might want to observe that she is the first example of a person serving Jesus.) This healing on the Sabbath happens in the privacy of Simon's home.