Jesus goes home and is not well-received. In
Mark’s Gospel, Jesus though surely discouraged, does not whine. On the contrary
he encourages his disciples in pragmatic ways: have conviction, stick to it, go
out to love and heal. Again this Sunday, the Gospel is a two-part narrative and
brought into useful relief by two Jesus goes home and is not well-received. In
Mark’s Gospel, Jesus though surely discouraged, does not whine. On the contrary
he encourages his disciples in pragmatic ways: have conviction, stick to it, go
out to love and heal.
Again this Sunday, the Gospel is a two-part narrative and
brought into useful relief by two events of the week. First, the narrative of the
near certainty of the Hicks boson theory actively explored by an indefatigable
physicist, a real person, since the 1960’s. The gnomes of CERT in Switzerland
have identified a particle (waggishly called the “God particle”) they believe
explains the shape of the universe. Later in the week, Presiding Bishop Kathryn
Jefferts Schori, herself a scientist, commented in her opening address to the
church’s General Convention that “we live in the awkward yet lively tension of
what is and what will eventually come to be, in God’s good time.” She concluded
with the question: “Can we reframe our view?” The physicists, our Presiding
Bishop, and Jesus display similar convictions about human nature. They have big
questions, some answers, and more questions.
