Author: Administrador

Building on the parable of the sower that opens this parable chapter in Mark, this week’s reading offers two more agricultural parables of the kingdom of God, which suggest that, like the parable form itself, the kingdom may be hidden from those unaware of its secret presence (4:11-12), but it is also destined to be … Continue reading “Mark 4:26-34 Commentary by Meda Stamper”

The opening line of Mark’s gospel announces its theme about as directly as it gets: it’s about the “good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” But when the narrative turns to introducing this Jesus and his ministry, we discover that the story and its implications are not so simple. The first words out … Continue reading “Mark 4:26-34 Commentary by James Boyce”

In Mark chapter 4, the evangelist spins a series of parables and narratives about seeds, planting, harvesting, and seafaring. These are indicative of an agrarian, rural background, the intimate details of which increasingly few people in modern societies have any intimate familiarity. A close look at these stories will quickly reveal that they are not … Continue reading “Mark 4:1-34 Commentary by Micah D. Kiel”

Mark 4:1-34 offers us four parables (the parables of the sower, the light and the bushel basket, the growing seed, and the Mustard seed), and two explanations of how Jesus intends the parables to work (or not work) upon the hearer. Each of these parables is certainly worthy of attention, and one could preach on … Continue reading “Mark 4:1-34 Commentary by Karl Jacobson”

“Cada loco con su tema,” canta el autor español Joan Manuel Serrat. La locura y nuestras definiciones; de eso trata el evangelio de hoy. La locura es aquello que no encaja bien en nuestros enunciados sobre lo que es “normal” en la vida. Indica la transgresión de un cierto orden moral, cultural, social o simbólico. … Continue reading “San Marcos 3:20-35 Comentario por Guillermo Hansen”

En este texto encontramos al menos dos partes bien diferenciadas. En la primera parte (3:20-30), después de que su familia intenta prenderlo y llevárselo por considerar que ha perdido el juicio, Jesús se enfrenta a los escribas por medio de unas parábolas con las que legitima su autoridad como exorcista; en la segunda parte (3:31-35) … Continue reading “San Marcos 3:20-35 Comentario por Luis Menéndez Antuña”

Jesus did not fit in.  He was at odds with his family’s sociological script and with the religious authorities. Even among his closest companions, as we have just read in 3:19, there is one who will betray him.  But undergirding all of that resistance from the beginning, he was at odds with Satan. This passage … Continue reading “Mark 3:20-35 Commentary by Meda Stamper”

It’s happening “again.” This time Jesus is coming home. Our instincts and associations of home and family immediately shape our expectations as to how this event will unfold. Robert Frost summed it up well: “Home is the place where when you have to go there they have to take you in” (“The Death of the … Continue reading “Mark 3:20-35 Commentary by James Boyce”

After a preaching tour in Galilee, Jesus returns to his home base in Capernaum, where he continues preaching, teaching, and healing. He also comes into conflict with some Jewish religious leaders — namely, the scribes and Pharisees. Scribes were professionals trained in the interpretation of Jewish law. They are often mentioned in association with the … Continue reading “Mark 2:1-22  Commentary by Elisabeth Johnson”

Things move quickly in the opening chapters of Mark’s account of Jesus. By the end of the first chapter, he’s gone from being just one of the crowd who had come out for John’s baptism, to being so sought-after — a Superstar, really — that he has to go into hiding (Mark 1:35); no wonder, … Continue reading “Mark 2:1-22 Commentary by James Hanson”