A Fresh Perspective - 08/10/07

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus' family, during his public ministry, were unbelievers. Mark says that when Jesus' family learned about some of his teachings and actions, "they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.'" They thought he was suffering from some mental lapse and went out to take him home. When Jesus, who was inside teaching, was informed that they were outside, [note the symbolism of "inside" and "outside"] he said, "Who are my mother and my brothers? . . . Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother?"

This story is interesting from two perspectives. One perspective pertains to Jesus' understanding of family; the other concerns Mark's perspective on Jesus' family.

In Mark's Gospel there is no birth story of Jesus, and hence, no Mary story. There is no angelic visitation, no virgin birth, no shepherds or magi, no Song of Mary; none of those wonderful stories we have come to love and talk about during the Christian season of Advent. The Christmas stories come from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew.

Mark's Gospel was undoubtedly the first Gospel written, circulating possibly just before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E. Ten to twenty years later came the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, written to different Christian communities, which means that Mark's church had none of those beautiful Christmas stories. Mark's Gospel begins with John the Baptist, and ends before we even get a resurrection appearance.

My intention here is not to answer the questions that Mark's different perspective raises, but to point out that the old cliché, "The Bible says it and I believe it" simply doesn't make sense when the Bible gives two different interpretations and views.

I know . . . some will accuse me of undermining faith in the Scriptures. My response: What kind of faith? If it's a faith that is blind to reality and refuses to acknowledge the diversity of faith perspectives within the Bible, then yes, I am undermining that kind of faith.

But what I'm really hoping to nurture is a durable, reasonable faith, that not only survives the differences and contradictions within the Bible, but can thrive in their midst; a faith that can live with the hard questions, rather than close its eyes to the discrepancies. A faith that demands perfection will either deny what's there or refuse to consider the hard questions. A faith that struggles with the contradictions will be more honest and authentic.

Chuck Queen is Senior Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort (www.ibcfrankfort.com); he welcomes your comments at cqueen@fewpb.net. Look for "A Fresh Perspective" every Friday.