January 20, 2012
Sunday Scripture
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
The baptism of Jesus and the forty-day wilderness experience have already taken place in Mark’s catechesis. The public ministry of Jesus now begins with these words, “After John had been arrested.” “Arrested” is a poor translation of the Greek verb which means “handed over” or “betrayed.” By whom? The best hypothesis is that it was the same clique of high priestly families and Sadducees that were the driving force behind the arrest and murder of Jesus. That there was antipathy between the Baptizer and the Jerusalem leadership is indicated by Mark 9:13; 11:30-32; Matthew 3:7-10; and John 1:19-27. Jesus’ connections with the Baptizer and his disciples was well known. He too was in danger. It was time to move out of the immediate sphere of influence of powerful enemies. He was from Galilee, a kind of backwater in the eyes of the powerbrokers in Jerusalem. Thus Mark writes, “He came into Galilee.”
According to John 3:25-26 and 4:1, Jesus and his disciples had begun their own baptismal ministry, which John’s disciples resented as an invasion of their territory. The arrest of John led Jesus into a new kind of ministry, “preaching the gospel of God,” or simply preaching the Good News about God. The content of the preaching at this point is brief, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” What does this mean? We know that Mark, writing about the year 70, like Paul ten to fifteen years earlier, expected the quick return of Jesus as final judge and the establishment of his kingdom. This is why in Mark there are no post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. In Mark’s mind there would be only one such appearance — the Parousia, the second visitation of Jesus to earth.
Mark was wrong in this matter, just like Paul was. In fact, fifteen years later Luke will contradict Mark’s avowal of the time being fulfilled. Luke 21:8, “Take heed that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘. . . The time is at hand.’ Do not follow them!” Even if Mark was mistaken about the proximity of the time and the kingdom, the call of the Marcan Jesus for repentance and faith is always valid. Even if that final appearance of Jesus was not at hand, his appearance as our judge at the moment of our death should always be a concern. Mark’s conviction of the closeness of the Parousia gives his gospel a tone of great haste — thus only a one-year ministry of Jesus in contrast to three or more years in the Gospel of John. Almost to the point of amusement. Mark uses the Greek word euthus, “immediately” 42 times. This is in contrast to the 28 times the other three gospels together use the word “immediately.” Mark and the Marcan Jesus are in a great hurry because “The time is fulfilled.”
In the second part of today’s gospel Jesus chooses his first disciples. The choosing of the first disciples was also last Sunday’s gospel, but the quite different version of the Gospel of John. For Mark it is important that the disciples be depicted as fishermen, for fishing is what they will continue to do. Jesus says to Simon and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Grace builds on nature. The talent and skill of the fisherman will be applied in a new way. Jesus moves on along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
He sees another pair of brothers, James and John. Apparently they are young and had been put to work mending nets in their father’s boat. When Jesus invites them, they leave their father Zebedee and his employees and follow Jesus. If they were teenagers, as is probable, the opportunity to escape the drudgery of mending nets could have been a contributing factor to their readiness to follow Jesus. But with Simon and Andrew it was a different matter. They were the owners of a prosperous fishing business which they had moved from Bethsaida, ruled by Herod Philip, to Capernaum, ruled by Herod Antipas. The fish drying tower was at Magdala, south of Capernaum. To cross from Bethsaida to Capernaum they had to pay toll fees. Better move the whole business to Capernaum. Thus Jesus chose two rowdy teenagers and two shrewd, solid businessmen.
The Book of Jonah is a parable. The main actor is Jonah, a cranky Israelite prophet who prefers a cruise to Spain rather than following God’s directions to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh, capital of Assyria, the ancient enemy of Israel. After disaster strikes Jonah, the Lord gives him a second chance. To Jonah’s disappointment, his call to repent is wildly successful. God accepts their repentance but Jonah still prefers to see them burn. God has to teach the old crank that the love of God is not restricted to any “chosen” people. A good parallel to this parable is Amos 9:7.
This odd little reading needs a context. Paul has been discussing celibacy and marriage. He prefers celibacy, but even more he advises no change in status of marriage and celibacy at that particular time, because “our time is growing short,” meaning, the Parousia was at hand. But it was not!