Living into the new possibility

To enter the season of Easter is to enter uncharted territory: a world of new possibilities that our preconceived notions and categories are not adequate to describe.

What we bring to the present moment - the moment of freedom - includes our history and habits, as well as a capacity for joy - and for enjoying the new possibilities that Easter brings. It does not seem possible - but it is true.

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

And from this moment on everything is different - old things pass away and the new begins.

*

Mark 16:15

And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.

Luke 24:50-51

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.

Acts 1:9

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Mark 16:19

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

Acts 1:10-11

While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'

Luke 24:52

And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;

Acts 1:12

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

*

Jesus, in your mercy you behold us. You ascend, yet your love remains among us, so that here and now, in mortal time and human place, you already refresh our spirits with the hope of glory.

(Adapted from J. S. Bach, Ascension Oratorio, BWV 11 - Taverner Consort & Players/Andrew Parrott)

naked into the night

Notes for a homily on the feast of Saint Mark

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked. (Mark 14:51-52)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible (1991) notes, at 12.12, that John ... Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas as far as Perga (12.25-13.13; compare also Mk 14.51n.). At 14.51 it notes, "The young man's identity is not disclosed. Perhaps he was sleeping in the house where Jesus ate the Last Supper and rose hastily from bed to follow Jesus to Gethsemane. If the house was that of Mary, the mother of John Mark (where the disciples met at a late date; Acts 12.12), it is possible that the young man was the Evangelist himself.

The New Interpreter's Bible notes, for 14:51-52: Who the young man was and what he represents is the subject of much speculation. Is he connected to the "young man" at the tomb in 16:5? Is the linen cloth he wears connected to the "linen cloth" wrapped around Jesus' body in 15:46? Or is the young man who runs away naked simply the concrete narrative illustration of flight, as Judas is of betrayal and Peter is of denial? Some scholars connect the young man to passages in the Secret Gospel of Mark, mentioned in a disputed letter of Clement of Alexandria, discovered in the 20th century. At 15:37 it notes that John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10), was an assistant on the first mission (12:25; 13:5), but he returned early to Jerusalem (13:13).

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Feast of Saint Mark, April 25: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 2 or 2:7-10; Ephesians 4:7-8,11-16; Mark 1:1-15 or Mark 16:15-20.

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearABC/HolyDays/Mark.html

James Kiefer, "Mark the Evangelist 25 April NT"
(http://www.missionstclare.com/english/people/apr25.html)