What does "repentance" mean?

The gospel of Mark begins without any story of the birth of Jesus. It announces the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, tells the story of John the Baptist, relates that Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted, and then proclaims in a single sentence the message of the narrative. Jesus said: "The kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the good news of the gospel." (Mk. 1:14-15) Three elements are combined in this striking announcement. The kingdom of God, whatever we understand that to be, is near. We are called, presumably in response to the coming of this kingdom of God, to repent. And, we are to put our faith in the gospel. The rest of the gospel of Mark brings these three points to life in the ministry of Jesus.

Repentance and faith are the keys to entering the kingdom of God, this gospel tells us. Repentance means more than saying you are sorry for the wrongs you have done. It means "turning around" and going a new way. The gospel challenges us to transform our lives. And having faith means more than just believing the "right things" about God and Jesus. Having faith means trusting fully in the God we know in Jesus. The good news is that the God who has brought the kingdom near to us in Jesus has made it possible for us to enter it. Repentance and faith are real options for each of us. This hope is an essential part of the good news.

What does it mean to have "treasure in heaven"?

In Mark 10:17-22 Jesus says to someone rich: "You lack one thing. Go, sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Where is the "heaven" where the treasure of faith is to be found? Jesus does not explain. Most Christians assume heaven is a place where Christians go after they die. Certainly, heaven is a way of being with God, which is the real treasure. But is this only "a place" for the dead? The New Testament proclaims we can enter the kingdom of God now, in faith and love. The gospel of Matthew calls this the kingdom of heaven. Paul refers to this as "life in Christ." The good news is not that there is eternal life with God after death, but that there is eternal life with God before (and after) death.

Anyone reading what I've written is rich, compared to countless millions in our world who are destitute and do not have access to computers. Are we commanded by Jesus to sell all our possessions and give away all our money? St. Francis thought so, and he did just that. However, most Christians interpret this passage in the gospel of Mark to mean that we are not to be selfish, but are to share what we have with those who are poor. This is a way of emphasizing "the spirit" of the teaching rather than its "letter" or more literal meaning.  Yet, we should remember the faith of St. Francis with awe and humility, and we should give more freely of our abundance. Surely, God expects greater faith from us than we have usually manifested.

In which gospel do many of the disciples turn away from Jesus?

John 6:66 reports that many of Jesus' disciples turned away from him. Why? Because Jesus said: "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (v. 53) Only in the gospel of John do we find this statement by Jesus.  It comes in an argument with "the Jews," the name used by the author of the gospel for the antagonists of Jesus.  But the statement by Jesus not only offends "the Jews."  It also offends many of Jesus' disciples, who are, of course, Jewish, as was Jesus.

The story in the gospel of John distinguishes the disciples from other Jews, who reject the teachings of Jesus.  This very likely reflects the experience of the community for which this gospel was written.  There is anger in this gospel against some in the Jewish community, who are called "the Jews."  And this anger is evidence that the author and his group of Jewish believers in Jesus have been rejected by Jewish friends, perhaps even by their own families.  In the passage read today the author of the gospel, speaking on behalf of his Greek-speaking community of Jewish Christians, identifies Jesus as the source of eternal life.  The gospel of John affirms that in Jesus we may discern "the way, the truth and the life." (Jn. 14:6)

Was the Last Supper a Passover meal?

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke all record that Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples the night he was arrested in Jerusalem.  The gospel of John, however, reports that Jesus is arrested the night before Passover (See Jn. 18:28).  Both these accounts of the night Jesus was arrested cannot be factually true.  In Mark's account of this last night with his disciples, Jesus blesses the bread, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples.  Then he gives thanks for the wine and tells his disciples, ""This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."

This passage seems to reflect the celebration of the Lord's Supper.  The gospel is being written after the letters of Paul and after the church has existed for a generation.  Is this a memory of an event in the life of Jesus?  Or, is does this passage read back into the life of Jesus the later practice of the sacrament in the life of the church?  It seems likely that there was a Passover meal eaten by Jesus with his disciples, but the ritual of the Lord's Supper may not be much earlier than Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, which includes a reference to what are now known as "the words of institution" for the sacrament. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)  Paul says that these words came "from the Lord." (v. 23)  Given that Paul had talked with the disciples of Jesus, it most likely that he would have heard the story of the final night with Jesus from Peter or one of the other disciples who was present.  But Paul explicitly does not identify a disciple as the source for the words of institution.  Instead, he suggests the risen Christ commands this sacrament.

Why does Paul preach "Christ crucified"?

Why does the New Testament refer to Jesus as the "Son of Man"?

In all four gospels Jesus refers to himself as the "Son of Man," so this understanding of Jesus was widespread in the early church. What does it mean? It might emphasize the humanity of Jesus, as a way of offsetting any interpretation of Jesus as a deity with the appearance of a man. Or, it might refer to the phrase in the book of Daniel about one like a son of man coming on the clouds to judge the living and the dead. (Daniel 7:13) 

Matthew 20:28 says that the Son of Man gave his life as "a ransom for many." This suggests that Jesus died in order to pay off a debt, or in our place as a lamb is sacrificed to atone for human sins. This is the suffering servant image that is developed most fully in Isaiah 53. This image reaches deep into the human psyche, where the traces of human and animal sacrifice continue to generate fear and guilt. If we understand Jesus literally as God's sacrifice for our sins, then God is a blood-thirsty demon. But if we see that the death of Jesus represents symbolically God's self-sacrifice, so that we might be freed from guilt and despair due to our sin, then the story represents an act of liberating love. In Christ we are freed from the impossible task of living without sin, and God is freed from having to judge us for our failure to be perfect.