The people were astonished at his teaching . . .

Nor as the prophets. A prophet might say something like, “The word of the Lord came to me.” Jesus never says that. Jesus teaches with authority of God, as the Word made flesh.

This scene from the very first chapter of Mark is set in the synagogue in Capernaum, not far from Nazareth. Mark is the shortest gospel and first to be written. It is a quick, dense telling of Jesus’ life; the traditional source is Peter, which carries some weight. There are no sayings from the Sources document used by Luke and Matthew, nor is there use of traditions shared with Luke and John, such as the importance of Mary and Martha of Bethany. We’re in the first chapter, and Mark has already covered the Baptist, the Temptation, the Call of the first disciples, the cure of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, this story and two other healings. Whew!

n the synoptic gospels, Jesus spends most of his ministry in Galilee, that remote province far from the action in Jerusalem. Yet the reputation of one who teaches with authority, with the voice of God, will not escape the notice of the chief priests and scribes in the Temple. When he finally gets to Jerusalem, they will be waiting for him. Thank you for being wonderful financial stewards of your parish!

As you can see below, we are not where we need to be but we are in a much, much better financial position than we were before Christmas. Thank you for your gratitude and your generosity!
jvrussell85@gmail.com

Collections July 1 - January 28, 2021 $208,323
Where we need to be:                         $224,589
Last year at this time:                           $211,206