Saturday in Advent 2: The sabbath pattern

Opening Sentence

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

How Long, Dear Savior, O How Long



Commemoration: Karl Barth and Thomas Merton

Almighty God, source of justice beyond human knowledge: We offer thanks that thou didst inspire Karl Barth to resist tyranny and exalt thy saving grace, without which we cannot apprehend thy will. Teach us, like him, to live by faith, and even in chaotic and perilous times to perceive the light of thy eternal glory, Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, throughout all ages. Amen.

Gracious God, who didst call thy monk Thomas Merton to proclaim thy justice out of silence, and moved him in his contemplative writings to perceive and value Christ at work in the faiths of others: Keep us, like him, steadfast in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Texts: Psalm 50-52 (M); Psalm 53-55 (E); Isaiah 40:12-31, Mark 6:30-56 (M); Isaiah 41, Revelation 17 (E)

If there is a message in the structure of a text, then the message of today's Gospel reading should not be missed. It begins with Jesus and his disciples withdrawing "to a desolate place" to "rest a while." It ends with Jesus withdrawing to "the mountain to pray." Between these two periods of withdrawal, there is the feeding of the five thousand with fives loaves and two fish. Most attention, naturally, is focused on that miraculous sign as well as the many other signs Jesus performs throughout Mark's Gospel. However, there is a message to be heard in Mark's recurrent emphasis on Jesus withdrawing to desolate places and climbing mountains.

Mark, in fact, chronicles Jesus' entire earthly ministry along this work-rest-work-rest cycle. It is an intentional replication of the pattern of creation, punctuating Jesus' declaration concerning the Sabbath (Mark 2.27-28). The periodic time of withdrawal and rest is not incidental to Jesus' ministry. It is an integral part of it. His work is not complete without it.

In the same way, the Sabbath, as God established it, is not incidental to his work of creation. It is an integral part of it. The Sabbath hallows the work of the previous six days and makes creation whole. As the numerous incidents of death, disease, and suffering recounted by Mark make clear, that wholeness has been marred by the Fall. Jesus came proclaiming a Gospel of repentance, redemption, and restoration. He came to make creation whole again.

(JAG)

A Voice Cries Out