Habakkuk 1 At this point in our exploration of Holy Scripture, a lot must seem to be awfully repetitive. The classic age of prophecy encompassed a couple of centuries that were punctuated by two traumatic events for the ancient Jews: the collapse of the northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 BC and the fall of the southern Kingdom of Judah (from which the word “Jew” is derived) in 586 BC. The prophets of these stressful times had a consistent message: that the people shouldn’t have a false sense of security (that was based on a false sense of religion), and that doom was coming.
We know next to nothing about the prophet Habakkuk. Some biblical scholars believe that the three chapters of this short book were written in different periods and were not originally a unit. Others hold that the man Habakkuk preached and wrote during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), just prior to the first deportation of the Babylonian Exile.
The first chapter of the book (and the first five verses of chapter 2) is written as a dialogue between the prophet and God. Habakkuk is tormented by the fact that violence prevails and God seems to tolerate great evil. The response the prophet receives from God is dismaying: that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) are God’s instrument sent to punish the wicked, including the wicked of Judah. Yet how could a just God use such violent men to punish people who are less evil? And how could God allow so many innocent and righteous people suffer just for the sake of punishing the wicked? The Chaldeans are so bad that they even worship their own military might! (Hmmm!)
Mark 5 Since we have already read through the Gospel of Mark last winter, and someone else has already written a commentary on it, my remarks here will be very brief. Chapter 5 shows Jesus on a preaching tour, but it turns out that this particular tour was characterized more by healing than preaching. (Although the healings, of course, were an enacted form of preaching: Jesus’ mighty deeds gave credence to his words.)
Jesus cures the Gerasene demoniac. The people of the surrounding area were amazed, but apparently not grateful, since they begged Jesus to leave the region. Perhaps they were more concerned about the economic loss from the herd of pigs than they were about the healing of a man imprisoned by severe mental illness. There must have been many Gentiles in the region, for Jews would not raise pigs nor eat of their flesh.
Next Jesus raises the dead daughter of one Jairus, who had a leadership position in the local synagogue. But the telling of this particular episode is interrupted by another: Jesus’ healing of the woman who had suffered endlessly from a flow of blood. Then the narrative reverts to the story of Jairus’ daughter. Oddly, once Jesus restores the girl to her parents “he strictly charged them that no one should know this…” Jesus gives this admonition several times in Mark’s Gospel. One wonders: Isn’t the point to proclaim Jesus? Why be hush-hush about marvelous healings? Biblical scholars call this puzzle in Mark the “Messianic secret”. Perhaps the reason for this is that Jesus was afraid that people would misinterpret his role. The traditional expectation of the Messiah was that he would be a strong political/military hero who would overthrow the foreign oppression (Rome in Jesus’ day). But Jesus understood that his role was very different. It wasn’t the razzle dazzle of the miracle cures that was most important in his ministry. Rather, it was his extreme love in going to the Cross that was the pinnacle of his mission. Only after the Resurrection could people begin to piece it all together and begin to make sense of it all.
We know next to nothing about the prophet Habakkuk. Some biblical scholars believe that the three chapters of this short book were written in different periods and were not originally a unit. Others hold that the man Habakkuk preached and wrote during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), just prior to the first deportation of the Babylonian Exile.
The first chapter of the book (and the first five verses of chapter 2) is written as a dialogue between the prophet and God. Habakkuk is tormented by the fact that violence prevails and God seems to tolerate great evil. The response the prophet receives from God is dismaying: that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) are God’s instrument sent to punish the wicked, including the wicked of Judah. Yet how could a just God use such violent men to punish people who are less evil? And how could God allow so many innocent and righteous people suffer just for the sake of punishing the wicked? The Chaldeans are so bad that they even worship their own military might! (Hmmm!)
Mark 5 Since we have already read through the Gospel of Mark last winter, and someone else has already written a commentary on it, my remarks here will be very brief. Chapter 5 shows Jesus on a preaching tour, but it turns out that this particular tour was characterized more by healing than preaching. (Although the healings, of course, were an enacted form of preaching: Jesus’ mighty deeds gave credence to his words.)
Jesus cures the Gerasene demoniac. The people of the surrounding area were amazed, but apparently not grateful, since they begged Jesus to leave the region. Perhaps they were more concerned about the economic loss from the herd of pigs than they were about the healing of a man imprisoned by severe mental illness. There must have been many Gentiles in the region, for Jews would not raise pigs nor eat of their flesh.
Next Jesus raises the dead daughter of one Jairus, who had a leadership position in the local synagogue. But the telling of this particular episode is interrupted by another: Jesus’ healing of the woman who had suffered endlessly from a flow of blood. Then the narrative reverts to the story of Jairus’ daughter. Oddly, once Jesus restores the girl to her parents “he strictly charged them that no one should know this…” Jesus gives this admonition several times in Mark’s Gospel. One wonders: Isn’t the point to proclaim Jesus? Why be hush-hush about marvelous healings? Biblical scholars call this puzzle in Mark the “Messianic secret”. Perhaps the reason for this is that Jesus was afraid that people would misinterpret his role. The traditional expectation of the Messiah was that he would be a strong political/military hero who would overthrow the foreign oppression (Rome in Jesus’ day). But Jesus understood that his role was very different. It wasn’t the razzle dazzle of the miracle cures that was most important in his ministry. Rather, it was his extreme love in going to the Cross that was the pinnacle of his mission. Only after the Resurrection could people begin to piece it all together and begin to make sense of it all.
RSS Feed