Month: November 2024

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Russia: Reviews and a Personal Memory

photo of the three books reviewed in my post

Kungur, Russia,  Late July 2011

Kurgur Russia Train Station
Train Station in Kungur

I arrived in Kungur early on Sunday afternoon, the day before, after traveling three days on the trans-Siberian from Ulan Ude, west of Lake Baikal.  That afternoon, I took a tour of the city and asked the guide about church services. At the Tikhvinskaya Church, she learned there would be services the next morning which would include baptisms. On Monday, I was there shortly after the doors opened.  This church had only recently resumed being a church. During the Soviet era, the government converted the church into a prison.

Statue of Lenin and an old style water tower near the Kungur Railroad Station
Statue of Lenin and an old water tower across from train station

When I arrived, only a handful of people were in the church. Mostly, the congregation was made up of older women, but I did notice one man who was about my age and who seemed as clueless as me when it came to Orthodox traditions. As is custom, we all stood. However, around the edge of the massive sanctuary, there were a few benches and at times, some of the women would go sit down for a break. Much of the service consisted of alternating chanting from the balcony (done by a man and a woman) and from behind the icons (done by a priest).   The entire service, except for a few readings, was sung without accompaniment. Not speaking the language, I was mostly clueless as to what was happening. But the building and the voices were beautiful, and I just took it all in. 

Tikhvinskaya Church, photo taken from the main dome above the church

 I had been there about an hour when a man entered the sanctuary and approached me, speaking in Russia.  At first, I wondered if he was a beggar, looking for money, but he was too well dressed for that. He got into my face, and I smelled alcohol. He seemed distraught.  I shrugged my shoulders and whisper that I don’t speak Russian. After a few minutes, he left and walked over to a window where there were numerous candles. He lighted a candle and stood for a few minutes. Then he turned around and headed over to me and in perfect English said, “I’m sorry, my father died this morning.” Caught off guard, I expressed my condolences and asked if I could pray for him. “Yes,” he said. I placed by hand on his shoulder and prayed. “Thank you,” he said, as he turned and left the sanctuary. I never saw him again.  

A little later in the service, the priest opens the door through the icons and prepares communion.  I debated taking communion, if offered. A few people went over to receive the bread, but most did not, so I remained where I was at.  Then, an older mousy woman who’d been helping with things brought me a piece of the bread and offered it to me. I wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant, but I decided that communion is at best a mystery and the polite thing to do was to be gracious. Humbly bowing my head, I accepted the bread from the woman, held it for a moment while I prayed for her and for the congregation who welcomed me, a stranger.  

After communion, a man and woman with an infant that looked to be maybe 6 or 9 months old, walked up to the priest and presented the child. From a distance, it appears the priest gave the child a piece of bread soaked in the wine.  I couldn’t really see the baptism. Then there were prayers said over the child and each parent lighted a candle, then left.  After some more chanting in Russia, the service ended. It was nearly 11 AM and I ran back down the hill to the hotel and checked out and headed to the train station for my next leg of the journey.

Kruger River and city
A view of the city with the Kruger River flowing through it.

John P. Burgess, Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia 

(New Haven, CT: Yale, 2017), 264 pages including index and notes. Some photographs. 

Burgess, a theology professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, spent several sabbaticals in Russia learning about the Russian Orthodox Church.  He worshiped in Orthodox Churches, attended Bible Studies, befriended members and priests. While Burgess roots are in Reformed Tradition, his inquisitive and open mind provides a unique insight into the Orthodox tradition. 

While Burgess goal is not to give the reader a history of the Orthodox tradition in Russia, he does provide a history of the church in the 20th Century,. Much of this decade, the church lived under a dictatorial communist regime who sought to exterminate religion in Russia. The church struggled to survived as the government converted the church’s property into museums, theaters, and even prisons. The early years were the worse. The church strove to survive by supporting the government as they followed the Apostle’s Paul’s commands. During World War II, even Stalin saw the church as useful in the defense of the nation and the worse persecutions waned. But it wasn’t until the 90s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, that the church was free to openly participate in society. Much of the book explains the rising role of the church during this era.

Holy Rus is a vague concept that see’s the Russian Church link to the nation for the purpose of the advancement of the gospel. While the idea was established during the age of the Czars, it has found its way back into the mainstream. Putin has embraced such ideology as he attempts to place Russia, and not the West, as carrying on the gospel traditions.  While Burgess doesn’t say so, Holy Rus to me seems to be a Russian version of Christian Nationalism.

While this book attempts to explain the role of the church in modern Russia, it also part travelogue. Burgess takes us along with him as he travels Russia and meets with leaders and priests and laypeople within the church. This is a valuable book for those looking to understand the Orthodox Church’s role in modern Russia, but because of the expanded war in Ukraine, I sensed that the book was a little dated. 

I picked up this book at the Theology Matter’s Conference I attended last month in Hilton Head. Burgess was one of the presenters. I have previous reviewed his book,  After Baptism: The Shaping of the Christian Life. 

Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History

 (2003,  audible published in  2004), 27 hours and 41 minutes). 

This Pulitzer Prize winning book has been on my TBR list for several years. I have previously read two of her books: Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine and Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism. Both books seemed more important to understanding the world we live in than old Soviet history. However, a few weeks after I finished this book, Mike Davis, of Trump’s lawyers mused about building Gulags for liberal white women. Sadly, I realized it might be a good thing I have some knowledge of what he was talking about. Gulags aren’t necessarily tied to communism. They’re tools totalitarians use to create fear within society to keep people in line. In the old Soviet Union, any minor infraction could end you in a Gulag, which helped maintain control over the masses. 

 I started listening to his book in early October, knowing I had long road trips ahead in which I could listen to large sections of the book (I drove to Hilton Head, SC, then to Wilmington, NC, and then home). With over 15 hours in the car, and my regular walks, I was able to finish the book in less than two weeks. 

Applebaum begins discussing how the Gulag took shape from the beginning under Lenin and on through the 70s and 80s. Over the course of the decades, the Gulag changed. Lenin used the prison system to put away “enemies” who had different ideas about government. This included many communists who saw things differently. One of the interesting things about the Gulag is that many of the prisoners remained loyal to the Soviet ideals.  Early on, the Gulag was seen as a way for economic gain. Attempts to profit from prison labor included building the White Sea Canal and lumbering in the north and mining in the vastness of Siberia. 

Stalin took the Gulag into more extremes and in the late 30s, during his purges, the most horrific atrocities occurred (both within the Gulag system and general executions). During World War 2, the Gulags in the east had to be moved to avoid capture by the Germans. Some prisoners, unable to be moved, were summarily executed. Applebaum spends some time discussing the differences between the Soviet Gulags and the Nazi Concentration Camps. As bad as the Gulags were, at least the Soviets weren’t attempting genocide against a particular race of people. 

After the war, life improved slowly in the Gulags and things never returned to how bad it was in the late 1930s. However, many captured Soviet soldiers found themselves, upon being released from German POW camps, in the Gulag.  Upon Stalin’s death and Khrushchev obtaining power, things slowly improved. But still, the camps continued to the fall of the Soviet Union. 

One of the surprising things about the Gulags were the corruption, both by the camp leadership and the prisoners. Gangs often ruled the prisoners, especially those prisoners who were in the system due to criminal (as opposed to political or religion) crimes. These gangs terrorized other prisoners and sometimes even the guards. 

The Gulags were also a training ground for those who would eventually lead to the breakdown of the Soviet system.  The non-Russians often created their own gangs and many of those within the prison system learned leadership skills they would use to help throw off the communist governments in Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Georgia. In this way, the abuses of the Gulag created a time-bomb which helped undo the Soviet Union. 

This is a long book, but worthwhile. Hopefully we won’t see any Gulags in our country. But Applebaum’s book serves as a warning. 

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Cover of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

 (1962, Audible 2013), 5 hours and 5 minutes. 

This short novel is set in a Gulag during the early 1950s. The prisoner wakes in his bed and begins to plan his day (or how to get out of work). It’s cold but not cold enough for them to call off work.  Soon, they are all awake and begin their morning routine. He wraps his feet for warmth and worries if he will be discovered with extra cloth. They are not to hoard, but everyone does. This morning, he visits the infirmary hoping to be sick enough to avoid work. With his temperature only slightly elevated, he must work. He eats breakfast, where he’s given bread for lunch. Does it eat it all or save it and hope it isn’t stolen before lunch? Then everyone assembles for the morning count before marching off to their various jobs. Denisovich is a mason. He finds where he has hidden his trowel. He has a favorite one and is supposed to turn in the tools at the end of a shift, but he doesn’t. Laying block with the weather being well below zero means they must melt snow and warm the sand and mortar. At least it requires a fire. They work through the day. In the late afternoon, they march back for an assembled count. Standing in the cold, he hopes everyone is present and there would be no need for a recount. Then there is dinner and bed. 

The story is grim. I felt the cold, the hunger, and the foreboding existence within the Gulag. There, the prisoners are not called comrades. Inside the prison camp there are those who faithful to the Soviet Union and others, like Ukrainians, who are not. There’s the Baptist who hides his New Testament and who has a different hope. But most people exist without hope. The day ends, the light in the barrack goes out, and the reader is left to understand that the next day will be the same. 

The novel takes place in the early 1950s at a time when Stalin was still alive. Interesting, Khrushchev as Premier, read a copy and allowed it to be published. At the time, he attempted to move the Soviet Union away from Stalinism. The book publication occurred just before the “Neo-Stalinists” booted Khrushchev and replaced him with Brezhnev. 

I was amazed the way this book highlights the quotidian events in the life of a prisoner in the Gulag. The writing (or translation) is stark and amazing. I started listening to this book immediately after finishing Anne Applebaum’s Gulag.  I highly recommend reading it and wish I had read it earlier. The book will go back on my TBR pile as it is as worthy of rereading as Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea. 

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What does Jesus have against fig trees?

title slide with photo of two churches

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
November 24, 2024
Mark 11:12-25

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, November 22, 2024. I changed the ending, as shown below in the text.

Comments at the beginning of worship:    

“Be as strict as possible with yourself but as generous as possible with others,” an Orthodox priest taught.[1] Good advice and Jesus shows us an example of this in today’s text. Jesus could be harsh and strict with the faithful (or so called faithful as they were mostly hypocrites), while encouraging his often-clueless followers to forgive and be generous. We should learn from his example.

Before the Scripture reading: 

As we continue to work our way through Mark, we find ourselves on the day after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. If you remember from last week, Jesus came into the city late in the day, looked around a bit, then headed to Bethany for the evening. Our reading today begins with them going back to the Jerusalem on the next day. 

Mark tells this story slightly different that Matthew and Luke. The other two synoptic gospels have Jesus cleansing the temple immediately after entering Jerusalem.[2] Instead, in Mark, Jesus has a night to sleep on things before he acts. Also, in Mark, on the way to the temple, Jesus has an encounter with a fig tree. 

In this text we see one of Mark’s familiar types of construction: the sandwich, which were popular earlier in the gospel.[3] Mark starts with one topic, then moves to another, before going back to complete the discussion of the first topic. In our passage today, the fig tree serves as the bread for the sandwich with the cleansing of the temple in the middle.

Unlike some of the other sandwich constructions in Mark, this one comes with a pickle on the side, a proverb which focuses on prayer and forgiveness. That proverbial ending, we’ll see, shifts the meaning, from judgment to the power of God and our role as disciples.[4]

The fig tree story, an enacted parable, is also miraculous. In fact, it’s the only negative miracle in the gospels. Other miracles bring about healing and life, positive things. But here we end up with a dead tree.[5]  Some criticized Jesus for being vindicative, but I’m not sure that’s the point.[6] Let’s look at the text. 

Read Mark 11:12-25

It may be hard for us to comprehend the size of the temple. This was no little church in the wildwoods surrounded by a graveyard and with an adjacent picnic pavilion. The third temple, which Herod the Great had begun constructing in 20 BC, was massive. The temple consisted of four sections. Three of the sections excluded all but the faithful. The Court of the Women was for Jewish women and the Court of Israel was for circumcised Jewish men. And the innermost section of the temple, “the holy of holies,” was reserved for the high priest to make atonement for the people’s sins. 

But around the temple was the massive Court of the Gentiles. It was 500 yards long and 325 yards deep, roughly 35 acres. Here, anyone could come, including gentiles. This area was also where the faithful Jews, who had traveled long distances and wanted to make a sacrifice, could purchase a spotless animal to be offered to God. Sacrifice was a big business. According to Josephus, an ancient Jewish author, in 66 AD, the year the temple was completed, a quarter million lambs were sacrificed during Passover! In a way, the Court of the Gentiles was a stockyard. 

In addition to unblemished animals for sacrifice, proper coinage had to be used in the temple. Coins could have no graven images on them and were to be pure metal. Roman coins with Ceasar’s head had to be exchanged for more appropriate coins to use inside the temple. Moneychangers lined up to do a brisk business, making a profit as they collected the more valuable Roman coins and issued those approved for temple use.[7]

Now, because of the sheer size of the temple and Mark’s wording, it seems unlikely Jesus cleared the entire 35 acres of moneychangers and livestock brokers. Mark says that “Jesus began to drive out those selling and buying,” not that he drove them all out. Furthermore, Mark only mentions those who sold doves, just one of the animals offered as a sacrifice within the temple, and one generally used by the poorest of pilgrims. 

If Jesus had cleared this entire 35-acre court, he would have likely drawn attention to the Roman garrison stationed just to the north of the temple at Antonia Fortress. These soldiers would have intervened to keep the peace.[8]


While Jesus didn’t appear to draw Roman attention at this point, he did catch the attention of the chief priests and scribes. They sense danger at his display of anger. After all, they made a profit from this activity. They could have wondered if Jesus was the Messiah, as he was cleansing the temple. But Jesus isn’t driving away the gentiles (although he drove out some who were sellers as well as some Jewish buyers). But what he expresses is for the temple to be a safe place for all people to come and pray. Instead of excluding the gentiles, Jesus expresses a desire to open the temple to them.[9]

The story of Jesus cleansing the temple is merged between the two halves of the story of the fig tree. On their way to the temple, we’re told Jesus was hungry and he hoped there will be some fruit left of a fig tree. Our text makes us wonder why Jesus would have even looked since it was not the season for figs. And why is the tree punished? 

The fig harvest was normally from mid-August to mid-October. However, after the harvest trees often sprouted buds, calledpaggim in Hebrew, which remained undeveloped throughout the winter. These were eatable and probably was what Jesus looked to find and eat as a snack. The death of the tree reminds us of God’s judgment coming to the temple and to Israel. Five of the prophets speak of fig trees in relationship to judgment.[10] Jesus himself speaks of the destruction of unproductive fruit trees, torn down and burned, as a sign of judgment.[11]

After the encounter in the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus and the disciples again leave the city for Bethany, where the spend the night. Then, on the second day, as they return to the city, Peter sees the cursed tree and points it out to Jesus. Jesus uses this as a lesson for the disciples about faith, prayer and the need to forgive others. The tree isn’t just about judgment, but also encourages them to have faith in God.

The idea of having enough faith to move a mountain into the sea may have come from Herod having built a fortress south of Jerusalem, but within eyesight. He had removed a hill and used it as earth to circle his fortress on the mountain with a large wall.[12]Herod could remove a hill, but the disciples could do even greater things, Jesus suggests. 

Jesus realizes the temple’s days are numbered. Judgment is coming. But he wants his disciples to place their faith, not in a structure like a temple or a church building but in God. And as we know, Jesus reveals God to us. We’re to have faith in Jesus. We’re to follow him regardless of what danger exists. Faith is our source of strength. 


Then Jesus adds what I’ve referred to as a pickle as a side to his sandwich. Perhaps he was afraid of the disciples only wanting to obtain things through prayer and missing an important part of following Jesus. While Mark’s gospel doesn’t include the Lord’s Prayer, that’s found in Matthew and Luke,[13] he does remind us of the importance of forgiving others. As Jesus does in the Lord’s prayer, here he reminds the disciples of the link between our willingness to forgive and God forgiving us. 

What does this passage mean for us? Certainly, we need to protect the worship of God so that it focuses on the Almighty and is not used to human benefit. But with that understanding, we should understand that Mark focuses less on Jesus’ anger in the temple than the other gospels.[14] By the end of the passage, Jesus encourages the disciples to have faith. Our faith in Jesus goes hand in hand with our willingness to forgive as he has forgiven us. Amen. 

[1] This quote was from Ioann Krest’iankin, a Russian Orthodox Priest and the quote found in John P. Burgess, Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017), 191. 

[2] Matthew 21:12f and Luke 19:45f.  The synoptic gospels place Jesus’ adult visit to Jerusalem during this last week, John’s gospel has Jesus in and out of Jerusalem several times. His cleansing of the temple story comes earlier in Jesus’ ministry. See John 2:13-22. 

[3] For examples, see Mark 3:20-34 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/07/the-unpardonable-sin-baseball-doing-the-will-of-god/; Mark 4:1-20 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/28/the-parable-of-the-sower/; Mark 5:21-42 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/09/7247/ ;  Mark 6:1-44 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/30/a-grand-picnic-and-a-call-to-feed-the-hungry/ and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/30/a-grand-picnic-and-a-call-to-feed-the-hungry/.

[4] Douglas R. A. Hare, Westminster Bible Commentary: Mark (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1997), 144-145. 

[5] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark (1991, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 261. 

[6] Bernard Russell was one to criticize Jesus for being vindictive here. See James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 339. 

[7] For the size and layout of the temple and information about animals and coins, see Edwards, 340-342. 

[8] Hare, 143. 

[9] Edwards, 343. For the expectation the Messiah would open the temple of gentiles, see the Psalms of Solomon, 17:22-30. 

[10]  Edwards, 339-340. See Isaiah 34:4, Jeremiah 29:17, Hosea 2:12, 9:10, Joel 1:7, and Micah 7:1.

[11] See Matthew 7:19 and Luke 13:6-9. John the Baptist also speaks of Jesus bringing such judgment. See Matthew 3:10f. 

[12] Edwards, 347. 

[13] Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:2-4.

[14] John depicts Jesus’ anger more than the other gospels, as Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives out not only those doing business but also the cattle and sheep. See John 2:15. 

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Last Month’s Travels

title slide with a photo inside Providence Presbyterian Church and a sunrise on Hilton Head

Recent travels:

Early last month, I spent four days on Hilton Head Island attending a Theology Matter’s Conference. It was good to be back in the land of good seafood. I saw several sunrises (the only day I missed was when we had tropical storm winds and rains). The only downside to the trip was missing a wonderful show of the Northern Lights. While I was able to see them faintly on Hilton Head (see photo), from what I heard and saw from friends’ photographs around home, things were amazing in the sky in the mountains. 

aurora over Hilton Head, October 10, 2024
Aurora over Hilton Head

Despite not seeing an amazing aurora, the lectures were stimulating, and it was good to meet up with old friends. I especially enjoyed after hours with Jeff Newlin and Steve Crocro at Hinchey’s Chicago Bar and Grill. (If you ever go there, be aware they serve a stiff drink and one an evening was more than enough.). It was also good to introduce Jeff and Steve, as I was the common contact. Jeff was our consultant for church building campaigns when I was in Hastings. While he’s now retired, I think our campaign remains the largest (membership/funds raised) campaign he conducted in his career. Steve started as the librarian the year I began seminary at Pittsburgh. He would go on to later serve as the theological librarian at Princeton and Yale as well as an interim librarian at the United States War College. 

Jim Miller lecturing inside Providence Presbyterian Church (where the conference was held).

In Wilmington

When the conference was over, I drove up to Wilmington, NC, where I stayed with my sister and preached at Cape Fear Presbyterian Church’s 80th Anniversary service. It was good to be away for a week and to see old friends both at the conference and in Wilmington and eat some good seafood along with Vietnamese and Indian food.  I also helped my sister by going through 1000s of photos from my parents (and we have yet to tackle the slides). I found a photo I thought was long lost, which I took of my grandparents on my mother’s side on Christmas Day 1966. This was the first photo taken on my first camera (Kodak 126) and probably the last taken on my grandfather, who died three weeks later. A few years ago, I wrote this poem about him and this photo!.

Copies of old photos from my parents

The anniversary service went well, and it was nice to see such a crowd in the church where I attended with my family from the fourth grade through college.  I got to spend some time out with my brother on his boat. And then, on Monday, before driving home, I had coffee with Wayne, a friend from High School, and dropped by to see my parent’s grave.

photos from Wilmington NC

Highlights of the conference:

Instead of giving a run-down of all the speakers and preachers, I am going to highlight three speakers and an idea they presented.

John Burgess, “For the Next Generation”

John is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (from which I graduated a decade before he arrived). In his first lecture, he combined two of his interest: Christian formation and the Russian Orthodox Church.  John has published books on both. I reviewed his book, After Baptism: Shaping the Christian Life  a few years ago and have just read his book Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia. You can look for a review in a few weeks when I review three recent books I’ve read about Russia. 

In his first lecture, John introduced us to Pabel Floresky, a Russian Orthodox priest and scientist killed during Stalin’s purges in the late-1930s. While he was in the Gulag, Floresky was interested in passing on to his family what he valued. These letters are available in a book (in Russian) titled; All My Thoughts are about You.  Floresky felt an obligation to three areas. 

  • His family’s unique heritage
  • To familiarize his children with important cultural achievements
  • And to encourage them to spend as much time as possible in creation. 

While he was deeply devoted to his faith, he knew writing about God would catch the eyes of the censors and his letter would never make it home, so he used coded words for God and faith. Interestingly, all five of his children became major scientists in Russia. 

John ended his lecture by asking what God has prepared us to pass on? What is our legacy?  

Han-Luen Kantzer Komline, “Augustinian Insights on the Law of Double Love”

Kantzer Komline is a professor at Western Theological Seminary in Holland Michigan. The Double Love Law comes from Jesus’ command to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40 and Mark 12:38-41). I particularly enjoyed her lecture having devoted much of the past summer to Augustine’s City of God. 

She speaks of Augustine as a man on the margins (in time, space, politics and the church) as he wrote during the collapse of the Western Roman world.  Love mattered for Augustine for three reasons: 

  • You are what you love
  • Love makes Christians, Christan 
  • All you need is love (with a nod to the Beatles)

Augustine believed that everyone loves, but sometimes our loves are misdirected. The question is the object of our love. Is it toward God or toward self? The later creates a destructive environment while the love of God allows us to properly love ourselves and our neighbors. Love makes us Christians, for if we do not love, how can we be a follower of Christ? And finally, although Augustine was a theologian and interested in knowledge, knowledge is not enough to make us Christian. We must show love and charity. 

Richard Burnett: “Learning to Say No for the Sake of God’s Yes”

The evening sessions at the conference were more sermon-like than the day sessions. Richard Burnett spoke on the second evening using Mark 2:13-17, the call of Levi” as his text.  As he worked through the text, Richard emphasized the need for parties when we say yes to Jesus (as did Levi). In these parties, we celebrate God’s love. But then Richard changed direction and spoke how saying Yes to Jesus means there are things to which we must also say no. Of course, saying no is never fun, but is necessary. Richard then began drawing upon the Barmen Declaration, a part of the Presbyterian Church USA confessions. 

The Barmen Declaration was made by a group of German Churches at the time of Hitler’s rise. It addresses the idolatry of nationalism (Christian nationalism), which attempted to place the allegiance to the state over the church’s allegiance to her Lord. Barmen is unique in that it not only professes what it believes (Jesus is Lord, etc.), it also has a series of negations. These deal with things we can’t accept because we accept the Lordship of Christ. While Richard focused on one an overture from the General Assembly being currently debated within the presbyteries of the denomination, I couldn’t help but think of the upcoming election and why I could never support one candidate for President.  “Our ‘No’ is only for the gospels and God’s yes,” he proclaimed, “not to be hateful or spiteful.”

Comet taken from home in October 2024
Once back home, I began watching the comet that was faint in the evening sky.
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Following Jesus

Title slide with photo of two rock churches where the sermon will be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
November 18, 2024
Mark 11:1-11

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, November 15, 2024.

At the beginning of worship: 

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

Some of you may be feeling that way today. Listen to the wise words of Gandalf. “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.”[1]

It’s been years, decades, almost a half century, since I read Tolkien. But this passage, which was shared widely by many on social media over the past few weeks, rings true. We don’t get to choose the time in which we live. But what’s important is how we live during the time we’re given. Do we follow Jesus? Do we live the virtues and values he espoused: loving others, protecting the vulnerable, caring for those in need, and speaking the truth? 

Or do we give in to the fleeting values and flashy ideas of the present age? There are always challenges to the gospel, but our calling as followers of Jesus is to the heavenly kingdom. 

Before the reading of scripture

One of the interesting things about working through a book of scripture, chapter by chapter, is that you have little control over what comes up when. We will see this today. This will be the first time I have preached on a passage normally reserved for Palm Sunday at another time during the year. I did the same thing a few months ago. Then, I preached on the transfiguration in summer and not as the lectionary would have it, the Sunday before Lent.[2]But that’s okay. We may be better able to understand the passage without the trappings of a Palm Sunday service. 

In a way, Mark’s story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is anticlimactic. About half of the story focuses on acquiring the beast, which in Mark is an unbroken colt.[3] Then there is the focus on getting ready for the parade from preparing the beast and dropping cloaks and branches along the roadway. Then they entered the city singing from the 118th Psalm. For Mark, this is the first time we hear of Jesus being in Jerusalem.[4] Then Jesus and the disciples then quickly leave the city and head over to Bethany for the night. Perhaps, like today, rooms were cheaper in the suburbs than in the city center. 

While we are not given the exact time, the entry into Jerusalem could have occurred on the same day as Jesus healing Blind Bartimaeus in Jericho. It seems to be late in the day when they enter the city, for they quickly leave as evening approaches. If this is the case, they’d had time to make the 15 mile walk earlier in the day.

But another option suggested by some (and supported by the Gospel of John),[5] has Jesus in the city longer than just the week recorded in the Passion. This would allow him time to meet and get to know the owner of the animal he rode the day we’re reviewing. Furthermore, the cries of Hosanna and the recitation of Psalm 118 was more in line with the fall harvest festival than the Passover.[6] But that’s a tidbit that we can’t settle, so I’ll stick to Mark’s week timeline. 

Let’s listen to Mark’s report of this eventful day.

Read Mark 11:1-11

Something seems to be missing from this passage. We have Jesus, the disciples, a parade, and a crowd. But where are the authorities? Where are those in charge of crowd control? Where’s the chief priest wanting to know what’s up with this new fangle religious group?[7] Where are the Roman soldiers standing by to ensure things stay orderly? The other gospels, who tell this story, go into more detail. But Mark is sparse on details. 

We always image the day to be picture-perfect. The sun shines. Wind blows just enough to keep the bugs away and to cool those marching up to the city.  People pour into the Holy City for the upcoming holiday.

Jesus and his gang also come up to Jerusalem. When a few miles from town, Jesus sends his disciples into the next village to procure a colt. It sounds like Jesus had worked all this out in advance. He gives the unnamed disciples an address to find this unridden colt. And he lets them know that if challenged, they should just say, “Master needs the colt and will return it afterwards.”

The two disciples head off, find the beast, and as they are leading it back to Jesus, sure enough someone challenges them. It doesn’t sound like it’s the owner, but maybe a neighbor. And once they say, “The Master needs it,” they’re allowed to lead the animal back to the disciples’ camp. 

This whole procurement of the beast may have several meanings. Does Jesus know even trivial things about the future. Not only does he know about his upcoming death, but where to find a beast and what to say when challenged for taking it. In addition, the borrowing of a horse is a pejorative of a king… And having an unridden horse could be another subtle hint of Jesus’ royalty. King’s horses were generally off-limits for everyone else.[8]

When the two disciples get back to Jesus, they place some cloaks onto the beast to serve as a saddle. Others placed their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus, kind of like Walter Raleigh did for the Queen to earn the title Sir. Other’s place leafy branches on the ground in front of Jesus’ path. If you want to read about palms, check out John’s gospel.[9]

Jesus must have been one brave hombre, riding an animal that hasn’t been broken. But the beast seems tame. At least we’re not told of it rearing up like a bucking bronco in a rodeo. As he makes his way toward the gates of Jerusalem, the people sing the 118thPsalm, a revolutionary Psalm for it hails a new king coming on the scene. 


But then Jesus goes into the gates of the city, looks around for a bit and visits the temple before heading off to Bethany. Supposedly, the two disciples returned the colt to where they found it. 

Since the 8th Chapter, everything has played out with Jerusalem in the background.[10] Now they have arrived at the holy city. Jesus comes in, not as a warrior, but still honored. But the disciples, like us, have heard that Jesus isn’t going to sit on David’s throne. Instead, he’s come to the city to suffer and die. Knowing this, do we stick around with Jesus? Or would we be like the disciples and scatter when things go south while the rest of the crowd cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion? 

Real transformation takes place at the cross, not in the hype of a parade.[11] Perhaps this is why Mark plays down Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem, as compared to the other three gospels. For a religion which only stresses “feeling good” is a Palm Sunday religion and does not take seriously our human condition toward sin. Our faith must be grounded in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is about politics. In a way, Jesus mocks other politicians who entered the city with pomp and circumstance. As Jesus enters the city, at least two other significant political figures are either already in the city or will arrive shortly after Jesus. Pilate and Herod were both in the city during the Passover. While we don’t know, we could easily imagine there would have been a parade for the two of them. Such a parade would have involved fancy horses, chariots, soldiers with shinny brass, and perhaps a band. 

Pilate and Herod’s arrival displayed the powers of the kingdom. Jesus’ entry displays the power of a mysterious kingdom, one not of this world

Would we have been lured by Jesus riding bareback on a colt or by the fancy horses decked out for Rome?  

As we have worked through the gospel of Mark, seeing how Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem comes to nothing, perhaps we should recall the seeds which fell on rocky soil. The soil received the seed with joy, but it lasted just a short period of time before the challenges arose and without root, the plants wilted.[12]

Mark warns us. Our loyalty belongs to Jesus, not to anyone or anything else. He is the only one who can forgive our sin and heal our souls. But we must accept him on his terms, not to attempt to make him into the Messiah we want. We follow him, not the other way around. And remember, his entry into Jerusalem is but the calm before the storm. Amen. 

[1] J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Rings. This quote has been reposted many times on Facebook and Twitter over the past few weeks. 

[2] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/01/the-transfiguration/

[3] Matthew 21:2 speaks of a donkey and a colt. Luke 19:30, like Mark, speaks of an unridden colt.  John 12:14 and 14 speaks of a donkey and a donkey colt. 

[4] In Luke, we’re told of Jesus being at the temple on the 8th day after his birth and again when he was 12. Matthew, like Mark, only puts Jesus in Jerusalem at the end of his life. John has Jesus in Jerusalem many times before his “Triumphant Entry.” See John 2:13, 23, 4:45, and 5:1. 

[5] John 10:22, puts Jesus in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication (Fall festival) and then across the Jordan but still in Judea (John 10:40 and 11:54), before his entry into the city. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2002), 333.

[6] Edwards, 332.

[7] Matthew 21:10 speaks of the city being in turmoil after Jesus’ entry.  Luke 19:39-40 tells us the Pharisees asked Jesus to have his followers to quiet things down. John’s gospel (12:19) records Pharisees throwing up their hands in resignation with all who are following Jesus. 

[8] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Mark: Black’s New Testament Commentaries (1991, Hendrickson’s Publishing, 1997), 258, and Edwards, 336.

[9] John 12:12. 

[10] The first of three predictions of Jesus going to Jerusalem to die was in Mark 8:31-33. 

[11] This quote comes from me, which I used in a sermon on this same passage. I preached the sermon at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Michigan on April 13, 2014. 

[12] Edwards, 338. See also Mark 4:6, 16-17.  See also https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/28/the-parable-of-the-sower/

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A Good Boy

Title slide with photo of Trisket and me in a canoe

I have been working on a post, but just didn’t have time to finish it. As I’m coming up this week on the 7th anniversary of Trisket’s death, I decided to pulled this post from an older blog and reposted it.

Trisket lying on the kitchen floor on the night before his death, November 2017.

Over the past year, I often watched you sleep.  At times, your legs twitched. I imagined you dreaming of when you were younger and ran with grace.  In your sleep, were you still circling the house at full speed, stopping only to chase squirrels back up into the trees? 

Over the past year, on our walks, I took the lead while you moped behind. As I slowed down to your speed, I wondered if you recalled dragging me as we headed into Hastings or up the canyon by Cedar Creek.

Over the past few months, I watched in sadness as you bumped into walls and furniture. Your cataract eyes glassed over, and I wondered if you remembered the hours we played in the kitchen. Your sharp eyes followed my hand as I tossed popcorn. You’d snap each kernel out of the air, seldom missing. And how, I could never make banana pudding without you being under my feet. While you never turned down a strip of steak, you loved banana pudding. I even tested you once, putting a dab of banana pudding on one plate and a strip of steak on another. When I let you go, you headed straight for the pudding, then the steak. Always go for dessert, first, you taught. And let’s not forget how much you loved pineapple!

When we moved to Skidaway, near Savannah, you struggled in the humidity and heat. I wondered if you recalled snow. Could you remember running through it as you scooped it up with your snout and tossed it in the air, snapping at the falling flakes as if it was popcorn.

I am thankful that to the end, when you stood beside me, pressing your neck on my lower thigh. You were atthe right height for my fingers to bury themselves in your beautiful mane. And I always loved how you stood in the wind. The tufts at the end of your ears flew back, as you sniffed and enjoyed the breeze.  Sadly, I miss our long walks around town, our hikes in the wood, and how you sat like General Washington in the middle of the canoe as we floated down river.  

You were so gentle with that little girl, the one who picked you out of the litter and named you for a cracker. You always looked out for her and for that reason alone, I am eternally grateful. The two of you grew up together, but you grew old much too fast. Seventeen years is a long time for a dog, they say, but not nearly long enough.  The house is way too big, lonely, and sad tonight. I keep listening for the sounds of your clanking tags and the tap of your toenails on the hardwood, but only hear the cold rain splattering on the deck out back. We’re all going to miss you, Trisket.  You were such a good boy, a pretty boy, a big furry fluffball!

My favorite photo of Trisket and me. On the Thornapple River in Michigan in 2007. He would have been around 7 years old at this time.
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Those who see, follow

title slide with photos of the two churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
November 10, 2024
Mark 10:46-52

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Saturday, November 9, 2024

At the beginning of worship: 

Back in the good old days (the fall of 1992, the last time the Pirates played for the National League Pennant), I meet up with friends in Pittsburgh for a game. Sadly, they lost the series in seven games to the Braves, but at least I was able to watch them win one. On this night, as it was an evening game, we carpooled together and parked in one of the many parking decks in downtown and walked across the 6th Street Bridge to Three River Stadium. We were not the only ones who decided to do this. There were hoards crossing the bridge filling not only the sidewalks but also part of the roadway. 

I was out in the edge of the road and couldn’t help but notice through the people to my left, a beggar in ratty clothes and a cup, sitting up against the bridge’s railing. I was shocked to see people just step over him. The crowd was so large there was no way they could go around. I have no idea if anyone dropped any coins into his cup. The noise was so loud I couldn’t have heard the jingle. Besides, we were all so excited to get to the game. The man was just in the way and those close to the edge of the bridge had no choice but to step over him.[1]  

As you know, we frequently see homeless people in urban areas. And when there is a crowd, it is easy to rationalize that someone else will help, or so we assume. Besides, the crowd swept everyone along toward the stadium. I hope there will be grace for the crowd because that ignored man was also a child of God.

Before the reading of scripture:

As we’ve seen over the past month, the tenth chapter of Mark is full of advice on discipleship. We had the rich young ruler, who just couldn’t leave his wealth behind to follow Jesus.[2] If you are going to follow Jesus, you must be all in. You can’t hedge your bets. And we had James and John, as we saw last week, try to use Jesus for their personal greatness. They learned that’s not what Jesus’ kingdom is about.[3] If you come to Jesus to get ahead in the world, you’re in for the wrong reason.

The 10th chapter ends with an example of a true disciple, one who was at rock bottom and is appreciative of whatever Jesus could do for him. And the man is not only healed but also follows Jesus. The word Jesus uses for Bartimaeus’ healing also means to be saved.[4]

Interestingly, Bartimaeus is the only person healed in the synoptic gospels named.[5] Maybe he’s also an example of the last being first.[6] A nobody depending on the generosity of strangers, until Jesus comes along. Now he’s a somebody with a name! He credits Jesus. We should do likewise. 

Read Mark 10:46-52

The story I told you about the beggar along the 6th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh was like what happened in Jericho some two thousand years ago. Jesus and the crowd head to Jerusalem. Excitement fills the air as pilgrims, hoping to spend the Passover in the holy city, make their way through the last major urban area, and of the oldest cities in the world, on their journey to Jerusalem. 

I imagine it’s morning. After all, they’re a good day’s hike from their destination and a steep climb ahead. There will be few places to stop, until they get to the villages surrounding Jerusalem.[7] So an early start assures their arrival before dark. And we know what happens to lone hikers in this curvy stretch through the hills. Recall the story of the Good Samaritan.[8]

So, they head out early and in a crowd. Perhaps they sing the fifteen Songs of Ascent, which we know as Psalm 120 through 134. It’s part of the Psalter sung by Pilgrims heading to Jerusalem.[9] Leaving Jericho, they look up to the hills ahead, as we hear in Psalm 121: 

I lift my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,

Creator of heaven and earth.

It should be noted the pagan believers around Israel often worshipped Baal or other idols on the high points of hills and mountains. But for the faithful Jew, they didn’t see the mountains as a place of worship but as an indication of the greatness of their God, the creator of all. The mountains instill awe. 

So, among the singing and the talking along the way, the multitude, like those of us going to see the Pirates play, totally ignore a blind beggar sitting on the side of the road at the edge of town. That is, until he learns Jesus is in the crowd. Bartimaeus must have heard about Jesus, who had previously given sight to the blind.[10] So, he begins to make a fuss, shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” 

But the crowd has no time for this. They tell him to hush, not to bother Jesus for he is a busy man with a long walk ahead. But the blind beggar only shouts louder. Now we have our first miracle of the story. Jesus hears the man! Over the singing and the excitement of the crowd and the hum of a busy city waking up, Jesus hears the man’s cry and stops. Imagine the crowd so thick that Jesus must ask those near the man to bring him over. 

At this point, the crowd stops their rebuke of the man. Essentially, they say, “Dude, it’s your lucky day.” A path opens for him to travel through the crowd. The man throws off his cloak and makes his way to Jesus. 

Standing in darkness before Jesus, our Savior asks the man, “What is it you want me to do for you?” We’ve heard that question before, haven’t we?  Well, yes, in our text last week, just before this passage. James and John asked Jesus to grant them a wish and he responded with this same question, “What is it you want me to do for you?”[11]

But the answer Bartimaeus gives couldn’t have been more different that the one given by the two disciples. The disciples wanted fame, honor, greatness, and all that would go with being next to the king. They could become wealthy from such a position! But this man doesn’t take Jesus for granted. Instead, he addresses him reverently and only asks to be made whole, that he be given his sight so that he could live, not as a beggar, but as productive citizen of society. 

You know, we should try to place ourselves into the position of the blind man sitting on the side of the road or even the homeless man sitting against the railing on the 6th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. Life often beats us down. Yet, on these days, both men had a good spot. Because of the crowds, it’s the perfect place to beg. 

But is that the life we want? We really want more from life than that, don’t we? But if we’re in their places, we’re desperate. We see no way out (after all, the man in our story is blind). But then a glitter of hope arrives. We hear about Jesus. This is our opportunity. The question to ask, “are we willing to risk it? To make a fool of ourselves to catch Jesus’ attention?” 

Bartimaeus is desperate. He may have felt this was his last chance. So far down on his luck, he ignores the crowd’s insistence that he keep quiet and in his place. He cries so loudly that he makes a fool of himself. And Jesus hears. 

The good news of this story is that Jesus hears Bartimaeus and responds. Even in the turmoil and confusion of the world, God can hear our cries, our pleas. But for us to find help like Bartimaeus, we must be willing to risk it all. 

Bartimaeus tosses down his cloak, possibility his only possession of value, because he needs to quickly make his way to Jesus. He risks losing it because he has an opportunity. He trusts this man whom he’s heard so much about that he acts like a fool and then is given an opportunity. And, unlike James and John in the previous story from Mark, Bartimaeus is not greedy.  

You know, Jesus tells us to pray for our daily bread.[12] We’re not to pray for full pantries or wealth or fame, but just what we need to get by. And we’re to pray daily because that’s how we learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in the one who has created and redeemed us. 

In our journey through Mark’s gospel, the twelve disciples continually trip over themselves because they don’t yet fully trust Jesus. So here, at the end of the chapter on discipleship, we’re given an example. It’s not one of the twelve. Nor is it the rich man. It’s the blind beggar. He had hit rock bottom and calls out to the only place he can find help. And when Jesus answers, unlike the rich man, the beggar follows and I expect he continued to follow, telling others about when he met Jesus. 

When we are at wits end, we can call out to Jesus. And when he answers, when he lifts us up, we should continue to follow him, humbling giving thanks for the blessings we’ve experienced. Amen. 

[1] I told this story before, with a slightly different focus, in a sermon on November 2, 1997.

[2] Mark 10:17-31. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/10/20/with-god-all-things-are-possible/

[3] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/03/the-demands-of-discipleship/

[4] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2002), 331. 

[5] Ibid.

[6] This appears a common saying of Jesus. See Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark. 9:35, 10:31; and Luke 13:30. 

[7] Jericho is located 840 feet below sea level and 3500 feet below Jerusalem. Edwards, 329. It’s 18 miles from Jerusalem. William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 386. 

[8] Luke 10:25-37. 

[9] For insight into the Psalms of Ascent, see Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (InterVarsity, 1980).

[10] Mark 8:22-26. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/08/18/open-our-eyes/

[11] Mark 10:36.  See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/03/the-demands-of-discipleship/

[12] This petition is in the Lord’s Prayer. See Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3

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Soap Box Derby

When I was in Wilmington two weeks ago, I spent a lot of time with my sister going through my parents photos and came up with these photos of my soap box derby cars. This is the story of building and racing these cars.

I sat in my car on the starting platform. The platform had been installed at the top of what might be the tallest hill in New Hanover County. They had closed a section of 16th Street for the Saturday running of the 1971 Soap Box Derby. Gripping the wheel and leaning back as far as possible to cut the drag, I glanced over at my opponent.  His car was sleek, constructed of fiberglass, but with lots of metal inside. I knew it would be fast, but I had registered good time during the practice trials and had easily won my first race. 

The starter, holding high the flag, let it fall. The gates dropped and the cars eased down the plywood ramp and onto the pavement. I concentrated on staying low and keeping my car straight in its lane. The cars began picked up speed. I saw the other car pull slightly ahead as we shot toward the finish line. The checker flag fell. He won and my days of racing had come to an end. Later that morning, the car which beat mine became the overall winner. He got to go to Akron, Ohio, for the nationals. 

Soap Box Derby Car
I’m sitting on the “hood” of the my second car with my younger brother sitting inside the car with a friend of his on the back. My other brother stands behind the car.

This was my second year of building a soap box derby. Both years I lost in the second round of a single elimination tournament.  

The Wilmington Jaycees held the event. They provided participants with a basic kit which included wheels and axles, a steering wheel, wire, and brake assembly. The sponsors of our event cover the cost and provided a small amount of funds (I think it was $35, which wouldn’t today purchase the plywood) for everything else. I used two sheets. I cut the floorboard and the bulkheads out of ¾ inch plywood. The body I fashioned out of ¼ inch plywood. The metal axles went inside a 1-inch board. Cutting a channel half way through the boards, I chiseled out a channel for the axle. Then I planed down the front side to make the axle cover streamlined. 

Those of us who were drivers were to build our own cars with only adult supervision.  The first year, I built my car under the carport at our house with David Hunter. David’s father had recently died, so my father served as both of our supervisors. We were to build our cars ourselves, which my father ensured except for the rough cutting of the ¾ inch plywood, which required a circular saw. My father insisted we were too young but allowed us to use jig saws to cut out the bulkheads. Each of these he had us file down to make smooth. I remember lots of stokes using a half-moon file. 

The floorboard also had a wooden cutout for a brake. The pedal was made of plywood left over from the center of the bulkheads. A wire ran from pedal to the break in the back, where a wooden 2×4 with a piece of tire on the bottom served as the brake.. When pressed, the brake descended to the road and slowed the car. 

Then I attached the bulkheads with angle braces. This was in the day before power drivers, so we drilled pilot holes and used screwdrivers to fix the screws and bolts. 

The rear axle and cover were attached with bolts to the back of the floorboard. The front axle was attached with a single bolt, allowing it to move two inches. This was for safety since we were running a straight course. If we could have steered any more, there would probably be cars running into each. This was just enough movement to allow us to make minor adjustments to our path. I then installed the steering wheel between the first two bulkheads in the front. A wire wound around the steering wheel shaft, threaded through pulleys, ran out to each side of the front axle. This allowed us, when racing, to turn the axle slightly to adjust for bumps in the pavement. 

At this point, we attached ¼ inch plywood over the bulkheads. The sides were rather simple, but the top required us to use a circular saw with the blade set about 1/8 of an inch to cut strips underneath the plywood, allowing it to bend. With barely any blade showing, my father decided to let us use the saw ourselves. 

Once all the plywood was attached, we installed a seat, covered screw holes with putty, and painted the car. My first year, I chose orange with a blue racing strip. For my second year, I used purple with a white stripe.  Since we could have a professional do the sponsors lettering on the car, my father volunteered to do it. 

family and soap box derby car
My first car. I’m sitting inside, flanked by my two brothers and sister. Behind is my father, my grandparents on my father’s side and my grandmother on my mother’s side.

When the car was done, we hauled them on a flatbed trailer the day before the race to a warehouse which had been reserved on 13th Street. There, they checked our cars to make sure they weren’t too heavy, and everything was safe and to regulation.  My car the first year was about 30 pounds lighter than it had to be. When they checked us in, they kept our cars impounded until race day. 

That evening, after the race, the Jaycees threw a banquet for us. We were presented with medals and endured motivation speeches by a couple of the Jaycees.

In building my second car, I mostly worked by myself since David didn’t sign up to build another car. Moving my radio out to the carport, I remember repeatedly hearing that summer Three Dog Night sing “Joy to the World” as I worked.  

I had learned a few things from my first car. I wanted the car to be more streamlined and heavier. Trying to figure out how to add weight, my father suggested that instead of buying lightweight angle braces, we use ¼” steel angle iron. Someone he knew cut them into 2-inch-long angles. At the front and back, I used six-inch-long angle iron. This was overkill, but it added weight. Drilling through the iron was difficult, but it was worth it for the weight. I also added more ¾ plywood in the bracing and using solid pieces at the front and back. By the time I completed the car, it was only about 2 pounds under the maximum. The added weight and the sleeker design created a faster car than my first traditional design.  In the end, it didn’t matter. The fastest car knocked me out in the second heat. 

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The Demands of Discipleship

Title slide with photos of the two churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Mark 10:32-45
November 3, 2024

Sermon taped at Mayberry Church on Friday, November 1, 2024

At the beginning of worship: 

I’ve struggled what to say today as we are on the cusp of a major election. Many, on both sides, say this is the most important election of our lives. The stakes are high. I’ve heard preachers, again on both sides, say their way is the only way you must vote to be a Christian. They can’t all be right, can they.

While I don’t want to deny the importance of what will happen on Tuesday (or has already happened as so many of us have voted already), we need to remember that our most important election involves God voting for us. That vote, as we’ll be reminded of in today’s scripture, was counted when Jesus ransomed his life for ours. Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, God remains with us.

As Christians, we live in this world and are called to be good citizens of it. We’re to work for the good of all.[1] However, we must never lose focus that our true home isn’t among worldly powers, but with our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we must remember that even those with whom we disagree have been created in the image of God. Everyone has value. None of us have no right to devalue others with whom we disagree or dislike. Respect and character are important traits for us and our leaders.

“What would our Savior and Lord, the gentle and humble Jesus, want us to do?” That’s a decision you will have to decide. I have my convictions, which I have shared with some privately. But my calling is to point to Jesus Christ. That’s all I will do from the pulpit. The only other things I will do is remind you that your salvation isn’t built upon the choice you make on Tuesday. All candidates have flaws, some more than others. Only Jesus is perfect. Again, thankfully, our hope is in God’s election, not ours. 

Before reading the Scripture:

We’re back on our journey through Mark’s gospel. One of my professors in his commentary on Mark suggests the gospel is primarily a passion narrative with a very long introduction.[2] The passion has to do with Jesus’ suffering and death in Jerusalem. We’ve seen over the past two chapters Jesus dropping hints as to his upcoming suffering and death. The disciples struggle to understand. 

Our reading today, Jesus and the disciples are on the road to Jerusalem. He provides the third prediction of the passion. 

In our previous passage, Jesus reminded us of the Kingdom’s unusual economy. The first become last, and the last become first. Our passage ends with a saying which builds upon that message, one which Jesus places himself in the equation of the last being first. As Paul writes to the Philippians:

Jesus “didn’t regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”[3]

Read Mark 10:32-45

Three strikes and you’re out. We won’t hear those words for a few months as the World Series ended this week with a Dodger’s win. By March, Spring Training will be in full swing and maybe you can catch a game and maybe the Pirates will play consistently better. 

Today, it’s the disciples who strike out. Three times they swing for the fence and fail to connect. Each strike was right after Jesus predicted his coming passion. It’s not something the disciples want to hear. 

Peter took the first swing when he challenged Jesus’ prediction of his suffering and death. This can’t happen to the Messiah, Peter insists. Jesus calls Peter Satan and tells him to get back in line. Peter is a follower, he’s not to be making the rules.[4]

The second time when Jesus shares with them about his upcoming passion, the disciples not understanding, argue about who’s the greatest. Jesus again sets them straight.[5]

In today’s text, it’s James and John who takes the strike. Amazing, isn’t it. Jesus tells the disciples all that’s going to happen once they reach Jerusalem, and the disciples are still worried over what they can get from following Jesus. 

Sadly, we’re also like that, I think. We look out for ourselves. The Jesus, whom we are called to follow, wants us to trust him and look out for others. Jesus, building on our text from two weeks ago, where he told the disciples about the last being first, places himself in his game. He came to serve, to give us life for the life of many.[6]

This all took place while Jesus and the disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. We’re given a picture of Jesus, out in front, leading the way, while those who followed him lag, afraid of what’s ahead. While the text doesn’t give us a number of those following Jesus, it sounds as if there are more than just the twelve, as Jesus must cull the twelve out from the crowd to teach. 

Jesus provides his third prediction of his death. When something is repeated three times, you should realize it’s important. It’s like the old saying, “Tell them what you want to say, tell them, and then tell them what you said.”  Jesus makes sure it’s clear. Here, in his third prediction, he provides more details. He’ll be betrayed to the religious leaders and sentenced to death, then handed over to the gentiles (the Romans) who will mockingly carry out the punishment. But, as Jesus has also reminded them, on the third day, he will rise. 

Jesus couldn’t have been clearer. He’s not raising an army and conquering Rome. He lays down his life for the world. This makes me shake my head at James and John. Afterwards, they ask Jesus for a favor. Perhaps they ask for the favor without telling Jesus what’s involved to trap Jesus. “Oh, I’ll do anything for you,” they hope Jesus will say. But Jesus is clever and asks what it they want.

We should note that James and John are in the inner core. They, along with Peter, were the three in attendance at the transfiguration.[7] So perhaps they think they have a right to be given key positions in the kingdom, even though they slight Peter. But they also don’t understand what Jesus’ glory will entail. Jesus tries to straighten them out, speaking of the cup or the baptism he’s to endure. Let’s pause to consider the meaning of the cup and baptism.

The cup—in the Old Testament—was something provided by God. It could be joy or prosperity (as in “my cup runneth over” in the 23rd Psalm). But, more often, cup means judgment as in Psalm 11, which speaks of the scorching winds as the cup of the wicked.[8] Jesus also refers to the cup as woe, when he prays in the garden before his arrest.[9] Jesus’ cup contains our sins.

As for baptism, it might be pointed out that Jesus has already been baptized as we’ve seen in the first chapter of Mark’s gospel. But baptism symbolizes both death and resurrection. Descending into the water suggests death; being lifted out of the water symbolizes resurrection. Paul makes this point in Romans; in a passage I recite at almost every funeral at which I officiate: 

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.[10]

It’s clear that the cup and baptism of which Jesus speaks has to do with his death and resurrection. Are James and John really willing to go through such? They say they are, but even then, Jesus can’t promise them the coveted seats because that’s not what his kingdom is about. 

As we might suspect, the remaining ten of the disciples are not very happy with James and John going behind their back to obtain special favors. Mark, however, doesn’t identity their problems with the two. After all, it’s quite possible they are upset that James and John got a jump start on them, for they all seem self-centered. They haven’t learned the key to the gospel any better than most people today. 

So, Jesus gathers the 12 back around him to discuss things out. He points out how the gentile rulers are tyrants over others. We’ve not changed too much, have we, considering the rhetoric of our current election. Nor has the world changed much if you consider how Putin can invade another country and have the blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church. Our world, and our nation, seems only to understand might and power. The virtues of service service and gentleness remain hidden. 

But in God’s kingdom, our values are turned on their head. What’s important is serving others. Jesus identities service with himself, the one willing to give his life to save us.  

The last verse in our passage helps us understand Jesus’ nature. The ramson for many doesn’t mean a limited number. According to one scholar, in “Semitic grammar the many normally stands for totality,” for all.[11] The phrase in the Orthodox communion liturgy rings out, “Jesus Christ gave his life “for the life of the world.”[12]Jesus’ willingness to pay the price opens all the world to God’s kingdom, to a new way of living and of being. 

This passage reminds us to be careful of our egos. We shouldn’t let the powers of the world tempt us or draw us away from our focus on the cross and the realization of all it entails. Jesus died that we might live. That’s the good news. And he calls us to be willing to put our own wellbeing behind that of others, so that his glory might be revealed. Are we up to it? Amen.

[1] See Romans 13 and Jeremiah 29:7.

[2] Douglas R. A. Hare, Westminster Bible Commentary: Mark (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1996), 127.

[3] Philippians 2:6-7. 

[4] Mark 8:31-9:2. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/08/25/who-do-you-say-that-i-am/

[5] Mark 9:30-37.  See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/22/welcoming-the-vulnerable/

[6] Mark 10:31. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/10/20/with-god-all-things-are-possible/

[7] Mark 9:2-8. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/01/the-transfiguration/

[8] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 322-333. 

[9] Mark 14:36. See also Matthew 26:29 and Luke 22:42. 

[10] Romans 6:3-5, RSV. 

[11] Edwards, 327.

[12] See Alexander Schneemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1975).