Interpreting Mark

I decided to re-read some of the books that have been on my shelf a long time. First up on this particular project has been “A Poor Man Called Jesus” by José Cárdenas Pallares, sub-titled “Reflections on the Gospel of Mark.” The book is very much reflections, rather than commentary, but I enjoyed the insights of Pallares’ liberationist perspective. He clearly identifies Jesus’ ‘poverty’ and aligns him with those struggling and marginalised. As he states: “The cause of Jesus is the cause of a God who is inseparably united with all the exploited. The God of Jesus, and Jesus himself, are, before all else, liberation, measureless love, hope, and life.” There is a strong emphasis on poverty - “Jesus was a poor person, and he was committed to the poorest of the poor from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. He spoke the language of the poor. He felt the sorrows and joys of the poor, and he met death in a manner reserved for the poor.” What I really liked about the book was the way in which it challenges us with what I might call real gospel stuff. The church is not in an easy place, but it is God’s church. As Pallares says, referring to Peter and indeed the whole incarnation story - “With Peter’s denial Mark shows us a church of sinners. of cowards and one which is not ashamed to admit it. The church Mark presents to us is a community well aware that it is never safe and secure, not even in its most selfless and disinterested members, and that the only thing it has to rely on is the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. He shows us a church that can switch from denial to repentance thanks only to a Christ crushed and tortured. Christ grants to this church a partial expense of his own pain and sorrow. The risen Christ gathers together cowards, renegades, and traitors to fill them with the indestructible force of his love.”