24 June 2018
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 7B (RCL)
1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49
Psalm 9:9-20
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
The bulk of Mark’s Gospel (from 4:35 through 8:10) is organized around a repeated pair of miracles; a sea crossing and a feeding in the wilderness. This pattern should be familiar to readers of the Old Testament. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and fed them with manna in the wilderness. And just so we don’t miss the connection, Jesus’ first miracle after disembarking from the first miraculous crossing is the destruction of a demon named Legion (a unit of the Roman army) in a herd of 2000 pigs drowned in the sea, just as Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the sea. Continue reading “Asleep in the boat”