The Brewery Meeting

4.4.2012

Mark 15

Order of Meeting.

Announcements (Newsletter, The Euc introduction, April happenings, etc)

Prayer.

Lectio Divina. (Amanda)

Study.

Prayer.

The IMPORTANCE of a Picture.

The Brewery is a place where i hope things like Justice and Mercy and social action will grow.  I was reading an article about the self immolation of several dozen tibetan monks.  Obviously, i wept a little, sat in confusion a little, etc. The writer of the article emphasized his own opinion about what needs to happen for these events to bring about change. His solution? A really good picture. He mentioned the monk who lit himself on fire in Saigon, that brought awareness to the Vietnam War when many weren’t looking. That image has been on everything from car ads to the cover of Rage Against the Machine’s first debut album. It changed something to see and hold and gaze upon this act. The writer said that the government in China removed the option of making this digital, and videoing it, so that there would be change like we have seen in N. Africa where dictators are being brought to justice and people are in the early stages of learning how to be free. His solution was for the dalia llama to walk with his exiled people to the border of china and tibet and demand to cross and walk on his people’s land. The image would either be, 1. him then walking, 2. him shot down or refused entrance, or 3. a long sit in right on the border with maximum coverage.

I cannot talk about the “saving Jesus” without mentioning some recent atrocities we have seen. 

Trayvon Martin was a 17yr old boy shot down because of a hoodie and an assumption.  We pray for him and his family and those who need to be brought to justice. I want to organize a “hoodie photo” with anyone who would like to be a part of it. This would be like the vigil we had for the “september kids” who committed suicide because of bullying and their sexual preferences.

That brings up the second thing we need to be aware of. A student at Flour Bluff High School took his own life, a vigil and rosary was held last night, and may we seek whatever ways we can to bring about justice here in our own city. If you see bullying, get in the thick of it, stop it, think of ways to distract the actions of these hate-full people. Tonight we have candles lit, partially for this young man and Trayvon Martin, and others who didn’t recieve media coverage.

THINK OF PICTURES OF PEOPLE THAT ARE POWERFUL, AND MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WITHOUT THE PICTURES WE HAVE OR HAVE CREATED.

LINCOLN

CHe

MARTIN LUTHER KING

JESUS

VARIOUS SAINTS

The Virgin Mary

HARVEY MILK

JOAN OF ARC

MATTHEW SHEPHERD

the Virgin de Guadalupe

These images, some i will put out for you, challenge or stimulate us to believe, rebel, submit, speak about, live out, etc things that remind us of these people.  In fact, language has a direct link to image, we see Lincoln, and some of us can recite parts of the speeches he made, we see Che and we think of revolution regardless of right/wrong, we see Joan of Arc or Virgin de Guadalupe and see a strong woman, or we see Martin Luther King, Jr and we think of Civil Rights and marches for freedom.

On to Jesus and the study.

Keep in mind the importance of picture as we look at the final parts of Mark’s Passion story.

THE TEXT TONIGHT IS MARK 15.

WE WENT THROUGH THE TEXT LAST MEETING WITH THE MEDITATION.

(If you weren’t here for the meditation, it is on the 

Tumblr account and can be printed from there.)

So, tonight we will look at some of the over-arching themes in the Passion Story of Jesus through Mark’s re-telling.

The players in Mark’s story are:

Pilate

A Jewish Council

Simon of Cyrene (who carries Jesus cross)

Barabbas

Various Roman soldiers

the two men sentences beside Jesus

(who were sentenced to a similar crime of terrorism)

Mary and Mary and John

The places in Mark’s story are:

Pilate’s court

Golgotha

the Temple

the Tomb

I want to emphasize the importance of PICTURE in Mark’s story.

The images he evokes are as important as the story’s words themselves.

1. The reason for Mark 15 and 14 are clearly Eastern in thought. We would write to gospels, one in the perspective of theology. One in the perspective of Politics. Not throw them together in the same story. But we are not holistic in our lives like eastern people were and are today.

Mark 14 is Theology

Mark 15 is Politics

2.  What was Jesus’ crucified for?

There is no record of it being “illegal” to claim Messiahship, it had been done a hundred times before Jesus, and was done much afterwards. It would be difficult for Pat Roberston and Joel Osteen to convict a man to death, just like it was ridiculous to think that Jesus was ONLY crucified because the Chiefs and Pharisees said so.

We KNOW that Jesus’ was disrupting the regular Temple proceedings.

We KNOW that his statements about the Temple time being over were reason enough to attack him.

We KNOW somewhat that historically, $$$ wins, and the Temple practice was BIG $$$$.

So, 

theologically, Jesus died for the freedom and message of God to be brought to all creation.

politically, Jesus died because if people utilized that freedom, it would rob Rome blind.

This month is focused on Phil and Stephanie’s ministry with The Eucatastrophe and Traffik Jam, an event that brings awareness and a stop to human trafficking in the States and elsewhere. One of the things they do is called a “coaster crawl” and they replace bar brand coasters with the face of a person caught in the trade and the words, Can You See Me?

Whether it’s Che on a t-shirt, Jesus on a bobble-head, Mother Teresa on a flyer for canned food and adoption agencies, we know that the crucified Jesus, has more to say in image and history than just theology, or just politics. May we seek out all the facets of Jesus’ life and death, and look to God’s use of Resurrection.

Amen.