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BREAKTHROUGH
MK 6: 14-29 ...5th / 6th S. after Pentecost

NOTES: 1] We know that well into the Christian era there were those who remained disciples of John the Baptiser in rivalry to the followers of Jesus. 2] Jesus models his ministry more on Moses, Ellijah, & Elisha than on JB. 3]  Josephus, a Jewish historian & contemporary of MK tells us Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee & Perea from 4BCE to 39CE saw JB as a political threat.{Antiquities 18 / 2 }.

WARMING UP:   Have we ever had some fear that someone might come back from the dead & haunt us?

TREASURES OLD & NEW:  Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY:

14-16   
Do we ever find ourself looking back apprehensively at someone from our past in case they 'bring us undone' in some way through what they know about us? If Herod got it wrong, to what do we attribute Jesus' powers? What kind of power does Jesus have today, & what evidence of his power have we seen lately?

17-28     Do we ever find ourself, like Herod & his family getting tangled up in some web we've woven around our own extended family? Is anyone exempt from getting caught up in 'tangled webs' they or someone else weaves? Given the old English Prayer Book provided a table of relatives others were not allowed to marry, & that under Australian law there are still certain prohibitions in this regard, do such limitations - of any kind - still make sense in today's world? Can anyone really legislate effective for or against relationships of any kind? Should they?

Are self-interest & self-centredness taking over from other long-held concerns as threats in & to our society? Or is the issue today more one of valuing a community over an economy? How are we to strike the right balance there?  Are we as aware as we might be of people in our community today who, like JB have become victims of others' broken or suspect relationships?  (If this is too close to the bone, it's OK to leave it.)  Are Herod's obviously mixed & confused  feelings about JB & his message any more mixed & confused that feelings we might have towards Jesus & his message for today? How would we summarise that message anyway? When the chips are down, are we ever tempted to 'sentence Jesus to death' by dismissing him - not so much locking him up as locking him out of our life? Does executing someone by any method ever solve anyone's problems?

29        How important is it to us that we have a decent burial or cremation? Is such an attitude important for the maintenance of 'decency' in society? Or, doesn't it / shouldn't it matter? Does decency itself still matter? What is decency? Is 'When you're dead you're dead' a helpful attitude, a useless one, a silly one...........? Who decides whether an attitude is helpful or unhelpful these days? As a church, how difficult do we find it to have Jesus' attitude to relationships, decency, discipline, etc. heard & accepted in our community? Is it so hard we've simply given up? Can we do better than that?       

You may like to visit www.angelfire.com/journal2/marginallymark for more on this passage.