BREAKTHROUGH
(Open-ended, Life-centred Explorations
of the Sunday Gospels for Home Groups)
MK 12: 13-17 &
28-34...Sunday, November 5th, 2006...22nd S. after Pentecost
NOTES: 1] The tug of war
between Jesus & the Pharisees (religious hardliners), Herodians
(toadies to the ruling powers), Sadducees (a mainly priestly party)
& Scribes (scholars) escalates. 2]
In the bit omitted, 18-27, Sadducees use GEN 38:8 & DEUT 25:5+ to
ridicule resurrection. 3]
'Good' Jews didn't carry Roman coins with their image of Caesar. Jesus'
shrewd guess(?) at the contents of his enemies' pockets pays off! 4] vv.18-27 are based on DEUT 25: 5+
('Levirate" law, from the Latin for 'brother-in-law'). 5] Jesus argues in v.29+ from DEUT
6:4-5, LEV 19: 18, & 1SAM15:22.
WARMING UP: Do we always carry
coins, avoid carrying them, or are coins simply 'beneath us'?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
13-17 Do we ever use insincere
flattery (as the Pharisees & Herodians do here) either to 'take the
mickey out of' someone, or ingratiate ourselves into their good books?
If someone said to us, "you're sincere, you don't defer to anyone,
you're impartial", would we think they were confusing us with someone
else; think, 'What do they want? What are they up to?' Would open &
honest people say something very different about us? Is that a worry?
Might the old teaching method of asking questions & repeating
the answers by rote (as in catechisms) have something still to offer as
we explore God, faith, & life issues today? Do we suffer from
either too much pontificating from 'on high', or on the other
hand, a great silence on these issues? Do we have enough confidence yet
in our own ability to 'take God on board' by exploring issues openly
& open-endedly? .
Do we
experience much conflict between the demands of today's 'Caesars' &
the call to be totally loyal to Jesus? If there isn't any conflict,
should that be cause for rejoicing or concern, even penitence? Does the
amount of conflict between the demands of 'Caesar' & God vary with
the age & stage of life we ourselves are at? Is that the way it's
meant to be? If we don't persist in finding & holding fast to God
despite puzzlement, doubt, etc., does this mean 'Caesars' of various
kinds win hands down? At this stage of our life, have we rea1ly sorted
out what 'belongs to 'Caesar' & what doesn't?
28-34 Do we in practice rank
the commandments in some order of importance as it seems to us? Aren't
they a1l equa1ly important? Or, today, are they all equally
unimportant? Does it appeal to us that Jesus gives the commandments a
'spin' that's more positive than negative? Does his more positive
'spin' make keeping the original commandments, or the two he summarises
them as, any easier?
Does it ever seem to
be easier to love God: 1) with our heart more than our mind? 2) with
our mind more than our heart? 3) with our strength (= energy) more than
either our heart or our mind? 4) with our heart or our mind more than
our strength ( energy)? Are any of these 'variations on a theme' a
satisfactory substitute for the wholeness of approach Jesus demands?
Satisfactory to whom?
Do we ever try to
'bribe' God through worship, doing 'good works', or in some other way
as a smoke-screen to cover the fact we're uneasy about whether we're
really living as Jesus asks? If so, does that kind of thing work? Is
there some rule of thumb for telling when someone is 'not far from the
kingdom (rule) of God'? Do we have such a rule of thumb for our own
closeness to, or distance from God's rule?
