12.13.23 - Mark 1:43-45
Advent is a great season for new beginnings. This year, what traditions or expectations are we holding on to that can be improved with a new perspective?
Then [Jesus] sternly warned him... telling him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone...' Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely...
When the man who was cured of leprosy went out and told his story against Jesus' will, it caused quite the cluster cuss where Jesus had to stick to the outskirts and wilderness because crowds would inevitably find him.
When the public heard of Jesus' work, they flocked in large numbers -- instead of intimacy, they sought a touch, a glance, an answered prayer.
Do you think there was maybe something more to Jesus' request than just trying to avoid large groups of people?
If Jesus had his way, would we have Gospels focused on personal stories of sincere, slow, piercing community that transcended the disciples?
Would key performance indicators for churches, small groups, "community" and "transformation" look different?
In the place of saying a prayer and expecting to be suddenly changed, would we have a focus on the scaffolding we need to do self-work?
Advent is a great season for new beginnings. This year, what traditions or expectations are we holding on to that can be improved with a new perspective? Is the answer community, a new take on authenticity, a challenging review of justice?
--Katelin Champion