Slow Reading in Mark

This past Sunday, I talked about the importance of a "slow reading" of Scripture - reading the Bible devotionally and humbly. I challenged the church to read the Gospel of Mark this month at the pace of four chapters per week. The plan was this: on day one, read all four chapters; on day two, read chapter one; on day three, read chapter two; on day four, read chapter three; on day five, read chapter four. Five days. Four chapters. Slow reading.

I also challenged the church to watch for things that "glimmered" as they read. What jumped out at you? What caught your attention? Was it some word? Some phrase? Some action? Was it a prayer to pray? A sin to confess? A service to perform? Was it some question that needed answering? Or was it some truth about life you had never seen before? I suggested that you write it down when you saw it. Then you could pray about it and think about how God might be speaking into your life.

As I was thinking about writing down my own observations, it occurred to me that I could write the occasional blog post about my own readings. Perhaps (I thought) others could benefit from my own reading, or at the very least, I would be providing a model for how to read Scripture devotionally.

So welcome to Reading with the Pastor! This week, I'm reading in the Gospel of Mark, chapters one to four. I hope that you are reading along also, and I trust you are doing so prayerfully and humbly and expectantly. I pray God speaks to you this week as you read.

The first thing that jumped out to me in the Gospel of Mark was not something new, but something I had noticed a long time ago. It continues to seem important to me. Mark begins with these words: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. . ."

Gospel, as you probably know, means "good news." So this is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. In fact, the whole thing must be understood as good news. If we lose sight of its goodness, we've probably gotten off track. Good news is what this is about.

And Mark says that what he is writing is "the beginning of the good news." These words apply not only to the events of the first chapter, but to the entirety of the gospel. Everything in it - from Jesus' baptism, to the miracles, to the cross, to the resurrection - everything in it is just the beginning of the good news. And if this is just the beginning, then there must be more to come. I like this thought. If this is just the beginning, then the story hasn't ended with the last chapter. If this is just the beginning, then the story is still being written. We are in the middle of it. We have the opportunity to be a part of the unfolding of God's good news through Jesus. That excites me!

I hope it excites you too!