Mark Jacks

Today’s Gospel story is an example of what some scripture scholars call a “Markan sandwich.”We have the story of the woman afflicted with a hemorrhage in between the two halves of the story of the little girl who died and was brought back to life by Jesus. What links the two stories is the number 12: the little girl was twelve years old, and the woman had a hemorrhage for 12 years. One story enlightens the other.

In the case of the woman with the hemorrhage; such a flow of blood would have made her ritually impure and unable to participate in the life and activities of the temple and synagogue. Effectively, she was spiritually “dead” for twelve years.

One of life’s most challenging questions is why God allows suffering. We often ask why God permits cancer, the loss of a child, or personal hardships like losing a job or home. While a complete explanation is complex, today’s Gospel offers us a perspective. Mark 4:35-41 emphasizes that while Christ saves us, God still permits struggles and suffering for our spiritual growth and to deepen our love for Him.

Observing the world’s suffering and injustice suggests a fundamental problem that cannot be resolved merely through education or social programs. Sin, or the rejection of God’s love, has introduced death and suffering into the world.

In Sunday’s readings, we explore the Kingdom of God, a term often used but not always fully understood. Many people equate the Kingdom of God with heaven or an eternal life with God, but often miss its broader implications. Historically, during Jesus’ time, the phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ evoked varied responses. The Sadducees saw it as a shadowy existence, while the Pharisees anticipated a revived Kingdom of Israel led by a messianic descendant of King David.

Jesus, however, presented a different understanding. As King, not merely through earthly descent but as God incarnate, He spoke of a heavenly kingdom that transcends physical space.

Many people have wondered what Jesus meant, in the Sunday Gospel reading, when he said: “all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” God wants our salvation; thus he forgives our sins. The prerequisite for receiving that forgiveness, however, is repentance. Without acknowledging our sins, how can we recognize that we need God’s mercy? Once we have recognized our need, it is then the act of repentance in which we open our hearts to receive that mercy.

The Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—is a profound mystery that reveals the very nature of God as love. When we say “God is love,” we are not just describing an attribute of God but expressing His fundamental essence.

One key to understanding the Trinity is the concept of personhood. In contemporary language, “person” typically refers to an individual human. However, in theology, it refers to identity, “who” someone is, not “what.” Angels are not humans, yet each is a person. Furthermore, while Jesus is simultaneously God and man, he is not two different persons. Jesus is not a divine person and a human person. Who is Jesus? He is the Son, the second person of the Trinity; he is a divine person. As such, he has always been God, yet, he added a human nature or human existence to himself, one day in time.

Thus, Jesus is one person, the divine person of the Son, who exists two ways at the same time: as God and as man. Jesus is not a human person; he is a divine person. Personhood and nature, as in human nature, are two different things. Furthermore, we distinguish person from personality. While Jesus is a divine person (answering the question of “who” did all that), he is still 100% human, and thus still has a human personality. Personality pertains to what we like or dislike, what we find funny or the foods we like.

In Mark 16:15-20, Jesus instructs his disciples to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” This commissioning is the foundation of the Church’s mission, which is to carry the message of salvation to all corners of the earth. The word “mission” comes from the Latin word “missionem,” which means “to be sent.” This reflects the nature of our call—to be sent by God, the ultimate sender, to fulfill a specific task.

Reflecting on the mission of the Church, we are reminded of our role in this divine mission of love and redemption.

We often use the word “love.” We say everything from “I love pizza” to “I love my children.” Yet, we hope that people “love” their children in a very different way than the way they “love” pizza. In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” But what did he mean? In Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament, there are different words for love, each of which means something different. For example, there is philos, which means “brotherly love” or close friendship; hence Philadelphia is the “City of Brotherly Love.” The word Jesus uses, however, is agape, which means to do good for the sake of the other person, without expectation of repayment or return.

For Jesus, it isn’t merely altruism, but the willingness to pour out your own life for the benefit of others, hence he says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We see this agape in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; he gave his life for our salvation.

The Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Easter, John 15:1-8, invites us to reflect deeply on our spiritual journey. Christ uses the analogy of plants needing care to thrive. Just as plants require attention, our spiritual lives require us to remain connected to Christ, who is the vine. This connection is not merely superficial; it necessitates recognizing that our lives belong to Christ, who redeemed us. This understanding should fundamentally shape our daily lives, leading us to live as disciples of Jesus, seeking to grow in our faith and avoid sin.

John 15:1-8 emphasizes this message, with Jesus declaring, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

There is something scandalous in the readings of today’s Mass – Skandalon (from the Greek σκανδαλον) meaning a stumbling block or an offense. Particularly in today’s climate of “tolerance” and indifferentism, to make such a bold claim as Peter made when he said, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved,” is seen as arrogant and exclusive. It is exclusive – a claim that Jesus has something precious and unique to offer. Jesus Himself told His Apostles, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

Other world religions do not have the understanding of salvation that Christ revealed to us. They reject the notion of “divine filiation,” or becoming sons and daughters of God. That is also a scandal to other world religions.