Presentation of Elena Bosetti’s A Contemplative Reading of the Gospel:

Mark: The Risk of Believing

Made bySr. Rachel Gosda, SCTJM

Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Preface• Bosetti sets the stage that Part I of the journey into St. Mark’s Gospel will take, posing the question to the readers:

“Who ‘sees’ in this Gospel? Who does not see?”1

-This chapter will journey through Mark’s Gospel evaluating how Jesus acts with those who see, who believe they see, or who do not see at all. -It will also evaluate how His words are received by those who hear Him: do they illuminate and allow him to see, or do they lead the person towards a greater blindness?

Chapter One: From Jordan to Bethsaida

•Bosetti remarks that this first part of the Gospel is

“A dramatic alteration between vision and blindness; between the enthusiasm of the people,

who say they see things they’ve never seen before, and the Pharisees’ refusal to see;

between the effort of Jesus’ followers to see beyond and the obtuseness of the very same

disciples.”2

“Seeing”• Firstly, she speaks of the different ways that the verb “to see” is used to describe Jesus:

1. How Jesus “sees” the interior of a person, his or her unique and unrepeatable “I”, as in the vocational calling of the first disciples (Mk. 1:16)

2. When He sees the faith which resides in the hearts of those around Him, prompting Him to heal them (as with the paralytic in Mk. 2:5)

3. How Jesus sees dispositions of hostility and indifference towards Him, prompting His particular words and actions (also the story of the paralytic, Mk. 2:5)

Particular Looks of Jesus• Of the different looks of Jesus, two are worth mentioning in particular:

1. How Jesus “looks around” (the Greek verb used is “periblepo”). In these cases, Jesus’ look is particular, scrutinizing, showing His “attention and ability to weigh circumstances.”3 Bosetti notes that this verb is reserved for special instances in Mark’s Gospel,4 such as:

- Mk. 3:34: when He is told His Mother and brothers are outside, He “looks all around” and says, “Here are my Mother and my brothers”- Mk. 5:32: the case of the woman with the hemorrhage in when He “looked all around” in the crowd to see who had touched Him

Looks of Jesus continued- Mk. 11: How Jesus’ first day in Jerusalem

after entering on a donkey, He stayed in the Temple “looking around at everything”

• In all of these examples, we can see how this particular look of Jesus goes far beyond the assumptions and impressions of those around Him.

Looks of Jesus continued

2. How Jesus looked around “with anger” at the Pharisees and scribes, seeing their hard hearts and obstinancy (Mk. 3:5).

• Bosetti contrasts the person-focused, all-seeing Jesus to the self-focused, limited vision of the scribes and Pharisees. She writes,

“They don’t know, or don’t want to see, that man is more important [than the Sabbath].”5

“Seeing” the Meaning of the Parables

• Another particular way that the verb “to see” is used by Jesus Himself is in reference to understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom, revealed in the parables He employs:

- Mk. 4:10-13: After teaching the crowds in parables, Jesus is questioned about their meaning privately by His disciples. To them, He says, “to those outside everything is given in parables, so that although they look, they may see and not yet perceive.”

Parables continued

Bosetti explains the surprise on Jesus’ part that they cannot understand,

for to them has been granted knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom.

However, as she notes, even they must heed carefully Jesus’

advice to “consider what [they] hear,”

to be able to see beyond the surface level of the parable and grasp its full meaning

Jesus’ Surprise at Their Inability to Understand

• This astonishment of Jesus at the inability to see the full meaning of His words and actions continues to be revealed in Mark’s Gospel:

- Mk. 6:3: The rejection He experiences from his own relatives and townspeople of Nazareth reveals their inability to see Him for who He Is

Jesus’ Surprise continued• The events of Mk. 8:17-21 reveal a lot about Jesus’

heart and how He dealt with His disciples who could not penetrate the deeper meaning of His actions and words. They are worth individual mention here:

- Mk. 8:17-18: Jesus makes a comment to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the disciples interpret this on a human level, thinking He is referring to the fact that they forgot to bring bread. Jesus does not let this misunderstanding go unnoticed: He brings it to their attention, saying, “Can you not see with your eyes? Can you not hear with your ears?”

Jesus’ Surprise continued- Mk. 8:19-21: Seeing they cannot

understand, Jesus reveals His compassion towards them, and patiently walks them through the “signs” of the multiplication of the loaves that just took place. Bosetti writes,

“The disciples show they have a good memory. They remember, but don’t know how to see

what the facts themselves point to: Jesus’ messianic identity.”6

Final Note

Bosetti notes that the final event to follow this passage is the healing of the blind man of

Bethsaida, which serves to link the unbelief and inability to see of the

disciples to the belief and progressive “recovery of sight” that

they receive upon Peter’s Confession of Jesus in Caesarea Philippi

Chapter Two:From Caesarea to Jericho

• Bosetti remarks that this next portion of the Gospel (Mk. 8:27-10:52, from Peter’s Confession to the healing of Bartimaeus at Jericho) is one “dedicated to the following of Christ”7

•She focuses on the following main events through the lens of “seeing”:

Peter’s ConfessionThe Transfiguration

Proclamation of the Kingdom and ministry on the road

The rich young manThe healing of Bartimaeus

Peter’s Confession

• Peter’s Confession, following upon the healing at Bethsaida, marks the point of clear vision for him and, through him, for the rest of the Twelve. Bosetti places the most emphasis on what follows the Confession: the depths of understanding that still have yet to be received as to what Jesus’ messianic identity means.•Another look of Jesus is mentioned here: “eyeing” His disciples. After Peter takes Jesus aside to rebuke Him, He turns around, and “eyeing” His disciples, tells Peter to “get behind Him”

Peter’s Confession continued

• This is because Peter is not following Jesus in this situation, but rather, is trying to overtake Him. Here we see the connection between “seeing” and “following” Jesus—as Bosetti says,

“It’s not enough just to see—not even for Peter. What is indispensable is

to follow Jesus along the same road.”8

Peter’s Confession continued

• A final interesting detail here is in Jesus’ response: the word “Gospel” is used three times in the first chapter of Mark, and then not again until Jesus speaks the clear and harsh truth to the Twelve: “whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel will save it” (Mk. 8:35). • Bosetti notes that this is a way to place the “Gospel” in its proper context: one must be ready to lose one’s life in order to announce the Gospel.9

Transfiguration and Ministry Following

• In the Transfiguration and the ministry that follows, Bosetti notes how Peter still struggles to see Jesus, even when His glory is revealed, and touches upon other instances where seeing is mentioned:

- Mk. 9:24: the possessed boy’s father who desires to see beyond what He sees in Jesus, as he cries out, “I believe, help my unbelief!”- Mk. 9:38: the disciples see others casting out demons in Jesus’ name who do not belong to His group of disciples. Jesus helps them to see the truth of ministering in His name: whoever is not against Him is for Him

The Rich Young Man*Please see Final Slides for Reflection on Mark’s account of The Rich

Young Man

• Mark’s is the only Gospel to note how Jesus looked upon the young man and “loved Him.” Bosetti writes,

“It’s as if Jesus, before announcing such a radical request—

‘Go and sell what you have and give to the poor’—wanted to instill confidence and courage

in the rich young man.”10

The Rich Young Man continued

• Bosetti also mentions that the same verb used to describe Jesus’ look of love towards the rich young man (“emblepsas”) is used when He assures His disciples that those who have not forsaken all for the sake of the Kingdom would not be repaid 100-fold. Just as He was seeking to assure the heart of the rich young man, He also knew that He had to do this with His disciples, who were undoubtedly distressed by His teaching on how hard it is to enter the Kindgom of God.

The Sight of Bartimaeus

• Although he was blind, Bosetti notes how from the beginning, Bartimaeus could see what Peter had just received an inkling of: Jesus as the Messiah. •She notes several beautiful details which emphasize the radical faith of Bartimaeus—a faith rooted in his true interior “sight” of Jesus, one of which is:

The Sight of Bartimaeus continued

• How he threw off his cloak: for a beggar, this meant leaving behind what was his shelter from the weather, the stares of others; his abode, his storage place for food and money. None of it mattered in the presence of Jesus—quite the contrast between he and the rich young man, who had so many things and could not leave them for Jesus

Chapter Three: From Jerusalem to Galilee

•After his entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and before His passion, Bosetti notes several different ways of seeing both on Jesus’ part and that of others:

- Mk. 11:23-24: the cursed fig tree. Seeing Jesus’ actions and words and truly believing in them.- Mk. 12:43-44: Jesus’ gaze of the poor widow giving “all she had”—how Jesus sees the strength of her love, and cannot remain silent about it

His Passion and Death

•Up to the very end, Jesus does not see how the world tries to get Him to see (ex: Mk. 15:4, Pilate during the trial), nor does He lower Himself to comply with the mocking promises of the Jews below the Cross: “Let the Messiah [. . .] come down from the Cross so we can truly see and believe!” (Mk. 15:32).

His Passion and Death continued

•Bosetti writes,

“God’s greatest weakness—his not coming down from the cross, his death between two thieves [. . .]

is the most bewildering and sublime occurrence, the arrival of the greatest love.”11

•It is this great love which allows those who have “eyes to see” to truly see Him as He is: the Centurion, and the women and beloved disciple at the foot of the Cross

His Resurrection•Seeing is incorporated in the angel’s message to the women at the tomb—to see that He is not there and to go to Galilee where they will see Him again (and thus believe)

•The instruction to return to Galilee brings the mission of Jesus full-circle: where they all began with Him, so they will begin anew in relationship with the Risen Jesus. It also emphasizes Mark’s focus on “following” Jesus—that just as He walked before the disciples throughout their 3 years together, so too does He go before them now at this new stage in their journey of love with Him.

“The Hundred Fold”Reflection on Mark’s account of The Rich Young Man

I watched him fall to his kneeshurriedly, in his zeal, to catch Jesus

before we were leaving town.I knew that look—I could see it not only in his eyes, but in his very body—he could not forget Jesus or His

words.There was something about Him—

something in Him that his heart had found, and had longed for for so long.

I knew that look—I knew that desire—I too had felt it.

“The Hundred Fold”Reflection on Mark’s account of The Rich Young Man

His face shone in eagerness and expectation—I could see he was ready to receive, to say the least

But I had seen this expressed in him before—in our time in that city, in all of Jesus’ teachings, miracles,

and public encounters, he had been there.He was always the last to leave—

he drank in Jesus’ words, soaked them up like a sponge—he had even provided for us during our stay—

a visible expression of his growing love.

Yet, nothing…I thought that we would not see him again,

much the same way as with so many others before him in our travels…

But there he was, on his knees.Unaware of our presence, unashamed of his public display…not knowing that he had just asked the question that would

mark his heart forever.

“What must I do, Good Teacher, to inherit eternal life?”There was only one thing left for him, as Jesus clearly said—the Commandments weren’t enough—there was more he

felt—“You are lacking in one thing.

Go, sell what you have, and follow me.”

Words similar to these were spoken to me in the boat that day—

and like a child, I was brought to my knees in surrender—I knew I could not run anymore from this One who had caught my heart.

That is what Jesus had last said, before we set out to leave:

“Those who do not accept the Kingdom as a child will not enter it”

By your grace alone, Lord, I did that. But was I really in the Kingdom?

I saw him fall to his knees, and now I watched his face fall.

The glow, the love, the hope, the desire fell away as quickly and spontaneously as they’d come.

I saw before my eyes the thorny soil Jesus had told us about—

the Word he just received was being strangled by the attachments and cords around his heart.

His desires were so pure, so good—how could this be?And yet, he rose from the ground,

walking away in sadness and silence…leaving behind the Answer to all his yearning.

Had he not seen the love in Jesus’ eyes?That unmistakable and special look I too had seen?

That was the look that empowered me to leave my boat, leave my nets…

leave my family, my routine, my home, my land, my respect…

that was the look his riches denied—choked and blinded by the weeds of his heart.

What happened next amazed us all—a camel through the eye of a needle?

Do any of us qualify, then?Is my renunciation in vain—

are my desires, too, so feeble, mere “counterfeit money?”1

And as I was, I spoke—my impulsiveness and passion proved again

to be a source of grace, and opened the way for a fundamental teaching

on the hundred-fold.

And I had only begun to speak those words: “We have given up everything…”

when He dispelled our fears and doubt:With sublime authority, with strong love,

He pronounced the words which define the economy of the Kingdom:

“There is no one who has given up…for my sake and that of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more

now”…And He listed them all! All I had just been dwelling upon!

“Houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands, WITH PERSECUTIONS, and eternal life in the age to come.”

I could not doubt. I could not fear. I was overjoyed—I was overwhelmed by His generous love.

He knows who I am! He knows my heart! And yet, it is faithfulness and trust He rewards—

one hundred-fold.

That was years ago. I could not see then the hundred-fold of which He spoke—

though I believed.And no sooner had He risen, ascended, and sent His Spirit

did I begin to see it alive before me:

All of the new believers I baptized: childrenAll of the places I preached and traveled to in His Name:

landsAll of the moments of love and Christian fellowship,

so true and real: housesAll of the new brothers I ordained: brothers

And as He promised, all of the crosses, dangers, hatred, misunderstandings: persecutions—our share in His Cross—

for we love and follow a crucified and risen Lord.

I could go on…every day, the hundred-fold reveals itself to me,

places a new installment in my hands—not so that I can cling to it, store it up in a treasure chest

for my personal consolation, but so that I, like a poor and loving child, may return the

gift back in love to the Father.For His love is enough!

Back then, I didn’t know it fully. His love is all of the recompense I could ask for—

and more than I deserve.

And yet, so that our joy may be complete in His, He has promised, and He gives, the hundred-fold.

To all who, like a child, love Him more than life itself and risk it all for the sake of Divine love—

who are not held back by fears or personal riches, and who count all as loss for the sake of knowing Him—

the hundred-fold joy, the hundred-fold gain, the hundred-fold love will be given…

and lived.