Mark’s version of the call of the first disciples repeats the essentials of last week’s reading, but carries a very different emphasis than John’s version. Jesus’ continuity with John the Baptist is portrayed by his preaching the same message. The first disciples in Mark’s account were engaged in their worldly occupation; they are not seen as already disciples of the Baptist. John’s Gospel gives us a hint of the process of inquiry and call, whereas in Mark the call of Jesus comes suddenly and without preparation. It is obviously a call charged with power: they will share power as "fishers of men" and they respond without hesitation. Divine power is emphasized in Mark’s telling; John’s Gospel emphasizes God at work in the human process of seeking and drawing close to Jesus as the source of life.

Jesus is recognized as a rabbi (= teacher or master, see vv 21-22), but his style is not that of the seated learned man with a crowd of students at his feet. He wanders from place to place, pointing out the reality of life and the signs of his new life to his disciples who keep up with him, and to the crowds that gather around him.

God’s power surpasses our expectations in unexpected — and sometimes unwelcome — ways. Jonah went to Ninevah to proclaim God’s vengeance and destruction upon a sinful pagan people. He suspected that God would be merciful, so he tried to run away. But God had some rather striking ways of getting him back to business. When the suspected but unwanted results actually do occur — the repentance and saving of the people — Jonah becomes disgruntled. But God gives him a lesson in humility and mercy. Read the whole story.

Please note that this is a rather humorous — do we need to be told? —and purely fictional story intended to broaden the Israelites’ concept of God’s love. It was written around the fifth century B.C.E., when the remnant who returned from exile in Babylon were struggling to make sense of their identity as God’s people in the face of defeat and oppression. Searching for remains of a fish that could transport Jonah without digesting him, or trying to justify it as a miracle, would be a useless exercise in religious trivia and would only distract from the deeper meaning.

This psalm is a somewhat rambling meditation on God’s goodness, which he shows by mercy and forgiveness, and well as by leading us to an every-deepening understanding of his ways. Response: "Teach me your ways, O Lord."

Beginning with chapter 7, Paul responds to specific questions that were brought to him by messengers from the community. His lengthy advice on marriage in this chapter is largely a plea for moderation in the face of wildly diverse attitudes toward marriage, virginity, and sexuality. Some members of the Corinthian Church apparently tolerated extreme licentiousness while others held very strict views on celibacy and disdained marriage altogether.

Paul’s specific advice in this passage centers on the use of time. Time is always short, and we must order our activities in view of the eternal kingdom of God. Paul’s words are rooted in the expectation that Christ would return soon, but they apply equally today when we are conscious of the urgency of realizing Christ’s presence and fulfilling his will.

1. God wills the conversion of sinners, not their death. How do you feel about people who sin against you?

2. Can even "religious activities" be a sort of "worldly occupation" that Christ might call us away from?