A Word from Mark 11

It’s Tuesday of Holy Week—the day when Jesus taught in the temple and was questioned by the religious leaders, who were looking for reasons to condemn him. And in today’s word from Mark 11, the day began when the leaders asked, “By what authority are you doing these things?” And Jesus replied, “I’ll ask you a question. Answer me, and I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” (11:28-30)

Of course, the leaders wouldn’t answer that question—not because they didn’t have an answer—but because the answer they had would make them look bad in the eyes of others. And I wonder sometimes if we, too, shrink back from telling the truth – or obeying the truth – because we don’t like what it would do to our reputation.

A group of Christians wrote a poem about these events of Holy Tuesday, and they described our situation like this:

It was on Tuesday the he let them have it.

They wanted to know! And they wanted to know how.

They were respectable men—the influential men, “the establishment.”

The questions they asked ranged from silly speculations
     about whether you’d be a bigamist in heaven
     if you had married twice on earth,
     to what was the central rule of civilized behavior.

They knew the answers already…or so they thought.

     Otherwise, they would have never asked the questions.

And like most of us, they were looking for an argument
     with no intention of changing their hearts.

So he flailed them with his tongue—
     those who tried to look interested
     but never wanted to be committed.

And that was on Tuesday…
     the day he let them…and let us…have it.

(“It Was on Tuesday,” from Stages on the Way,
     The Iona Community Wild Goose Worship Group)

So today, let’s bring our questions to Jesus. But let’s be eager to change – and eager to be committed. So that we can follow him all the way to Calvary. Amen.