Mark's Gospel: The Whole Story
Tuesdays**, February 7 through March 27, 6:30-8:30pm
Mark’s gospel, the first written, uniquely collects and preserves the way early communities told and shaped Jesus’ story in their oral traditions. Gathered around the eyewitness disciples, these early Christian communities broke bread as he asked, remembering and practicing his teachings and his actions.
This course will explore the whole narrative of Mark’s gospel, providing background to the unfolding liturgical year in which Christian churches using the Common Lectionary read one passage of the gospel every Sunday. While the lectionary invites us to chew on what Jesus asks of us in the gospel one scene at a time, this course invites us to reflect across the whole narrative, exploring the theology in its composition. The course will include both presentations and table talk.
Instructor: Joan Mitchell, CSJ, Ph.D. New Testament, Luther Seminary
Text: New Testament (New American Bible or New Revised Standard Version); and Mark, the Whole Story by Joan Mitchell, CSJ.
| February 7 | The Beginning and the Ending (Mark 1.1-11; Mark 16.1-8) |
| February 14 | Jesus’ First Days of Ministry (Mark 1.13—3.35) |
| February 21 | Jesus’ Testing, Our Lent (Mark 1.9-15) |
| February 28 |
Jesus’ Transfiguration in Context (Mark 8.2-10.52) |
| March 8 ** (**Thursday) |
A Hundredfold Promise (Mark 4) |
| March 13 | A Community at Sea: Called from Fear to Faith (Mark 4.35-6.51) |
| March 20 | “Are You the Son of the Blessed One?” (Mark 14.1-15.47) |
| March 27 | The Ultimate Threshold of Faith: The Empty Tomb (Mark 16.1-8) |
Cost: $20 per session / $150 for the series of 8 sessions
