Book: Mark

Like the disciples, we stumble, but we too can pick ourselves up and re-orient ourselves to the transformed landscape that Jesus is slowly mapping out for us.

Jesus breaks down the barriers that divide us into pure and impure and removes the cause for the fear that marginalises people.

On our own we are powerless to deal with many of the things that confront us, but when we recognise that and make ourselves available for whatever God wants to do, all kinds of scary things may actually be possible.

Unquestioning allegiances to family and nation keep us bound to satanic systems, but Jesus binds the satan and breaks us free to be the new family of God.

The resurrection of Jesus is the most confronting and terrifying news imaginable, and all we can do (after trying to run) is surrender ourselves to his grace.

In Christ we are set free from all that would oppress us in order that we might be free to live in gracious and life-giving service of God and others.

With Jesus we are baptised into a Spirit-inspired costly life of living the new culture of scandalous reconciliation.

A growing incidence of cataclysmic violence is not a sign of God’s activity, but it does call us to hold on to our hope and look for God’s action in small signs of life coming from death.

We remain blind to much of what Jesus would have us see until we allow him to open our eyes to see through the eyes of others.

True greatness comes in devoting ourselves to recognising and liberating the greatness in others, and that will often come at the cost of misunderstanding, sniping and rejection.

Taking up your cross is about a willingness to pay the price of following Jesus and living out your baptism. It is not a generalised stoicism.

God is doing and saying far more than we can see or hear, but God is always ready to penetrate the presumptions and complacencies that are closing our eyes and ears.