“You will always have the poor with you.”
What are you saying, Jesus? This week’s text will discuss the “Markan Sandwich”, struggles with Discipleship, and a clear call for Justice.
First, the sandwich. A sandwich is a basic fare, two pieces of bread and something in between. Nine times in the Gospel of Mark, the author interrupts stories with a new thought, a new story in between two other stories. The Markan Sandwich!
In Mark 14, we have an example of one instance of the Markan sandwich. Piece of bread number one – is the plot to arrest Jesus; the in between part – is the woman anointing Jesus; and the second piece of bread – is Judas agreeing to betray Jesus.
The unknown woman disturbs the disciples. They see her gift of anointing as an unwanted and wasteful intrusion. However, Jesus pushes them off, extolling the virtue of the gift given. Jesus goes farther addressing the disciples concern about the waste of this expensive perfume. Their deflection, “concern for the poor” ignores the meaning of the Markan sandwich in this chapter. Jesus’ concern for the poor is real, but not just a momentary gift or offering, rather, the Markan Sandwich addresses in these 3 stories unjust systems both internal (The Temple) and external (Rome) that create a cycle of poverty.
The out-of-context concern for this passage is our cultural deflection about poverty. Training about the role of giving and charity is challenged here because cultural norms around giving, without concern for the larger systemic issue that Jesus raises regarding poverty, is partial stewardship in the Kingdom. We will address these and a few other matters in the sermon on Sunday.
Pastor Todd