At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in many synagogues. (Luke 4: 42-43)

"Because that is why I was sent." Another translation reads, "for this is is my purpose." The Greek - apostello houtos - is literally sent for this, or them or these, the pronoun's meaning must be surmised from context.

Jesus might have been sent to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, or he might have been sent for the other towns, or to the inhabitants of the other towns. I suppose he might have meant all these purposes.

At Capernaum Jesus had done very good work, found friends and followers, and was appreciated by many. But he was aware of a broader calling. It is not clear if Jesus knew what lay beyond Capernaum. But he was ready to take the risk to find out.

Above is Jesus calling Peter and Andrew by Duccio di Buoninsegna. Peter and Andrew were residents of Capernaum.

So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. (Mark 15:42-43)

Jesus has died. Christ has not yet risen. A prominent Jew goes boldly - another translation offers, gathered up courage - to the one who had ordered the execution to receive the body for burial.

Even with the son of God hanging bloody, naked, and dead on the cross we are told Joseph of Arimathea was waiting for the kingdom of God. His intervention with Pilate demonstrates he was not waiting passively.

The Greek translated so benignly as waiting is prosdechomai. This is to actively expect, to accept what is being offered, and to receive to one's self. The Greek suggests reaching out to accept that which is already extended to you.

The kingdom of God is present. The kingdom of God is offered, even - perhaps especially - in the darkest hour. Am I willing to graciously accept? Or am I too proud, or embarrassed, or distracted to receive what I have already been given?

May we each find courage enough to accept the love of God.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it."This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:22-25)

The eucharistic celebration is understood as a moment of transformation. In many traditions the ordinary bread and wine again become body and blood. Christ is present. The kingdom of God emerges in the sacrifice, remembrance, and renewed experience of the sacrament.

Christian communities differ on how this transformation is achieved. The Orthodox and some others observe a discipline of "pious silence" regarding how and celebrate a mystery to be experienced.

Many people of faith perceive this transformation requires a readiness or receptivity. In former times the eucharist was preceded by an extended period of fasting, confession, and prayer. But however it happens, the eucharist is widely perceived as a moment when the kingdom of God envelopes our current reality.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 'There is no commandment greater than these." "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34)

Jesus answers by quoting from Deuteronomy and Leviticus. He may have also been quoting Hillel, a great teacher of the generation before Jesus.

The question was not entirely authentic. This teacher of the law was not trying to trap Jesus, but he was testing him. The questioner was certain of the answer he was seeking.

Crucially, the questioner was authentically listening to the answer of Jesus and ready to apply its full implications. The commandment to love God and neighbor has priority over religious practice.

The two men encountered each other, each certain of their own truth. But they also listened to each other and recognized a shared truth.

In this listening and insight Jesus acknowledged another who experienced the kingdom of heaven to be close at hand.

Above is a Coptic Christian icon from the sixth century remarkable for showing Christ and Saint Menas as having near visual equivalence.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:23-24)

The Greek translated as "the rich" is chremata. This is a neuter noun form of chrema which is any thing that is consumed or used up.

There are also Greek "things" that are done, or things of interest, or things that are generalized versions of a specific. Aristotle gives considerable attention to "thinghood" and distinguishing between things. Plato characterizes true opinions as kalon to chrema or fine things.

Given the context set out in Mark the translation wealthy may be appropriate, perhaps even preferred. In the final verse above where Jesus is quoted as saying "rich man" the Greek is plousios which is much closer to our current sense of material affluence. But this also means abundantly supplied and, at least for me, underlines the distinct prior use of chremata.

We may be safer in hearing Jesus to say, "How hard it is for consumers to enter the kingdom of God," with the understanding that those who use up, or hoard, or in some way consume instead of create are erecting impediments to their experience of God's intention.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10: 13-16)

The first prayer I can vividly recall offering was when I was nine or ten. The precise words are beyond memory and, in any case, I did not speak aloud.

The thrust of the prayer was to keep me creative, to protect me from the dull disciplines of so many adults.

I don't recall precisely what prompted this prayer. My sense is it was nothing especially dramatic but, rather, a recognition of what Thoreau so accurately calls "quiet desperation."

In Walden the author explains, "Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that."

Neither Thoreau nor Jesus are advocates of careless ease. Each encourage mindful engagement. Both are exemplars of productive, even sacrificial work.

But it is work given over to good purpose and meaningful outcomes. What are the purposes and outcomes of children? Exploring the world, making friends, self-discovery, building tree-houses, making mud-pies, and every sort of playfulness.

Children can be very serious - even earnest - in their play, but they do not mistake it for more than play. I wonder if this is not a big part of the wisdom to which Jesus is pointing.

It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9: 46-49)

I don't know about heaven and I don't know about hell, but I do know about sin.

The Greek translated above as sin is skandalizo, our English scandal is easy to recognize.

This is to stumble or to become entangled. The noun form can mean trap or snare.

We are on our way when we are distracted for a moment and fall into the mud... or off a cliff.

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 66 where the most specific condemnation is promised to the most proudly religious:

But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a man,
and whoever offers a lamb,
like one who breaks a dog's neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig's blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense,
like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and their souls delight in their abominations;
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring upon them what they dread.

This is, perhaps, why "lead us not into temptation" is so prominent in the prayer that Jesus taught. Even our religious practices can become as traps.

Above is Dante Addresses Pope Nicholas III by Paul August Dore. In the Divine Comedy Dante encounters the 13th Century Pope in the Eighth Circle of Hell.