Dear Family at Christ Community,

       On Sunday we will hear Mark’s account of Jesus’s resurrection. One of the unique things about the ending of Mark’s Gospel is the emphasis he puts on Jesus’s promise to meet the disciples again in Galilee (14:28; 16:7). David Garland highlights the significance of this promise:

Symbolically, Galilee is the place where it all began … It is also the place where the disciples were first called and sent out by Jesus to preach and cast out demons. When they return to Galilee, they will see him with new eyes. The audience cannot literally return to Galilee, but they can return to the beginning of the narrative that commences in Galilee (1:14-15). They, too, will see Jesus again with fresh eyes. (A Theology of Mark’s Gospel, 558)

       Mark’s Gospel is meant to help us continually grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ, to see Him with fresh eyes, and to find renewed hope in His love, mercy, and grace. Just as Jesus invited the disciples to meet Him in Galilee, so also does He invite us to meet Him at His Table. The bread and cup proclaim His death and assure us of the power and promise of His resurrection at work in us even now (Eph. 1:19-20). As you prepare for the Table this week, reflect on the ways Mark’s Gospel has helped you behold Jesus with fresh eyes. Reflect also on your life story. How can beholding Jesus in Mark’s Gospel help you better experience His grace at work in your life? May these reflections fill you with advent longing and resurrection joy as we feast together at the Table of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!

Yours in union with Christ,
Matt