Lectio Divina

• 1^st Sunday of Advent B
• November 29, 2020
• In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy

Mark 13: 33-37

INVOCATIO

• Advent is a precious occasion for the Christians to prepare ourselves for the arrival of Jesus, the Lord
• First week of the Season of Advent; Mark 13: 33-37

Background of the Gospel�Mark 13: 33-37

• Mark 13^th chapter is a crucial one to be located in his gospel;
• A finishing part of the public ministry of Jesus and a beginning part of his passion and death.

Theme of Watchfulness/alertness/vigilance

• In Mark 13, Jesus addresses…
• The destruction of the Temple (13:2, 7-9, 14-20),
• The persecution of faithful (13:9-13),
• The rise of the Anti-Christ (13:5-6, 21-23)
• The Second Coming (13:24-26).
• Necessity of watchfulness (13:33-37)

Lectio: Mark 13: 33-37

• ³³ Beware (βλέπετε), keep alert (ἀγρυπνεῖτε); for you do not know when the time (καιρός) will come. 
• ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper (θυρωρῷ) to be on the watch. 

• ³⁵ Therefore, keep awake (γρηγορεῖτε) - for you do not know when the master (κύριος) of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶ or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly (καθεύδοντας). ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake (γρηγορεῖτε).”

Pick up the focusing words of �Mark 13:33-37

• 33 Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

The focus is to keep watch.

Gospel: Mark 13,33-37

• 33 Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
• 35 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
• 37 What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

Commentary:

• The command to be watchful is repeated 3x. (vv. 33,35,37)
• Except the 3^rd, all the commands have their own explanations.
• The pattern of the first two commands: watch, because you do not know when…
• Vigilance is associated with work and diligence (v.34), not sleeping and being idle (v.36).

Why we need to be watchful? �Because we do not know the time…

Chronos

• Quantitative time and measurable time
• E.g. watches and calendars

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Kairos

• Kairos: situational time and time of grace, Qualitative
• Time that the Lord is going to arrive…

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Chronos vs Kairos

Time indicators in Mark 13

• ⁴ “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
• ⁶ Many will come in my name
• ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 
• ¹⁴ “But when you see the …
• ¹⁹ For in those days there will be suffering,
• ²⁴ “But in those days, after that suffering,
• ²⁹ when you see these things taking place,
• ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things…

• The eschatological and apocalyptic nature of Mark Chapter 13
• It speaks about the final coming of Lord Jesus or coming of Jesus’ suffering in glory

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• Jesus’s Parousia should not be taken into the context of the destruction of Jerusalem, because the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of the temple.
• In the opinion of so many authors, Jesus’ Parousia in the Gospel of Mark applies to the ‘coming’ of Daniel 7:13 Jesus, as a suffering son of Man coming in glory.

Mark’s Parousia: Son of Man coming in the glory (Daniel 7:13)

• 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The Gospel should be understood in this CONTEXT

• Mark 13 should be understood as if the time of Kairos arrived. Jesus’ coming
• Mark 13 should be read in the context of first century understanding of prophetic and apocalyptic language (especially of Daniel 7:14).
• We should avoid looking at Mark 13 as if approaching an imminent apocalyptic arrival of Jesus (Mark’s gospel was written before the destruction of the temple).

³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

• The original audience of Mark 13 was four disciples (v.3). But now Jesus addresses to all.
• The date of the destruction of the temple was relevant to the limited audience, but the final verse tells us that all of us must live with the prospect of an unexpected Parousia.
• SON OF MAN or SON OF GOD.

Mark 13: Jesus is a prototype; disciples are failing…

Disciples; are they successful? Or failure?

• V. 35 - when will the Master come? Evening, Midnight, at Cockcrow or at Dawn?
• “When it was evening”- Mark 14:17-Last Supper
• “He found them sleeping” - Mark 14:40 - in the middle of the night
• “At that moment the cock crowed” Mark 14:72 - the denial of Peter
• “At daybreak” - Mark 15:1 - Jesus is handed over to Pilate
• “Darkness came over the whole land” - Mark 15:33 - Crucifixion
• “The curtain of the temple was torn in two” - Mark 15:38 - death of Jesus�

• “whenever Jesus may come again – whether in the imminent or distant future – all of our anticipation and preparation of Jesus’ second advent should be shaped by his first advent in the form of a vulnerable infant and as a man hanging on a tree. More than that, I think Mark is inviting us to look for Jesus – even here, even now – in similar places of vulnerability, openness, and need.”
• - David Lose

Reflections on the gospel reading

• What do the Gospel tells me through the Meditatio? .

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