image association 5

Just returned from Big Event 5.0, Songbird hosts an image association 5; here's the drill:

For today's Friday Five, let's have a mini-BE 5.0 workshop. Take a look at these five portions from the gospel lections for this Sunday and next, and share with us the images that come to mind for you. Feel free to use words or pictures.

Needless to say, I'd love to crunch these texts and design my own images, but Friday 5 is supposed to be a quick, fun play and a way to get to know each other a little better—so I won't but I will give it a touch of local context. I love how this instant replay of a chunk of Mark 1 that amounts to only 1/3 of the chapter shows the evangelist's excited and exciting style that will pervade his gospel and become its hallmark. As I worked through these brief pericopes, I realized they do need either artistic images or acted imagery to convey what I'm trying to say, but here's my play anyway.

1. As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. (Mark 1:29-31)

image: A worriedly concerned group of amigos, amigas y familiares gather around her bed, wondering whether she will die or just may live. As soon as the fever leaves and she realizes she's well, Simon's MIL scurries to the cocina and pulls together a fiesta of nachos, fajitas, tamales, cerveza and tortas and serves everyone; as soon as she's able, she responds well to God's first call of hospitality !

2. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. (Mark 1:32-34)

image: "The whole city" is a LOT of peeps and brings to mind some paintings of the Day of Pentecost that feature a crowd gathered outdoors. Close to day's end, a microcosm of humanity from toda la ciudad completely surround in a circle the adobe house where Jesus stays. Patiently, one by one, he touches them with his hand, his word, his glance or all three, when necessary addressing demons and the demonic by name and rendering them without power. As one by one they leave to return to their more normal lives, the ambient air in toda la ciudad entera assumes a sense of the fullness of shalom.

3. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." (Mark 1:35-37)

image: Jesus leaves the adobe house before first light, makes his way to the nearest patch of desierto, finds an east-facing bench and soon becomes intently caught up in prayer. Very soon he hears footsteps and perceives a change in the air. In a sense he feels annoyed because the hombres still don't quite get what he's about, but he's also happy they consider him safe and trusted enough to seek him out whenever.

4. He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:38-39)

image: You know everyone is dressed in Baja Hoodies and obeys the scriptural charge to "wear sandals" as they set out together and although the text has Jesus suggesting "we" and "us" as in together, he also says "that I may proclaim" (sorry this is Friday 5 and I'm not checking the Greek) every one of them excitedly, in the mildly manic style of Mark, begin practicing proclaiming in nearby pequeñas ciudades.

5. A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1:40-45)

image: This hombre contemporáneo long has been overcome and overrun with all kinds of health and *other* concerns. This again is a situation of someone's infinite trust in Jesus and Jesus' corresponding joy that someone has come to him. Healing of every kind visibly ripples through the guy and oh yes, on some level he heard Jesus say he only was supposed to fulfill the levitical requirement to visit the ecclesiastical authorities and please, nothing more at this time since Jesus' time has not yet quite arrived, but what incomparably great news has this healing into new life been?! He also wants to practice the gymnastics he'd learned as a niño, so he tells his entire known world of nearby pequeñas ciudades.