Seeing Mark Differently: Meeting the political Jesus of the second Gospel

For some, "politics" is a dirty word, not least in many Christian contexts. There is a sense that we should be better than this; we ought to rise above such murky waters for "Jesus did not get involved in such stuff."

Well, it is hard to read the Gospel of Mark without being aware of Jesus' concern about the use and misuse of power and wealth in both the public and private arenas. He repeatedly highlighted what he saw as the evil divisions between the rich and the poor and between the religious elite and the majority oppressed population.

Politics is as much a spiritual issue as prayer, worship or discipleship. We damage the gospel of Jesus when we pull these things apart and frustrate the liberating impulse of God.

So let these reflections on political Jesus unsettle you as much as he has unsettled so many others. If we work through this dis-ease, we may well find ourselves in a more contented place, living in peace with our neighbours and our planet, both locally and globally.