Sermons by Rev. Jason S. Glombicki (Page 51)

Jesus’s words are jarring to American culture. According to the “Hofstede cultural dimensions scale,” America is the most individualist country.[1] Individualism is taught from a young age when parents stress self-reliance with solitary sleeping, in comparison to the practice of co-sleeping in collectivist cultures. Playdates in individualistic countries are carefully interspersed with downtime to rest and recover, as opposed to the constant company within collectivist cultures. While individualistic cultures, like America, do not necessarily lead to solitary-living, relationships are weaker than in countries where collectivism is culturally dominate.[2] So, when we put our individualistic culture in conversation with today’s Gospel reading, it’s expected that we’ll feel uncomfortable…

In today’s gospel, the word “understand” grabbed my attention. Understanding is not mere knowledge, it doesn’t simply come with power, and, frankly, it’s not that pervasive. As one author puts it, understanding requires an “ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” In today’s episode, we saw the process of understanding unfold…

Every three years, we hear the Resurrection story from Mark’s gospel. This version is our earliest account. We can think of it as “the original” Resurrection story before Matthew, Luke, and John gave it their own spin. Mark originally ended the gospel just as we heard it today. Mark has no Resurrection appearances, and he doesn’t even try to explain what happens next. It simply ends with three women leaving in silent amazement and terror. Woomp, woomp – what a letdown! After this entire story, we might wonder if it is an April fool’s joke. One thing is for sure, it feels like a crappy ending…