IMMEDIATELY: Chap 3
A Slant Re-Telling of St. Mark’s Gospel Through the Eyes of a Skeptic
The Withered Hand
And now behold
His grief and anger:
(emotions recorded only by Mark)
over the withered hand
of a brick mason
sitting alone
in the front row
of a synagogue
behind a bevy
of Sadducees and Legalists
waiting there —
in silence
for the Magician (and defendant)
to arrive
and blow it
through his weakness:
mercy
and compassion
And when He enters
the silence continues
as thick as the Law
and as mangled
as the withered hand
before them
And He simply asks them
if it is legal
to do good
or not
to do good
on the Sabbath?
And again
there is
silence
And he stars at them —
incredulously
and only Mark then adds:
(Deeply upset
at their hard hearts
he was filled with Anger)
And commands
the man
to straighten his withered hand
and immediately
the hand
un-withers
And when the Legalists
see and hear
his gasp of joy
Their faces contort
with righteous wrath
and rising
They leave
to rally the Romans
under Herod the King
to stomp out
this upstart
magi do-gooder.
II
But Jesus goes back to the beach
followed by a gaggle of Galileans,
Judeans, Idumeans, Transjodanians
Tyrenians, and Sidoneans
who threat to engulf him
with their needs
Get the boat ready!
he hollers to his disciples
or we will be crushed
Yet Mark says nothing more
about the boat.
He only says
that He heals them
that the sick push forward to touch him
that evil spirits came out of them yelling:
You are the son of God!
and that he replies
Shut up! Tell no one who I am!
And then-
He escapes again
to the top of a mountain
and calls out
just 12
to follow him
to be with him
and to throw
out demons:
Simon (called Peter)
Jimmy and John (the sons of Thunder)
and then the “others”:
Andy, Phil, Bart, Matt, Tom,
Jim, Thad, Simon
and Judas (who betrays him)
111.
And then, says Mark,
They go to “the house”-again
where they are crushed — again
by so many people
that they cannot eat-again
So word gets out
To his family
who tries to rescue him
because he was “out of his mind”
Then “experts” arrive
who explain to his family
that he is, unfortunately,
“possessed by Beelzebub”
who gave him this power
to cast out demons.
IV
So Sin Magician sits down
and “speaks to to them in pictures”
which only some can understand
And all the while
his Mum and family keep waiting for him
outside “the house”
Until finally the crowd
tell him: Your Mum and family
are, apparently, still waiting for you — outside.
Who is my Mum? asks Sin Magician
(they just stare at him)
And he stares back — and utters:
Here is my Mum! –pointing around the circle
And my bros
And my sisters
