Five Things You Need to Know about This Week's Lectionary Text According to the Fifth Gospel

This week's lectionary text for preaching is Mark 2:23-3:6.  Here are 5 things you need to know according to the Fifth Gospel, aka the geography of salvation:

• the "grainfields" perhaps assist in identifying the location of Jesus' healing of the man with the withered hand
• the Talmud tells us that the best grain in the Galilee comes from the Chorazim area
• the violent reaction to Jesus' breaking of Sabbath reinforces this identification since the Talmud tells us that the synagogue in Chorazim was Shammai, a more conservative party of the Pharisees
• Jesus' interpretation of Sabbath observance is closer to that of Hillel which allows one to do good for one's fellow man; in fact, to have the opportunity to do good and not do it on Sabbath would constitute breaking the law of love
• this interpretation is in keeping with the principle of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus calls for a higher righteousness

The ruins of the synagogue at Korazim National Park