Story Type: Advent

While each evangelist grappled with the question “Who is Jesus?,” the fourth Gospel did so in a fresh, unique way. John drew upon an independent tradition of Jesus’ actions and teachings that had apparently circulated for years.

Luke wants readers to know he’s a real person who collected written records that he has personally verified. He’s not writing his personal memoir, a fictional adventure novel, gossipy stories about Roman emperors, or transmitting messages from the gods as an oracle or seer. He intends to present an “orderly account” of what the community of faith already knows about Jesus of Nazareth. So the first question I can ask myself is, “Who am I, the reader? Where am I in my own spiritual life?”

The Gospel of Mark is more like a parable than a report: it is pithy and symbolic and challenging. It provokes engagement rather than offering pat conclusions. It begins with a “voice crying out in the wilderness,” and ends with silence fleeing the empty tomb. It is “a finger pointing to the moon” of God’s mystery in Jesus.