Ordinary 23B: Mark 7:24-37
I have spent most of my Christian life in deep discomfort with Mark 7. I now read it as an early example of the priesthood of all believers.
Each Sunday evening, following the sermon, a member of our church stands before the 40 or so people gathered and makes an invitation: “Where did you sense God’s Holy Spirit among us tonight?”
When explaining the Mennonite tradition of Zeugnis to those outside Anabaptism, I’ve had to clarify that this is not an invitation to discuss the sermon’s finer points or to add one’s own opinions to the mix. This is the time when the gathered community—Christ’s body—does the work of discerning if and how the good news has been proclaimed in and among us in singing, praying, reading scripture, and preaching.
Sometimes that answer comes in the form of a long, uncomfortable silence; at other times discernment happens through rigorous debate. Or it may be poured out in tears of sadness or confession. A few times someone has gotten up and left. Sometimes we wait for another sermon, another Sunday, and only then can we look back to see that our words failed us the previous week.
