The Translucent World

From the first page of Mark’s Gospel, we are immediately struck by the *strangeness* of the world we encounter. To paraphrase Thomas Merton, in Mark’s Gospel we encounter a “translucent world”, a world in which God is not far away but right at hand and one in which "the divine is shining through it all the time.” To many modern people, the idea of a translucent world seems ridiculous—after all, we know there is no God and the only reality is what which can be measured in a lab or proved with a test tube. But maybe we’ve got it exactly wrong: Maybe the reason we struggle to believe is because we refuse to pay attention. Maybe just outside our peripheral vision is a burning bush. Maybe the Lord is just waiting patiently for you to turn aside and look at it. Series: Gospel of Mark (2022) Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Mark 1:1-13; Exodus 3:1-6