Reading Plan for Feb. 22 - 28
February 22, 2026 | Mark 9:9-13
Reflection:
Maybe, when Jesus says that Elijah has come already, he’s not speaking literally, or even slightly metaphorically (as if he’s referring to John the Baptist as an Elijah-like figure). Maybe Jesus is saying, “Elijah represents the prophets. The voice of the prophets has reached down through the centuries, even to our own time. Yet, the people have disregarded genuine understanding of the prophets. Sayings such as ‘Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God,’ are no longer heeded. It’s not going to go well for anyone who seeks to embody the heart of the Law and the Prophets and who walks humbly with God. Even though walking humbly with God is hard in our day, too, we are still called to such a mission.
February 23, 2026 | Mark 9:14-20
Reflection:
Of all the seemingly impossible situations that Jesus has faced, this one seems most desperate. The father is at his wits’ end. If Jesus can’t fix this, then who can? The boy is triply besieged: physical illness, demonic possession, and social stigma all compounded by the danger of spontaneous self-inflicted bodily harm. Hearing the father’s desperate pleas, Jesus turns to the crowd and calls them…a faithless generation. It’s rare that we get a glimpse of Jesus’ exasperation. But it is here. After his transfiguration on the mountain top, Jesus faces the degradations of human life: multi-leveled captivity of body, mind, and spirit…and it’s not just the boy that is so enthralled. How have we missed our own enslavement? From what do we need to be delivered?
February 24, 2026 | Mark 9:21-29
Reflection:
The father’s response to Jesus’ call for faith is famously, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” This is one way of translating this phrase. We could also say, “I do trust; help my lack of trust,” or “I do have faith, help my lack of faith.” Faith, trust, and belief are three English words we use to embody what happens in, through, and around Jesus. Remember the men who lowered their paralyzed friend through the roof? Jesus saw their faith and healed the man. This boy’s father says the most honest thing he possibly could: “I am trying to trust that you can do this; help me just a little bit more!” Mustard-seed-sized faith happens here, but it must be nurtured. Jesus tells the disciples after the boy is healed, “To nurture little faith, pray…and pray some more.”
February 25, 2026 | Mark 9:30-32
Reflection:
The disciples are so used to Jesus speaking to them in parables and riddles that when he speaks plainly, they just don’t get it. “Is he telling us a story? Are we missing the point?” The disciples have been walking with Jesus for a long time; they have encountered many hardships with him. Now, when he talks like this, they are afraid. Often, we don’t want to know the truth, and we’d rather stay in ignorance. Jesus is trying to ready them for something bigger that will happen. He’s guided them this far. In his compassion, he wants to guide them through the hardest thing they’ll ever face.
February 26, 2026 | Mark 9:33-37
Reflection:
How often in history did the church really welcome children as Jesus seems to call his disciples to do? It seems pretty plain here: whenever we welcome children, truly make them a part of our community, we are indeed welcoming Jesus himself. And in welcoming Jesus, we are welcoming God and acknowledging God. Now we have to figure out what welcoming children really means. What if in baptism we looked at each child and proclaimed, “God is in our midst!” How would that change the way we treat children?
February 27, 2026 | Mark 9:38-41
Reflection:
Jesus is pretty clear here: whoever is doing good in his name does so not at the fringe of the Christian community…but at the center. This passage recenters the idea of “sanctioned” ministers, apostles, bishops, deacons, elders, etc., and places the center with those who would offer a glass of water to another who bears the image of Christ
February 28, 2026 | Mark 9:42-50
Reflection:
This is a tough passage. It is easy to hear if we think of Jesus speaking hyperbolically, talking in terms of extremes. In the Middle Ages, some “religious” folk took some pretty extreme measures to try to tame their physical bodies and to keep from sinning. The Christ who says to the woman “caught in adultery” doesn’t tell her, “Go from here and do yourself physical harm, lest you sin again.” He simply says, “Go and sin no more.” A difficult call for any of us. I remember seeing the TV mini-series “Roots” when I was a kid. In one episode, Kunta Kinte, an enslaved African in the American South, after running away from his enslavers, and having been captured and returned, has half of one of his feet cut off as a deterrent to feeling again. The horror of this act has always stuck with me. I hear Jesus in this passage using very powerful language to say, “There is a better way of living. Do everything in your power to live this good and loving life.” And be at peace with one another.