Straight Away!

Posted on by August 30, 2013

August 30, 2013

Mark 1:18 — And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

Straightway — ???????? (eutheos) in Greek — at once, immediately, straight away. It’s a key word in Mark’s Gospel, and it should be a key word in a Christian life.

I love the Bible. But there is so much of it that I find there are times when I find myself spending a lot of time in one part and neglecting others. I sometimes visualize it as a vast and wonderful landscape — the mountains of Isaiah, the refreshing waters of the Psalms … the long road through Kings and Chronicles. The Gospels are great cities, each different in character, looking towards the great and glorious city that is the Revelation. (Hint to parents and Grandparents, don’t you think modeling that landscape would make a great kids project?)
This morning I found myself in a neighborhood I hadn’t been in for a while. In the Gospel of Mark, at the beginning.

The Gospels, those four great cities of The Word, each have their own character and perhaps a special audience:

  • Matthew’s is the Gospel of the legend, that places Jesus, the Messiah firmly in His Jewish heritage. It tells of the coming of the King and His rejection “by his own”.
  • Luke’s is the Gospel of ideas, perhaps written especially to the Greeks, who loved to have their ears tickled with new ideas!
  • John’s is the Gospel of mysteries and love, for the mystics everywhere, but perhaps for those from the East.
  • Mark’s is the Gospel of action — especially, perhaps, for the Romans. It speaks especially of Jesus the man, the very human God-man.

    • Mark starts right in with the action — not for him preludes of genealogy or creation or even the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. Straightway to the action! Once the action starts it never stops. Just read through the first chapter of Mark and see how many times “straightway” or some variation occurs. See how Simon and Andrew left their nets — straightway. Reading it again today made me think about Jesus. How many times did He wait to do the right thing until He felt like it? How many times did He leave it until the “right moment”. I can’t find many. Actually I can’t find one — because, of course, He didn’t! But I do … Do you?

    I’ve always been thrilled by the pace of Mark’s Gospel, and missed the point behind it. Christians should be “straightway” people. If the opportunity to witness presents itself, witness at once. If the Holy Spirit says “Repent”, don’t wait. If somebody needs prayer, oh don’t say “I’ll put you on my prayer list, I’ll pray for you” — Be instant in prayer!
    If somebody needs help, do it now.
    Join the straightway club.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.