The Long Road Home And Other Short Stories From The Silences In The Gospel Of Mark

Borrowing from the ancient rabbinic use of midrash as a means of opening Scripture to students, James Lowry has chosen six texts from among those in which he believes Mark deliberately left silences. The author is convinced Mark hoped his readers would be encouraged to raise a variety of possibilities as to what the evangelist left unsaid. Beginning with Mark choosing not to name the temptations of Jesus (Mark 1:12-13) and concluding with Mark choosing to conclude his narrative with the women leaving the tomb of Jesus in stunned silence (Mark 16:8), Lowry spins short stories that suggest several alternative ideas as to how the biblical narrative might have played. In half of the tales, Lowry enters the text and adds fictitious material to Mark's narrative. In the other half, his stories are set in the small textile town of Great Falls, South Carolina, where the author grew up in the 1950s. The hope is these stories will encourage readers of Mark and groups of his readers to raise other possibilities.

Borrowing from the ancient rabbinic use of midrash as a means of opening Scripture to students, James Lowry has chosen six texts from among those in which he believes Mark deliberately left silences. The author is convinced Mark hoped his readers would be encouraged to raise a variety of possibilities as to what the evangelist left unsaid. Beginning with Mark choosing not to name the temptations of Jesus (Mark 1:12-13) and concluding with Mark choosing to conclude his narrative with the women leaving the tomb of Jesus in stunned silence (Mark 16:8), Lowry spins short stories that suggest several alternative ideas as to how the biblical narrative might have played. In half of the tales, Lowry enters the text and adds fictitious material to Mark's narrative. In the other half, his stories are set in the small textile town of Great Falls, South Carolina, where the author grew up in the 1950s. The hope is these stories will encourage readers of Mark and groups of his readers to raise other possibilities.

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

There are a few questions that lie just below the surface for many Christians. Does God really love me despite my failures? Can God use me for good in this world despite all my sin and shortcomings? Do my doubts and questions about faith make God think less of me? Do I have a future in the family of God despite my past? In the biblical story of the Prodigal Son, Jesus answers all those questions that lurk in the heart of so many believers. In The Long Walk Home, author and pastor Matt Carter takes a fresh look at this age-old story and helps the reader discover and experience, once again, the radical, never-ending love of God for His sons and daughters.

The Long Road Home is a story about a young man who heads out west with a belly full of pride and self-reliance only to fall headlong into foolishness and crash to the ground with his face in the mud. There he learns the things that are really important. Through repentance, redemption, reconciliation, and restoration, he learns that faith, family, and friends require love, sacrifice, and commitment. Be not deceived God cannot be mocked what a man sows that will he reap. -Galatians 6:7