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What are the transitions in life that are before me? They vary in size and shape: beginning a new employment, moving from one level of education to another, marrying someone, professing religious vows, or dealing with the loss of a loved one. Included among transitions for the Christian is the ever-present and necessary process of conversion. These moments are often mixed with hope and excitement as well as anxiety and dread.

Sometimes, we may move too quickly from one place to another without fully leaving behind what is old and being transformed by what is new in order to be in a different way. It is in the middle ground between what was and what is yet to come that we often get stuck.

There are numerous stumbling blocks that prevent us from a fruitful transition. One of them is when a transition does not unfold as we had planned. The result is immobility. Often, this is because our plan is in tension with God’s plan for each of us and for all. Saul, along with the Pharisees and Herodians, exemplify this. They also warn us that holding on to one’s own way often resorts to violence in order to maintain power and authority. In his habitual jealousy of David, Saul wants to kill him. Although he acquiesces, the slightest fear that he will loose his power renews his jealousy. It is not much different in the the case of the Pharisees and Herodians. Their exalted status in the worldview of their own plan is threatened.

The challenge of God’s plan for us is that is much bigger and more inclusive than we can imagine. Perhaps, the process of transitions, moving fully from something to something new, is preparing us for our final transition to let go even of our earthly self without fear in order to be totally with God in his mercy and love.

O, Lord, our God, to you we give thanks and praise for your mercy and grace during times of transitions. May these moments, which are not outside of your designs for us, be opportunities for us to leave behind the false self we have created in order to more fully live our life in you and according to your divine providence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Although today’s gospel is short and known as a transitional text from one section of the gospel to another, it does indicate the sovereignty of Jesus, his gradual self-revelation as the Son of God, over all things seen and unseen, that is the earthy and the otherworldly. The passage can easily be divided into two major parts. In the first part, Jesus heals many in the crowd that is said to be “a large number of people”. In the second part, Jesus manifests his authority over demons who shout that he is the Son of God.

Mark looks back and ahead at the way the reactions of those who “hear” what Jesus is doing intensifies. The repetition of “a large number of people” to the words of Jesus is contrasted with the reaction of the Pharisees and Herodians who have rejected him (Mk 3:6). Furthermore, the geographical locations from which “a large number of people” originates, signify the expansive affirmation of Jesus by the Gentile world.

Finally, it is interesting to note that all is not well. Even though there is a positive response to Jesus, there is an anxiety that the crowd will “crush” Jesus. Perhaps, this points to the change from the eagerness and praise of crowd in these moments of healing to the moments of shouting, “Crucify him” (cf. Mk 15:13-14). However, the early Christian could take comfort in these verses because in each action, it is Jesus who is in control of the situation (he withdrew, he cured, he told, he warned) and affirms that the crowd will not crush him. Of special importance is the warning to the demons not to make him known (Messianic Secret) because Jesus can only be made known and understood from the vantage point of his cross and resurrection.