It has been a while since I left you on that boat to follow Jesus as one of his disciples. You would not believe the places I have gone and the things that I have seen! I have seen men who were unable to walk able to rise to their feet, I have seen more men fed than should have been possible, he truly can perform miracles!
This past week, we visited the home of a family filled with sorrow, as their little girl had passed away. They were convinced that they would never see her again. Yet Jesus knew that she was not dead, and sure enough, he was able to bring her back to life. It was miraculous to see, she was lying there and looked so lifeless, as if there was no chance she was still alive. I wish I was able to show you the power this man possesses, the power God has given him. I am blessed that I was offered the chance to follow him and learn from him.
However, he worries me sometimes, father. He speaks of how he will be killed by his fellow man and resurrected a few days later. What will this mean for him, for me, for the others who follow him as I do? He has been correct so many times, his parables have been miraculous, his miracles incredible to witness. I simply do not know why he would tell us that these things are going to happen to him. I try my best to believe him, as his word is powerful, but my faith is tested by some of the events we have experienced. We went out to sea not too long ago in the middle of a massive storm, and we were afraid that the boat might sink. The way the winds and the rain rocked the boat led me to believe that we were about to perish. We were able to have him calm the winds and the rain fortunately, albeit followed by him questioning if we had faith in him, but it was still a harrowing and terrifying experience. I wish he would have kept the storms from hitting us in the first place as he has so much power.
The miracles he has performed keep me believing, father, no matter how many times my faith has been tested. I witnessed him feed 5,000 men with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It would be a miracle to feed 10 people with that amount of food, but we managed to feed 5,000! I also saw us collect many baskets full of breadcrumbs that were left behind by the crowd, many times more than we handed out. It is amazing to see what he can do when he sees his calling.
Hopefully you can meet this wonderful man sometime in the future. I would enjoy sharing with you the other stories he has given, the many parables he has shared with us, everything we have been taught. We should return near the Sea of Galilee soon, and I will try to introduce you to him then.
Your son,
James
Saint James the Greater (James, Son of Zebedee) by Guido Reni
Source: Wikipedia
Author's Note: From reading the Gospel of Mark, we know that James and his brother John left their father Zebedee to follow Jesus as two of his 12 disciples, witnessing many of the miracles he performed. After reading the passage, I felt that a letter from James to Zebedee describing many of the things that James has experienced and saw would be a fun recap of the readings.
Hi Sam!
ReplyDeleteI thought the letter to his father was a great idea! It easily summarized all the stories that James had to tell. You did a nice job of making sure the stories were short and to the point.
Maybe add a little more info into the authors note for those who don't already know the story of the James and what he did.
Other than that, great job!
Hey Sam! I really love this letter. It's such a creative way to tell the stories, and it really helps personify James. I especially liked the middle paragraph where James admitted he was a little nervous about Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI don't have many things to suggest. Here are a couple questions that you could answer in the text to add some interesting details: What does James miss about home? What does James think of the other disciples?
But really, this is an excellent way to summarize the book of Mark! Keep up the good work!
Hi Sam! I loved how you chose to tell your story in the layout of a letter, I think that it's super creative and most people wouldn't think to do it that way. I think you did a great job recapping all of the readings and making it concise and understandable. I would've loved if the authors note explained a little bit better about what the original story was about. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHey Sam! I really enjoyed how the was a letter to the sons father. That was a creative idea and I loved how the story was similar but also different from the original story. I felt like with the letter layout, you're better able to follow along with the story and all of the experiences that the character went through.
ReplyDelete