Pillow theology

Some texts and meetings seem almost designed to put one to sleep. They are long, confusingly organized, on pretty dry subjects or simply boring, which means it takes a lot of effort to stay focused. After all, one never knows what devil might hide in the details. Long ago, I worked with a board chair who would bring a large box of Belgian chocolates (he was Belgian) to our meetings, allowing him to talk at length. Worse, if anyone else on the board spoke, he would usually find ways to turn what they said into a joke. I do not know (yet) how Canadians might do this kind of thing, but I expect his strategy exists here, too.

The gospel of Mark is the opposite of soporific. It is fast-paced, vivid, concise, folksy and dramatic. Exegetes love it for those reasons. The devils that are in it – a legion and more of them – are all effectively exorcised, driven out. I worked my way through Mark for over a year with my brothers and sisters from Willowdale Christian Reformed Church, and whatever might have happened during those studies, for good or bad, falling asleep was never an option.

Mark does have a number of stories referencing sleep – lying down, rising up, being watchful – along with the accessories of sleep – a mattress, a bed, a pillow. The pillow is Jesus’s, asleep in the boat in the middle of a storm while his disciples panic. “Teacher, do you not care that we perish?” Typically, people lying down need Jesus. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, hit by a fever; the paralyzed man who comes through the roof; Jairus’s daughter who has died; the demon-possessed daughter of the Syrophoenician woman; the boy with the dumb spirit brought to Jesus by his father. The command to be watchful concludes chapter 13, which mirrors chapter 4 in Mark’s design – the stormy sea. Jesus with a pillow.

From the beginning, Jesus’ disciples are on a journey, a journey guided by Jesus’ promise to make them “fishers of men.” During their apprenticeship, however, they meet many people more determined and courageous than they are. Peter’s mother-in-law is ready at once to serve Jesus. The paralyzed man is brought to Jesus through the determination of his four friends. Then there are those brave parents risking everything to save the lives of their children. (By the way, the first parent who acts in this way is Jesus’s own mother – but that story ends a bit differently than expected).

Does Mark have a theology of sleep? We might want to ask him that question. As I picture him – and if I could pick any saint or devil in history to meet with, it would be him – he would simply tell us to be watchful. And not to panic.