The cosmic coming of the Son of man
Contemporary Lectionary Prayers
Gospel Note:
This passage, near the conclusion of the so-called "little
apocalypse" in Mark 13, is extremely problematic on a number of
grounds. For one thing, Jesus appears to be referring to someone
other than himself when he talks about the Son of man in the
third person. For another, his definite (and apparently mistaken)
declaration about the timing in verse 30 seems to contradict the
equivocation in verse 32 (which is probably a later tradition).
What is clear is the cosmic scope of the events inaugurating the
