Jump Cut    In a Hallmark movie, “The Wedding Veil,” one of the leading women, Avery, learned that she was pregnant. After a disappointing first attempt, her husband and friends were joyful about the news. There are several scenes in which she shares her good news with friends and family, and viewers become caught up in the excitement. Then, a few moments later, Avery is holding her newborn baby. What? The pregnancy, the rush to the hospital, the experience of birth, and the changes in family life brought by a new arrival—all of that is condensed into just a few moments of film time. In cinematography, these kinds of time-collapsing segments are known as “jump cuts,” in which editors remove a section of film or story, creating the effect of jumping forward in time.
   A similar kind of “jump cut” takes place in St. Mark’s Gospel. Mark appears eager to get to the crux of his message; so, he sometimes condenses time. An example of a Markan “jump cut” is evident in his statement: “And he went into all of Galilee, preaching in all their synagogues and casting out demons.” (1:39) The Jewish politician and historian Josephus (ca. 37-100 AD) said that Galilee was densely populated with over two hundred villages, some containing several hundred inhabitants. By custom, if a village had more than ten families, it had to have a synagogue. Large communities, which Mark previously identified as “market towns (v. 38),” would have had several synagogues. Preaching in the synagogues would have taken place on successive Sabbaths. In this one sentence, then, Mark condenses what must have taken Jesus months to complete.
   Commentator William Barclay noticed three important themes in Mark’s one sentence: Jesus never separated words and actions—he preached, and he healed. He didn’t separate soul and body—his preaching about the Father’s Kingdom didn’t ignore his concern for the temporal, the body. And he never separated earth and heaven—he preached about a time when the Father’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, and earth and heaven would be one. These are important examples for anyone who would do the Father’s work. . Directory