“Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis.” Mark 7:31

Durham is one of the toughest places on earth to find your way around in. Bisected by a freeway and this campus, a downtown full of one way streets (all one way in the wrong direction) -- am I now on Chapel Hill Street, Chapel Hill Road, or simply the main road to Chapel Hill? The things that Cornwallis Road does are positively criminal.

Where are we? Where are we in today's scripture? Reading today's gospel, be reminded that the gospel writers often use geography to do theology. For instance, Mark begins the story of Jesus out in Galilee, in the boon docks, among, poor, rural people. Then, step by step, word by word, Mark takes Jesus from Galilee, where th…