The Gospel of Mark's version of Holy Week is lean. While Matthew fills his gospel with rage, Luke with sweet sadness, and John with the hope of eventual victory, Mark undertells the story. Even Mark's parade is smaller. Scholars have also noticed that Mark's depiction of Jesus is different - Mark's Jesus is quiet, pensive, even withdrawn.
 
And listen to how Mark ends The Palm Sunday account: "Then (Jesus) entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, he went out to Bethany." You may remember that for Luke and Matthew the entry into the temple erupts into a storm as Jesus chases the money changers away. Mark remembers the story differently; Jesus does not react. Instead, Jesus studies the situation and then leaves; there will be time enough for him to respond.
 
When is the last time that instead of reacting you took the time to have a long look around? As Yogi Berra once quipped, 'you can see a lot just by looking.'
 
Perhaps Mark would ask each one of us this question: If during this Holy Week you stopped and took a long look around your life, what would you see?